Hartbeat cultivated the idea of the podcast in alliance with DraftKings, who tapped Nice and Beam to see if they’d be interested in collaborating on this project, and it was an easy yes when they learned who their co-host would be.

“I got the email and they was like, ‘Yo, how do you feel about,’ and it’s like in quotes like, ‘Scottie Beam?’ I’m like, ‘That’s the homie. I’ve known her forever,'” Nice said. “I always like looked at Scottie like…I saw her as like a little Oprah. Like I always saw…could see her with a show named Scottie.”

“I think I’ve always wanted to work with Desus. I’ve always wanted to work with somebody of his stature, especially somebody who has been looking up to Desus for a long time I was like, ‘I have to do this!’ And although it may feel uncomfortable because I don’t like working with men,” Beam told Blavity. “So, to have that trust and know that he would never and ever like cross any lines, you know, he’s always respectful. It’s just something that I was like, I have to do this for myself and also to grow.”

The entire concept of each show is completely crafted by the twosome from top to bottom.

“They really be like, ‘Listen, we’re gonna start at A and we need you to get to Z. We don’t know how y’all [are] going to do it,'” Nice said. “We do it and sometimes we get there. And sometimes we make a wild left at Albuquerque and be talking about mac and cheese, we’re talking about favorite Christmas movies and stuff…but it’s like when you hear it, it’s very authentic.”

This directed them to talk about their organic connection and the ease of working together making the gig feel less like work.

“Even in a test shoot, they were like, ‘Yo, y’all have amazing chemistry.’ They said it comes off like a big brother and little sister.’ Like it doesn’t even feel like work, right? Because there’s sometimes we’re working like she’ll just look over and be like, ‘Yo, what are you doing,'” Desus said laughing.

Since it’s a show with co-hosts of different genders, it broadens the variety of subjects highlighted. They both believe this element enhances the show.

“That’s something I really appreciate though, the chance to work with a woman, especially a Black woman. That gives us an array of topics we can discuss that you don’t wanna see two dudes talking about, you know? Like what’s the worst thing on Twitter? When guys get in women’s business,” Desus explained. “You don’t wanna have like…I’m gonna sit here with another guy and we’re gonna be talking about weaves and lacefronts and stuff.

“Like yeah, that could work, but you do want a woman’s perspective and there’s stuff she talks about that I don’t have access to, so I have to hear it from her,” he continued. “And then there’s stuff she wants to hear my perspective on.”

They then complimented each other’s work ethic while working on set.

“I appreciate Desus ’cause I’m a little scared. Unfortunately, when you are a Black woman working in any space, you don’t want to take up so much space. Sometimes you get this idea of being hard to work with or things like that,” Beam said. “But then you see how your male counterparts think, how they work a room and how he’s able to know that these are my needs [and] they need to be met. This is what’s going…like asking for things that make sense, the needs. I was like, ‘I need to be like Desus. I need to be asserting myself more and making sure my ideas are heard and making sure that if I don’t like something it is okay to say I don’t like it.'”

“It’s definitely a balance because she is an incredible worker. She edits on the fly, so if we are looking at something in the prompter she’s like, ‘Nah, I wouldn’t say that or this isn’t really this, or change it like this.’ So, that’s something I really appreciate because she’s Scottie, but she’s also the EP. She knows what she wants to say and how to say it, and that helps balance the show,” Nice said.

Additionally, what makes filming Bet! a breeze is working with people from their community, which creates a safe and relaxed environment full of Black excellence and culture.

“There’s a certain type of trust that you have working with people who look like you on and off screen, and seeing the tireless work that they do. They are working so hard to make sure this show is great and looking well lit, well audio…like just everybody’s doing their job. It’s great and beautiful to watch that,” Beam said. “I’ve seen it time and time again but just to make sure that we keep having things like this is the goal. To make sure that we preserve moments like this and make sure that we push things like this forward so that we can have more. And soon, there’ll be a lot of Black-owned places.”

Nice shared that it “feels incredible” to work in the Hartbeat offices because it’s obvious he’s among his people. There is “Black art” and photographs of Earthquake [and] Tiffany Haddish on the walls, who have thrived within the company.

“When you’re in there and like she said, you are working with people that look like you, that sound like you, [have the] same backgrounds and everything,” he said. “Like even when we are recording, you can’t be like, oh, that’s the director, that’s the producer, that’s the sound guy. This just becomes, ‘Oh, that’s shorty from Philly. That’s the guy DC, right?’ That kind of thing. So, when it’s like natural, a natural environment like that, there’s an ease that you feel in the studio, which makes it super easy to make content.”

Nice and Beam hope that viewers and listeners who tune in feel like they’re escaping reality and having fun with two people they’d like to hang out with.

“Right now, especially with just the environment of America, people just kind of want something to take their mind off what’s going on. Like a little levity and if we could provide that…like we’re not nurses, we’re not firefighters, but we can help people,” Nice expressed.

The first three episodes are out on all streaming platforms and YouTube with new ones coming every other Thursday.