Jon Hamm on Meme Life, Busted Brackets, Masters Dinner Debate & A New Bearcat in Town | Ep 185

TL;DR

Jon Hamm joins the Kelce brothers to discuss going viral as a meme, the Masters, his new Apple TV+ show, and Kansas City Chiefs fandom.

Key Points

• 1.Jon Hamm went viral as a meme completely by surprise. He has zero social media presence and learned about it when Brian Williams texted him a link, calling it 'the weirdest thing in the world.'
• 2.Hamm is filming a new thriller series called 'American Hostage' in Winnipeg. Based on a real 1977 Indianapolis hostage situation where a gunman tied a shotgun to a bank manager's neck for 63 hours, Hamm plays the radio reporter at the center of the story.
• 3.Travis Kelce announced he is Tommy Hilfiger's new global ambassador and creative collaborator. He cited his love of Tommy since childhood and his fall 2026 line as the first collaboration to be released.
• 4.Jason Kelce was nominated for a second Sports Emmy as outstanding emerging on-air talent. He credited the full teams behind his podcast and Monday Night Countdown for the recognition.
• 5.The Masters champions dinner debate produced wildly different menus. Rory McIlroy's announced menu included peach ricotta flatbread and elk sliders, while Bubba Watson's was mocked for grilled chicken breast, mac and cheese, and confetti cake.
• 6.Travis and Jason plan to attend the Masters together, debating the best spots on the course. Travis favors hole 15 near the par-five water approach; Jason is going officially for ESPN to cover the par-three day with Scott Van Pelt.
• 7.Hamm played Augusta National after Tiger Woods' 2019 Masters win and described his knees visibly shaking on the first tee. He stepped back, composed himself, then 'striped it,' calling it a genuinely overwhelming moment.
• 8.Hamm chose acting over D3/Ivy League football after playing middle linebacker and offensive line in high school. He moved to LA in 1995 with $150 to his name, his grandfather's $100 check tripling his funds, and broke through within three to four years.
• 9.Hamm taught theater at his old St. Louis high school for one year after graduating from Mizzou in 1993. One of his students was Ellie Kemper, who later starred alongside him in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Bridesmaids.
• 10.Hamm gave a detailed history of his tortured St. Louis football fandom, from the Cardinals moving to Arizona in 1989 to the Rams relocating twice. He now roots for the Chiefs partly because Paul Rudd, his friend since age 15, had a bloody nose from emotion at Kansas City's first Super Bowl win in Miami.
• 11.UC's new men's basketball coach Jared Calhoun, coming from Utah State, was celebrated as the 'new Bearcat in town.' Travis and Jason, as Cincinnati connections, expressed excitement about his hire returning to UC.
• 12.Hamm's Apple TV+ series 'Your Friends and Neighbors' Season 2 introduces James Marsden as a chaos-agent new neighbor. Hamm described the season as 'funny, sexy, and compelling,' noting it lets him play a contemporary character far removed from his brooding Don Draper persona.