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  • Joseph Sikora Is Ready for More Death to Fuel the Power Universe

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    With Tommy Egan’s Chicago era drawing to a close, bloodshed is guaranteed: “People need to die on Force for the Power world to keep expanding.”
    Photo: Starz

    As of Friday’s season-three premiere of Power Book IV: Force, Joseph Sikora has been playing volatile drug kingpin Tommy Egan in the Power universe for 12 years. With the final season of Force, he’s wrapping up Tommy’s Chicago era. “I gotta tell you, it’s a mixed bag,” Sikora says, explaining that he’s sad to say good-bye to Chicago but thrilled at the “web of entanglement” Tommy finds himself in this season.

    The premiere episode, “Do or Die,” picks up moments after last season’s finale, when Tommy learns that his criminal rival, Miguel (Manuel Eduardo Ramirez), has kidnapped Tommy’s girlfriend, Mireya (Carmela Zumbado) — who also happens to be Miguel’s sister. Tommy is ready to go to war, but Mireya talks her way free before Tommy arrives. They force a temporary peace until Miguel’s plan to later assassinate the seemingly unkillable Tommy fails. “Do or Die” concludes with Tommy opting against his usually violent nature in favor of playing some kind of long game, confronting associate turned FBI informant Vic (Shane Harper) on his way out of town. Tommy has a new job for Vic: “You’re going to be my inside man in the Feds.”

    For now, everyone has escaped death, but nobody is ever really safe in the Power universe. “In a lot of ways, Tommy reminds me of the gangsters of old, like Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lansky, Whitey Bulger, some of these guys who just didn’t die and lived to be old men and were still gangsters,” Sikora says. “Tommy is la cucaracha, he gets low, so he’s gonna live, but that can’t always be the case. At the end of this season, what we’re going to do will allow for the future to happen. People need to die on Force for the Power world to keep expanding.”

    Season two’s cliffhanger ending made it seem like Tommy was on his way to losing his third girlfriend to a violent end. The season-three premiere reveals she survived, but was there a chance Mireya wouldn’t make it, or would that have felt like piling on Tommy too much?
    If we had more seasons, it could have changed things. Mireya had to be who she was at the time. She had to dedicate her life to Tommy and say, “I’m with you, all in.” Then she had to be stolen, because we have to see if Tommy is all in for her. In classic Power fashion, as soon as Tommy got what he wanted, it’s taken away.

    Based on his history, it feels impossible for Tommy to have it all.
    Nobody gets their cake and eats it too. Even with that money, do you think Jeff Bezos is happy all of the time? No way. All these other things create problems. For Tommy, you can’t sell copious amounts of drugs and have no repercussions. You can’t be involved in this gangsterism and just think, Hey, I’m gonna live, and if I do, I’m gonna live happy. Because you’re not. I mean, did Tony Montana teach us nothing?

    Scarface is full of life lessons.
    I think Tommy has seen that movie 300 times.

    When Tommy arrives at Miguel’s place and believes Mireya might be dead, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Tommy that unhinged or scared — and scared is not a word I’d ever use to describe Tommy. Were you attempting to tap into a type of vulnerability we haven’t seen from him before?
    That was showrunner Gary Lennon’s influence. He was allowing Tommy to be a little bit like Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire, when he is out-of-his-mind angry and scared that Stella is gone. This entanglement with Miguel’s gang is so great. Miguel is a worthy adversary for Tommy because Manuel Eduardo Ramirez scares the hell outta me in real life! He’s such an intense actor. It’s a joy to work opposite him.

    In this episode, I saw a lot of Ghost (Omari Hardwick) in Tommy, from his strategic thinking to his selfish treatment of Diamond. What felt right about slightly turning him into someone whom he both loved and hated?
    Ghost once said to Tommy, “We’re two men with one voice, two sides of the same coin.” With Tommy, the audience felt, Oh, he can’t keep up with the strategy that Ghost can. Until we get into Force, where Gary harked back to some of these really interesting things we learned about Ghost and Tommy and said, “Ghost did all this, but let me show you that Tommy can do it too.” If Diamond is now like Tommy was, is that in turn setting up that Diamond is able to do everything that Tommy can? To me, that’s the bigger question. That’s the excitement of the third season, because, no matter how much Diamond’s brother Jenard is pulling him in one way, like with Ghost and Tommy, where do his loyalties ultimately lie?

