What Would Diplo Do?

American TV series or program

What Would Diplo Do?
Genre	Comedy
Created by	Brandon Dermer James Van Der Beek
Starring	James Van Der Beek Dillon Francis Dora Madison Burge Jamar Malachi Neighbors Bobby Lee H. Michael Croner
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	5
Production
Executive producers	Todd Lubin Jack Turner Brandon Dermer Diplo Kevin Kasatsu Hal Ozsan James Van Der Beek
Producer	Mark DiCristofaro
Running time	22 minutes
Production company	Matador Content
Original release
Network	Viceland
Release	August 3 (2017-08-03) – August 31, 2017 (2017-08-31)

What Would Diplo Do? is an American comedy television series created by Brandon Dermer and James Van Der Beek. The series stars James Van Der Beek, Dillon Francis, Dora Madison Burge, Jamar Malachi Neighbors, Bobby Lee and H. Michael Croner. The series premiered on Viceland on August 3, 2017.^[1]^[2]

Plot

Wesley "Diplo" Pentz is a dim-witted but good-natured DJ, producer, and record label head. The series follows Diplo as he performs, records, and lives life, often making mistakes by accident (such as spending the day with the wrong sick child) or on purpose (such as starting a Twitter beef with Calvin Harris).

Cast

James Van Der Beek as Wesley "Wes" Pentz/"Diplo", a DJ and producer who runs the Mad Decent record label
Dillon Francis as Jasper, Diplo's overeager and drug-loving friend since middle school
Dora Madison Burge as Karen, Diplo's overworked personal assistant
Brandon Wardell as Sonny Moore/"Skrillex", a DJ and producer who runs the OWSLA record label
Jamar Malachi Neighbors as Jamar, Diplo's social media manager
Bobby Lee as Brian, Diplo's road manager
H. Michael Croner as Kröner, Diplo's German assistant

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code	US viewers (millions)
1	"The Beef"	Brandon Dermer	James Van Der Beek	August 3, 2017 (2017-08-03)	101	0.059^[3]
Diplo gets into a Twitter fight with Calvin Harris while spending the day with a sick boy...or so he thinks.
2	"The Cult"	Brandon Dermer	James Van Der Beek	August 10, 2017 (2017-08-10)	102	0.033^[4]
3	"The Curse"	Brandon Dermer	James Van Der Beek	August 17, 2017 (2017-08-17)	103	0.092^[5]
4	"Ur Game Ain't Shit"	Brandon Dermer	James Van Der Beek	August 24, 2017 (2017-08-24)	104	0.039^[6]
5	"Screwged"	Brandon Dermer	James Van Der Beek	August 31, 2017 (2017-08-31)	105	0.053^[7]

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an aggregate score of 90% based on 9 positive and 1 negative critic reviews. The website’s consensus reads: "James Van Der Beek excels with a vanity-free performance in What Would Diplo Do?, a sardonic takedown of DJ culture that is as observant as it is uncomfortably funny."^[8]

References

^ Andreeva, Nellie (2017-01-04). "Viceland Orders James Van Der Beek Diplo Comedy As 1st Scripted Series". Deadline. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
^ Petski, Denise (2017-07-05). "[WATCH] 'What Would Diplo Do?' Trailer: James Van Der Beek Comedy". Deadline. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
^ "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.3.2017". Showbuzz Daily. 2017-08-04. Archived from the original on 2017-08-05. Retrieved 2017-08-07.
^ "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.10.2017". Showbuzz Daily. 2017-08-11. Archived from the original on 2017-08-12. Retrieved 2017-08-14.
^ "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.17.2017". Showbuzz Daily. 2017-08-18. Archived from the original on 2017-08-19. Retrieved 2017-08-21.
^ "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.24.2017". Showbuzz Daily. 2017-08-25. Archived from the original on 2017-08-26. Retrieved 2017-09-01.
^ "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.31.2017". Showbuzz Daily. 2017-09-01. Archived from the original on 2017-09-02. Retrieved 2017-09-01.
^ "What Would Diplo Do?". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 3, 2022.