Our objective in creating What Are We Even Doing? was to make Kyle MacLachlan, an iconic and cross-generational actor, the connective thread in a weekly, culture-forward show that reaches younger listeners through conversations with Millennial and Gen Z actors, musicians, artists, and creators. After Kyle found success on social media while promoting his first podcast, Varnamtown, we wanted to keep that momentum going and translate it into a show built for both long-form listening and viral discovery. Each episode is designed to unpack the entertainment industry’s past, present, and future in a way that feels accessible, surprising, and genuinely fun, while introducing Kyle to new communities and fandoms. We built the series to be just as effective in short-form as it is in full-length audio/video, with highly clippable moments that travel across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube to spark fan-driven sharing and cultural conversation.
While promoting his first podcast,Varnamtown, Kyle MacLachlan found real traction on social media, especially with younger audiences. Kyle began to meet new friends through this success like Charli XCX, Lorde, Benito Skinner, Mary Beth Barone, and more. Kyle's fans really began to take interest in these intergenerational friendships on social media. So, our goal was to build a new show designed to sustain that momentum.
We designed a repeatable format that could flex to each guest: a fast and funny opening, a personal creative origin story, a deep dive into the guest’s work and internet presence, and lastly, a funny, one-of-a-kind game at the end, tailored to the personality and interests of the guest. We also mapped a booking strategy that balanced buzzy Millennial/Gen Z talent with broader pop-culture names to maximize discovery and fandom overlap.
Full Picture led development, research, prep, and production in partnership with iHeart. The biggest challenge was balancing true authenticity with “thumb-stopping clippability” in a crowded podcast landscape. We solved it by letting genuine conversation lead, then shaping edits around the moments people naturally quote, share, and remix. Additionally, this podcast found success by allowing Kyle to be himself. He's charming, silly, and naturally curious, all qualities that make a perfect podcast host.
Through viral clips, What Are We Even Doing? has seen massive interactions with guests and their fanbases across Instagram and TikTok. For example, Dylan O’Brien and Kyle MacLachlan recreated a past video of a Spice Girls dance and this resulted in a repost from the Spice Girls themselves and an explosive asset reaching over 15M views across platforms.
Since its release, What Are We Even Doing? has garnered over 165M press impressions from notable sources such as Variety, Deadline, GQ, Esquire, Us Weekly, People, and more. Additionally, What Are We Even Doing? was named one of Esquire’s 20 Best Podcasts of 2025 alongside Good Hang with Amy Poehler, WTF with Marc Maron, Where Everybody Knows Your Name with Ted Danson & Woody Harrelson, and more.
Lastly, Kyle and Rachel Sennott’s Halloween episode went viral generating over 412M media impressions with features in Complex, Them, Teen Vogue, L’Officiel, and more for their 2025 “Best Celebrity Halloween Costumes.”
On YouTube, Kyle has recieved over 437,100+ channel views and 60,600+ total watch time (hours). On Instagram, podcast's reels average at 700K views. On TikTok, What Are We Even Doing? has recieved over 16M views and over 370k likes.
