‘We wanted their blessing’: Is this duo the new Hamish and Andy?

The world loves an Aussie larrikin willing to have a crack at something new. That’s the experience of comedy duo The Inspired Unemployed, Jack Steele and Matt “Falcon” Ford, whose new series The List, narrated by Angus Sampson, takes them on a global odyssey of “anti-bucket list” adventures.

Unlike their hidden-camera series Inspired Unemployed (Impractical) Jokers, which tricks the public, this time the jokes are on the 30-year-old former tradies. The duo, from the NSW coastal town of Kiama, try everything from nudist badminton in Germany, to J-pop dancing in Japan, self-immolation in Finland, Ayurveda enemas in India, mermaid swimming in Malaysia, and Zulu stick fighting in South Africa.

Matt Ford and Jack Steele, aka The Inspired Unemployed.Credit: Ten/Paramount

“Everyone I met was so warm and nice,” Steele says. “They were so accommodating and excited to show off their culture and traditions.”

“I think the world needs a bit of comedy,” says Ford. “And that’s hopefully what we’re bringing to TV screens … Also, just travelling in general. It opens your mind up, and it’s good for the soul.”

The pair jettisoned from Instagram fame in 2023 with the launch of their prankster series based on the US original, The Impractical Jokers, and featuring their housemates, with whom they still live. “Content’s easy when you live with five mates!” Ford says.

With The List, comparisons with Hamish Blake and Andy Lee have been inevitable. Blake himself even made the link with 2011’s Hamish and Andy’s Gap Year, commenting on Instagram: “Can’t wait, boys! There’s no better way to spend your very late 20s than watching your mate vomit up a rare food in another country.”

Ford and Steele, who grew up watching the iconic comedic duo, saw this coming.

“We said to Hamish Blake and Andy Lee, ‘Hey guys, we’ve got the opportunity to do a travel show’,” says Ford. “They paved the way, and we knew there’d be comparisons — we just wanted their blessing. They were legends about it. Hamish said, ‘You know, we didn’t invent travel shows.’ We’re never going to be Hamish and Andy – and we don’t want to be. No one can be. They’re the best in our eyes.”

Blake had also reached out to the pair after the success of Impractical Jokers.

“He said if we ever wanted advice about anything, don’t be afraid to ask him,” Steele says. “It was the nicest thing ever, especially because he’s a hero to us. Since then, we’ve hung out a bunch of times … Before we took off on our first trip, he gave us a call as we were driving to the airport and gave us a pep talk … He said, ‘Just do what’s fun. Don’t do it if it’s not fun’.”

Hectic filming days in unfamiliar territory, with a 15-strong crew and an SAS-trained safety officer on standby, brought them closer.

“The things you experience in a day, like getting possessed by a bear shaman and then getting in a fight, and then jumping in a river when you’re on fire – that all happens within 12 hours. And that’s not normal,” Steele says.

“There’s a lot of bonding because you’re like, ‘What the hell? We survived that!’,” says Ford.

“Everyone was so accommodating and excited to show off their culture and traditions,” Steele says.Credit: Ten/Paramount

In addition to launching a zero-carb beer and a fragrance, the budding businessmen have a travel company in the works that is, Steele says, “under wraps at the moment but out later this year”.

“We’re making the most of these opportunities,” he says. “We’re trying to do as much as we can while it’s working for us. You never know what’s around the corner.”

While they don’t suggest that everyone follow The List, they’re all for inspiring young Australians to explore the world.

“Be respectful and just travel,” Ford says. “Travelling’s just the best way to make you grow up and become a better person.”

“It opens you up so much,” Steele agrees. “You can get so caught up in your own bubble in your hometown. And you get perspective on life when you go to some places. You realise how good you’ve got it.”

The List is on Ten at 7.30pm Thursdays and streaming on Paramount+.

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