Nerds love a lot of things, but, above all else, they love gabbing about their nerdy fandoms. Um, Actually host Ify Nwadiwe leans into that dynamic for the Dropout quiz show that finds contestants competing to identify and correct small errors in statements about geeky franchises, from Pokémon to Batman to Dungeons & Dragons.
“One of my favorite things to do when I would be a contestant, after answering and talking about a correction, is giving a little nerd lore about it and getting to gush about this nerdy property,” Nwadiwe told Polygon recently over Zoom. Gushing about fandoms, from video games to horror films, anime, comic books, and more, is an ever-present dynamic during Nwadiwe’s hosting tenure, like during the season 11 premiere that found comedian Garrick Bernard, musician Thundercat, and comics writer Cody Ziglar nerding out over Dragon Ball and Jujutsu Kaisen.
Um, Actually is currently streaming its 11th season. Along with Polygon veteran Brian David Gilbert as on-the-air fact-checker, Nwadiwe took over in 2024 from longtime Dropout collaborator Mike Trapp, who had hosted the show since its first season in 2015. Now, in his third season as host, Nwadiwe has a new level of comfort in the host’s chair and in his ownership of the show. Polygon recently spoke to him about the transition from contestant to host, his “rivalry/beef” with Dropout’s Dimension 20 GM Brennan Lee Mulligan, and how he gets so many cool nerds on the couch.
Polygon: Let’s start at the beginning. How did you end up taking over as host of Um, Actually?
Ify Nwadiwe: [Dropout] hit me up. They said Trapp was stepping down. He got a little busy and they asked if I wanted to be a host. I was a big fan of doing the show just as a contestant, so hosting it was genuinely a dream. I was like, “Yeah, I’m in.”
Did you have any reservations about accepting, because as host, you can’t be a contestant?
No, not at all. To me, the timing was perfect, because there was the “Brennan versus Ify” rivalry/beef, [on Um, Actually, where both were periodic contestants] and I had the most wins. And then we had the last match, where it was me, Brennan, and Siobhan [Thompson]. After winning that one, I was like, “Well, this was it. The story’s done, job’s finished, so now it’s time to sit in the host chair.”
You get one last victory over Brennan, right? “I’m the host now, not you.”
Exactly. I mean, there’s no way Brennan would ever be able to be the host, with how busy he is. Now when I am hosting while he’s playing, there’s the slight beef that gets to keep happening, but from a different position.
How does filming the latest season compare to when you were a rookie filming your first season as host?
It was very fun, because the first season, there were all these thoughts of wanting to make sure that we kept [the show] going, that it was still held up to the standard that people wanted. And it was very funny, because our biggest thing was we wanted to make sure that it didn’t feel like, “Oh, now that Brian and Ify took over, [the trivia is] way easier.” I think that in turn made it harder.
The second season of us doing it, we were confident in ourselves. “We’re doing it. We know what we want to do.” And I feel like this was the season where we’re like, “This is old hat.” I was calling in the friends that I thought would be great for the show, hitting up Thundercat. At this point, we’ve done MagicCon, we’ve done Um, Actually at it. So we knew we wanted to do a TCG episode. That was really fun.
The first season was just trying to prove ourselves and be legitimized. Second season was course-correction from that. And the third season is like, “This is our show. We know what we’re doing now.”
Do you have goals you want to hit when you go into filming a new season?
It really starts with the themed episodes. We’re trying to hit those themes that really highlight nerdy niches. So trading cards was great. That’s a huge part of nerd culture. And we’re doing another horror episode. That’s one that we can always go back to, because there’s so much there. Horror fans — they’re probably one of the nerdiest [groups] among us. Horror fans really know their stuff.
There’s a tag-team episode, and I thought that was fun, because I remember the last time we did a tag team was during the pandemic. I remember doing a tag-team episode over Zoom. Also, I think it’s just a funny stage picture to see so many people trying to fit on our set.
How has your experience as a contestant informed your approach as show host?
I think about all of the ways I’ve been able to figure out the different statements [as a contestant], and I try and play against myself when writing statements or giving guidance. One of my favorite things to do when I would be a contestant, after answering and talking about a correction, is giving a little nerd lore about it and getting to gush about this nerdy property. We’ve really leaned into giving the floor to that and having these very fun, interesting conversations.
People are losing their minds over Thundercat talking about watching Samurai Champloo for the first time with Kamasi Washington. Everyone’s like, “What is this wild lore drop?” I remember in that moment being like, “Yeah, this is a wild lore drop that I think people are going to go wild about,” and in that moment, I felt the same way. I was like, “What do you mean y’all were running to watch Samurai Champloo?”
It’s this connective experience. One of the fun things, looking at the comments, is seeing all the people being like, “I did that too.” At the end of the day, this show is a celebration of nerd culture. I think some people mistakenly think it’s celebrating correcting people. No, that’s kind of the joke of the show. The real celebration is how we all have this unique experience in diving into these nerdy niches. So opening the floor for people to talk about that and share those moments and have people connect with that online — truly, that was my aim, and I’m happy that it is happening.
It definitely seems like your version of the show really leans into banter — it’s almost like a talk show with game-show elements.
That’s kind of how I have been saying it: It’s a panel show with game elements. One of the first shows I wrote for was @midnight, and it was the same thing, where it was a late-night panel show [with] game-show elements. But the game show, all the prompts were just an excuse to get the comedians to chat and give their opinion on different current events. And I feel like Um, Actually has the opportunity to do the same thing.
With me hosting, I want to lean into that more, because I think that’s what allows the two sides of people who watch it to get a lot out of the show. You have two different types of Um, Actually fans: You get the fans who are playing along. They are there to play the game. And then you have the fans who are there to see interesting people on a couch communicate, like [on] a talk show. Giving something for everyone helps, because if it’s a theme show and you’re someone who plays along, but it’s a theme you’re not familiar with, [you can get] invested in the conversations and learning more about this nerdy subculture, and walk away from the episode feeling more about it than you did before.
What’s the process for getting big-name, non-Dropout people like Thundercat or Marvel Comics writer Cody Ziglar on the show?
We have a great casting team who can reach out to agents, but [there is] also the benefit of being in this industry and being friends. The fun thing about being a nerdy person in this industry is, you get to be friends with a bunch of nerds.
So Thundercat, we met at a party a year or two ago, and we were just talking about anime, and then after we talked about anime, we exchanged numbers, and we would just send different [messages] like, “Oh, are you watching this? Are you watching that? Are you watching this?” So I was like, “Let me just ask if he’ll hop on the show.” And he was like, “Yeah, I’d love to.”
But if it’s anyone I don’t know, the casting team reaches out. We really try and pay attention to people who are nerdy. If there’s an interview and someone says they’re nerdy, [like] the Olympian ice skater [Amber Glenn] who just came out about loving Magic: The Gathering, I’ll put it in my cap and go, “This would be an interesting person, out of the box, who will do it.” Or Dead Meat’s James A. Janisse and Chelsea [Rebecca] coming on an episode. We just did a movie together. And the first thing he said to me was, “Man, I would love to do Um, Actually.” Oh, sure. Easy. Great.
Sometimes it’s just that easy. You just got to ask you.
Sometimes you’re on set with me and you tell me, and then I’ll just make sure you do it.
Um, Actually is streaming on Dropout.tv.
