Ross Mathews says riding in the Wienermobile with Drew Barrymore was 'like taking the weirdest edible in the world'

The co-host says the hilarious hot dog adventure was "what everyday feels like to be on our show.... We never know what's going to happen."

Ross Mathews truly never knows where an episode of The Drew Barrymore Show will go during filming— and that’s why he loves it. 

The television host and producer, who joined Barrymore’s daytime talk show in 2020, tells Entertainment Weekly that his favorite episodes to film above all are the actress' birthday episodes because the entire cast and crew gets to shower Barrymore with love, affection, and, in one instance, an unforgettable hot dog odyssey aboard the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. 

“We surprised her with being in the glass booth from You and [star Penn Badgley] came out and shocked her. We had a Facts of Life reunion on this most recent birthday and the cast of &Juliet on Broadway came in surprised her,” Mathews recalls. “We surprised her with the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. We took a spin around Manhattan and just waved and honked at people.”

He says the experience of taking a tour through New York City — all the while asking Barrymore a series of hot dog–related questions — was “so bizarre,” but also representative of the silliness and spontaneity that occurs daily on The Drew Barrymore Show. 

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“It's like I took the weirdest edible in the world, because here I am in the Wienermobile with Drew Barrymore,” he jokes. “That's sort of what every day feels like to be on our show, and I would imagine to watch it. We never know what's going to happen. No day is going to be the same on our show. There's no formula that becomes stale that we just plug in different elements. We can have a crazy Wienermobile one day, we could have a deep conversation about worry and or relationships the next day, and then we can have the biggest star in the world later that same day. It truly is a reflection of life, it's just that we've curated it into what we think is going to be interesting for an hour.”

Mathews' role on the series has also “really evolved over the past four seasons." He not only serves as a co-anchor on Barrymore's Drew’s News segment, which breaks down the latest in pop culture, but also frequently joins her for interviews, cooking clips, and embarks on his own fun side quests like debuting on Broadway. 

“Drew’s just elevated me to stand right next to her, which is phenomenal,” he says. “Someone’s got to have a lot of confidence to be down to let somebody else stand next to them. She didn’t need to do that; she’s Drew Barrymore. But I think she saw it’s more fun to have a partner.”

And fun they certainly do have.

“Most shows, what's on teleprompter, what's written for people to say, is what makes it to air,” he says. “It's so funny. Our show, the teleprompter is merely a suggestion because we never follow it.” 

It also allows Mathews the space to “show all different sides of myself” on television for the very first time.

“I came up on comedy shows from The Tonight Show with Jay Leno to Chelsea Lately, which I loved, but what this show has allowed me to do is use some other tools in my tool belt,” he explains. “I’m not constantly chasing a punchline. We are telling real stories. We are being silly and ridiculous. We're getting emotional. We're dorking out of over pop culture OMGs. Whatever is real, we get to do around here. And that's so rare.”

He adds, “I announced my wedding here. I asked my brother to be my best man here. We showed the pictures of the wedding, dedicated that to my mother. It's been almost terrifying to be so emotional, but Drew has created this space where we all feel so safe.” 

Related: Drew Barrymore and Ross Mathews surprise each other with hilarious cardboard cutouts

That vulnerability not only translates to the cast and crew, but to the audience too.

“We talk to them during the commercial breaks, and they'll cry and tell us their story, and sometimes that bleeds on television,” he adds. “It sounds cheesy to say, but it's the number one thing people say to me after they come into the audience. They say, ‘Oh my God. It was so real. I started crying or I started laughing. I just feel so safe.’”

But, as much as The Drew Barrymore Show is about being honest and authentic, Mathews says that there’s nothing better than when the show suddenly takes a turn for the delightfully absurd and “you just lose your s---” in the process.

“We get so silly on this show,” he says. “When we make each other laugh, it's almost funnier because we're trying to get it back together. You know that kind of laughing you do with your best friend? It's the best. I can't tell you how many times I've made Drew spit her water out all everywhere.”

He recalls the program’s most recent Halloween episode, where he hilariously lost a fake fingernail in a pot full of chili while dressed as Dolly Parton.  

“Most shows are like, 'Cut, cut, let's power down, get the nail out, let's take two.' Our show's like, 'Oopsies! Oh well!' We just kept cooking,” he teases. “But life is like that, right? It can take a turn to the ridiculous, a turn to emotional, or a turn to hysterical. This show is just a reflection of reality, and so I think that's why people relate to it.”

This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.