    Tommy spares Vic’s life in favor of using him for information. This goes back to Tommy’s growth in taking the long view, but do you think he’s being naïve in assuming he can easily manipulate this dangerous situation?
    I think that it’s smart, but if I were a fan, I would hope that Tommy is not overestimating his ability to control — not only Vic but the AUSA Stacy Marks. I hope he’s not underestimating everything that will go into using Vic as a mole. Vic is all these little animals: a mole and a rat! But he’s also dangerous. And shout-out to Shane Harper for playing him so real and investing in being the rat. It takes a lot for a young actor, this handsome fellow, to be like, Oh, I’m gonna be this slimeball character.

    Season three is the conclusion of Tommy’s story, for now, but there’s talk of a new series, Power: Legacy, that will focus on Tommy and his nephew, Tariq. What intrigues you about circling back to the original Power world and that complicated dynamic with Tariq? They didn’t leave things in the best place in the Power Book II: Ghost season-one finale.
    First, Tommy has to survive season three of Force. But Michael Rainey Jr. has done a wonderful job developing the character of Tariq, who is every bit as treacherous and intelligent as his father. And Tommy would be either a worthy adversary or a worthy guide and partner. There can always be forgiveness within a family, regardless of what’s said. I’d love to see what would happen with a reconnection of these two characters. Tariq is now highly educated, has done wetwork, has dealt a lot of illicit narcotics. But Tommy was raised differently. Tommy is a product of the street. It will be interesting to see how they complement each other and what they can learn from each other. There’s innate conflict within that story as much as there is innate love.

    Force is ending, but we’re about to go back to the beginning of Tommy’s criminal enterprise with the Tommy-and-Ghost prequel, Origins. What’s your relationship going to be like with this new series?
    I would like to direct some episodes. I just joined the DGA and directed an episode of Power Book III: Raising Kanan, so I think I can be active. Someone recently suggested that I be the voice-over on Origins, like 50 is on Kanan. So, Starz, if you’re listening …

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    Derek Lawrence

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  • Joe Cappa Never Intended Haha, You Clowns to Be So Wholesome

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    Handsome strong boys.
    Photo: Adult Swim

    A decade of “large adult sons” humor has been building to Haha, You Clowns. The new Adult Swim series from animator Joe Cappa follows a tight-knit family — three big beautiful boys (Preston, Tristan, and Duncan) and their buff dad — as they try to get by after the death of their mother. The show is based on a series of surreal shorts Cappa created for Adult Swim’s Smalls programming block in 2023, which he’s built out into a whole universe in this first season, giving Dad a job as a weatherman, casting June Squibb as Preston’s elderly co-worker, and adding professional pool player Jeannette Lee to the voice cast as a version of herself who lives next door to the boys and offers them sage advice from over the fence.

    Haha, You Clowns takes its animated-comedy ambitions from The Simpsons and story beats from Seventh Heaven and wraps it all in an outsider-art style reminiscent of an older, more experimental era of Adult Swim. Its goofy sweetness is summed up best by the comments section on the first episode, posted to YouTube ahead of the series’ October 19 TV premiere: “I love how giant the boys are and how often everyone cries it’s amazing.” The show’s proud father, Joe Cappa, spoke to Vulture ahead of its premiere.

    Tell me about the process of getting this to air.
    They have a thing called Smalls, where they let up-and-coming artists create shows. A year before my Smalls shorts, I started making short animations on Instagram and papier-mâché head videos, then one of those videos went viral on TikTok. It got to Smalls executive producer Dave Hughes, who asked if I could make a longer papier-mâché head video for Adult Swim and also told me about Smalls. All I had to do was pitch him an idea, and at that time, I was toying around with the idea of three boys who just really love their dad and think their dad is just the coolest. I thought there was something funny there. I learned who these characters were as I was making the shorts.

    What is it about three boys loving their dad that’s funny to you?
    When I made short animations before Adult Swim, people would say that my stuff is so “wholesome.” I never was trying to be wholesome; I just was reacting to a lot of adult animation that felt snarky and cynical — which is great, but I was getting bored of it. So I was just trying to do something different.

    Are there any differences between how you voice the three boys? It’s hard to tell.
    In the Smalls shorts, they all pretty much sound exactly the same. But in the show, I had to differentiate them a little bit. Duncan is a little bit higher and a little bit more innocent, Tristan’s always being a little bit silly, and then Preston’s pretty much [lowers voice] down here. He’s the leader. And the dad is really low. When I’m in the studio recording them, I usually start with Duncan, Tristan, Preston, and then end with Dad once my voice is all gravelly from voicing all day.

