TV Talk: Season 2 of 'Ed and Day in the ‘Burgh' gets physical

Podcasters, comedians and craft beer enthusiasts Ed Bailey and Day Bracey continue to explore Pittsburgh neighborhoods in season two of “Ed and Day in the ’Burgh” on streaming channel Very Local Pittsburgh — but there’s a key difference in the new eight-episode season.

“It’s more getting us out doing things, more doing physical activities,” said Bailey, 36, of Knoxville. “And then our relationship comes out because we always are throwing shots at each other, friendly little quips or whatever, because that’s how we communicate.”

In Thursday’s season premiere — episodes run 21 minutes before commercials are added — the duo visit three locations in Homestead: They try to get out of an escape room at The Bank on 8th, zipline through the Dragon’s Den and drink beer at Duke’s Upper Deck Cafe.

Bailey said this first episode includes his favorite moment of season two: Watching Bracey attempt an indoor high ropes course at Dragon Den, formerly St. Mary Magdalene Church.

“All the experiences are dope, but that was cool seeing my friend do something that he wouldn’t normally do and be able to experience that with him,” Bailey said as Bracey laughed.

In season two, the pair visit establishments — and conclude each episode with a drink at one of the places they visit — in McKees Rocks, Bloomfield, Homewood, Sharpsburg, Verona and Lawrenceville.

Bailey and Day first met in 2012 as stand-up comics at an open mic night at either Pleasure Bar in Bloomfield or Hambones — Bailey couldn’t remember which it was.

“We were two of maybe three Black comedians there, and so we naturally gravitated toward each other,” Bailey said of their initial conversations while waiting their turns to perform.

Two years later, they started the Drinking Partners podcast, which continues to release new episodes every other week.

The pair got on the radar of Very Local through Barrel & Flow events, and, later, a producer on their podcast pitched Very Local on the idea of a TV series featuring Bailey and Bracey.

“The idea was we were doing this podcast, but we wanted (the TV show) to be a completely different show because it doesn’t have the same elements, but the idea was to take that concept of (us) experiencing very cool things in the city and we go out and meet folks where they are,” said Bracey, 40, of Spring Hill.

“It’s a natural progression,” Bailey added. “On the podcast, the theme is enjoying drinks with the people that curate the times in your neighborhood, get to know them on a more personal level. Whereas, on the show, it’s ‘Let’s see how it is when you’re in these experiences. Can that translate to on- camera?’ And, luckily, people liked it.”

Bracey is a Pittsburgh native; Bailey is a transplant who grew up in Cleveland and moved to Pittsburgh in 2004 to study finance at the University of Pittsburgh.

“The city is kind of a mix of (natives and transplants) now with everybody coming in and getting jobs, and us transplants, we need to figure out what are we going to do. We don’t know the city,” Bailey said.

“There’s nothing like seeing your city through the eyes of somebody new and to renew your love and appreciation for it,” Bracey added. “And quite often we find ourselves being natives here just stuck in the same routines. There are so many aspects of the city that I wasn’t aware of and was introduced to as a result of this show.”

Very Local is an ad-­supported streaming channel from Hearst, parent company of Pittsburgh’s WTAE-TV. The free Very Local app is available on mobile devices, tablets and internet- connected TVs and devices, including Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, Roku and Vizio. New episodes of “Ed and Day in the ’Burgh” will release on Thursdays beginning this week.

Behind the scenes, the pair said season two benefitted from being filmed by a consistent crew — season one, filmed in the thick of the pandemic, was more catch-as-catch-can.

“Hearst really did a good job of bringing in their ace team, and we were able to work with the same crew throughout,” Bracey said. “We didn’t know what we were doing the first season. The second season, the whole team understood what (the show) was. So me and Ed were able to confidently say things like, ‘Hey, maybe we should suggest this angle,’ or, ‘Hey, what if we set it up like this.’ … The second season, you see the nuances and the variance in how people do things, and then you’re able to catch that rhythm.”

Another difference from season one: The guys are hosting watch parties every week in the neighborhood where they filmed that week’s episode.

First up, a watch party from 7-10 p.m. Thursday at The Bank on 8th, 145 E. Eighth Ave. in West Homestead. (Additional watch party details available at barrelandflow.com/events).

“The goal of the show is to highlight the folks doing things in those neighborhoods, and because it’s called Very Local, we feel that that face-to-face interaction is one of the best ways to really engage the audiences,” Bracey said. “We get to actually see it together and then have those conversations and really get excited about these neighborhoods together, because that’s really what this is about: Trying to bring folks together.”