    When it was time to turn these little shorts into full-blown episode-length stories, how did you flesh out these characters? They all have the same build. I don’t even know what age they are.
    We don’t know. After all the scripts were turned into Adult Swim, Cam Tang, who runs development, was like, “So, how old are they?” It was so late in the process. I was like, “I don’t know. They’re in high school.” I would say Preston can drive. Duncan doesn’t know how to drive yet. I don’t think we’ll ever see them in any high-school experience or anything like that. They’re young and they love their dad, and that’s what the show’s about.

    There’s nothing quite like this on TV. What are your inspirations?
    In regards to the style, I’ve always thought that high-schoolers’ drawings in art class of celebrities is the funniest aesthetic out there — when it looks like the person’s trying to do a good job, but they’re not really nailing it. There’s a certain type of humor that’s being translated when something looks really polished, and when it’s not so polished, there’s another layer of comedy happening there that I’m trying to play with. As we’re onboarding artists, just so they can kind of understand the sensibilities of the show, we like to say that it’s like a live-action director was given an animated show, and they don’t know how to draw that well, and they have to somehow execute their idea. It’s trying to be sincere, but it’s stumbling along the way and looking a little bit crude.

    In the shorts, the mother’s spirit is a presence. In the show, she’s referenced, but there’s not this feeling of there being a ghost-mom. Why the change?
    I like horror movies where they really keep it subtle and don’t explain too much. For anything that’s paranormal, I think you have to play the long game. To keep a show relevant and interesting over the course of many seasons, you have to play it really slow.

    You share a writing credit with Dave Cappa. Is that your brother?
    Yeah. When we got the green light, they were asking for writers, and I could only think of my brother. I’d say the show is inspired loosely on my dad and my brotherly love with my brother. He lives in England, so it’s been great to have these opportunities to write scripts with him across the Atlantic.

    June Squibb is in the voice cast. How did she get involved with the show?
    I’ve been a big June Squibb fan ever since About Schmidt. Then Thelma came out, and I thought it was so good. I reached out to the director, and I was like, “Man, I would love to get you and Squibb on this show.” Then the people at Adult Swim reached out to June Squibb, and she said yes. I don’t know why she decided to do the show, but she would show up to the studio and do it in one take. She’s really that good. She was perfect for that role.

    I want to go back to people calling your work “wholesome.” I love this show’s depiction of these big straight men who are so sweet and emotionally open.
    I just think they’re very funny characters to write for. The way they see the world and how they interact with one another, I feel like a lot of people can relate to somebody like that in their life. They don’t have self-awareness, in a way, and they don’t seem to care that they might come off cringey. They really just care about being nice people, and from that, you’re going to have wholesome moments where they’re crying to one another.

    I think the dad cries every episode.
    His eyes definitely go red every episode.

    Has your dad seen it?
    I think he’s seen all the animatics. He’s very excited for his sons to be working on a show together and knowing that it’s loosely based on him. He’s very tickled by it all.

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    Rebecca Alter

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  • Aye, T, It’s Called ‘Socialist Sopranos Memes’

    Aye, T, It’s Called ‘Socialist Sopranos Memes’

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    Every day you decide to log on to social media is another day you decide to return to the front lines of online battle, also known as discourse. Should childless adults watch Bluey? Can people be normal about Sydney Sweeney? Who is Mr. Beast? Pick a side or log off. Of all the commentators logging hours and upsetting people, no one does it with as much style and humor as the person behind the Socialist Sopranos Memes account, @gabagoolmarx.

    John Palmucci is a New Jersey native and self-identified “Italian Guy,” which he insists is not a bit, who has been wading into Facebook and Twitter fights as Socialist Sopranos Memes for more than five years, armed with an encyclopedic knowledge of HBO’s The Sopranos, left-wing views, a righteous frustration with political and social discourse, and the heart of a poster. He uses the most popular Sopranos memes — Tony realizing he hates A.J., Christopher explaining trending topics, Carmela throwing orange juice at Tony — to comment on our daily cultural oddities, political ineptitude, and government’s lack of decency.

    What makes an SSM post so satisfying is its blend of gallows humor and a distinct voice aimed at the perfect target. Every time Vice-President Kamala Harris puts her foot in her mouth or the right wing clutches their pearls can be met with a succinct wisecrack that hits as hard as an elbow to the face. Despite (or because of) how niche the overlap of The Sopranos, leftist politics, and shitposting is, SSM has gained nearly 100,000 followers and wandered into too many online fights to count, including one with media reporter Taylor Lorenz breathlessly covered by the New York Post. With The Sopranos back in the cultural conversation and a presidential election looming, @gabagoolmarx remains one of the most unique voices on the internet.

    Could The Sopranos get made today?
    I guess it could. I just don’t think networks are really putting out anything that’s at that level of quality. So in that sense, it couldn’t. Not because “society’s too woke” or whatever — I don’t buy that — but because networks aren’t really committed to delivering a level of quality that existed on television 20-some-odd years ago.

    Is Tony Soprano alive?
    That’s always been my opinion. I get a lot of shit about this. From people online, but from all my friends, too. They all think I’m crazy. I think he was not shot and killed in that diner. I don’t think that’s the point of that final scene.

    What is the point of that final scene?
    Putting you into [Tony Soprano’s] frame of mind. That’s all we really need. What do we get out of seeing him go on trial and go to jail? What do we get out of seeing him get shot in the head? We don’t need that. I acknowledge the plausibility that he could be dead, but that’s just not really the point of that.

    Tell me about the origins of Socialist Sopranos Memes.
    I started on Facebook. It was late in 2018. I was doing a Sopranos rewatch and I was making some memes that had nothing to do with The Sopranos. So I’m rewatching the show and I said to one of my buddies, “What if I kind of mix these two things together? That sounds crazy, right?” That’s where it started. I’ve been doing this for a little over five years now.

    Have you always had socialist views?
    Back when I was a teenager, I was into political punk — Dead Kennedys, Choking Victim, Crass, stuff like that. Then I went to college. I probably shifted to the right a little bit. I was like, Maybe I’m more of a libertarian? I had one of those silly little journeys. Then the whole Bernie thing happened in 2016. Like a lot of people, Bernie brought me back in — and then there were the disappointments with all that. After Bernie 2016, I joined a small socialist organization, and I’m still a member today.

    What’s more annoying: when people don’t get a joke because they don’t understand socialism or when someone gets upset because they clearly don’t know The Sopranos that well?
    It’s definitely the people who don’t understand The Sopranos. I put something out mocking the whole, “Oh, they can never make this today in today’s woke society.” I’m clearly making fun of the people who earnestly say that, and some guy says, “That’s why we need Trump, and we need to make America great again.” The whole premise of the show is the good old days weren’t actually all that good. The whole idea is you can’t make it great again because it wasn’t great to begin with.

    I can understand why someone might not understand a social political economic philosophy, but if you’re going to claim to be a huge fan of The Sopranos, have some kind of idea that it goes a little bit beyond the gangsters in New Jersey with guns. It’s obviously deeper than that.

    It’s not unusual for you to upset people online. I find it very funny to see people argue with a screenshot of Michael Imperioli.  
    Maybe it’s good for them to have a faceless meme account to get mad at. There was a time in my life where I was the guy at the dinner table that would cause political arguments. I’m an Italian guy from New Jersey with left-wing views, and not a lot of the people around me have those. How I view it now is, amongst my family and my friends, I’m not that guy anymore, because I put my views out there for me. Since I’m not going to argue with my family and my friends, I’ll do it with strangers. I just throw it out there, and if strangers want to get upset about it, that’s fine. Maybe it’s good for them too to not have a “real person” to get mad at.

    If that outlet takes the form of a beloved HBO show, that helps make it less of a contentious form of expression. 
    I work late hours, odd hours, long hours. I need some kind of outlet. I could only rant so much to my wife about politics. She’ll listen, and a lot of times she agrees, but it’s good to just let it out there. I didn’t know it was going to even become that when I started with this. It was just a silly thing I was doing, showing my friends. At some point, it just became my release.

    Has someone had criticism that you found to be valid or made you think deeper?
    No, not really. It’s more about whatever’s going on in the world is probably what would change me in any way. I know it’s been going on for decades, but the last few months with Israel-Palestine, for example, seeing things … there was a time I didn’t make memes about stuff like that.

    Circling back to my whole thing about how I use the account to say the things that I am kind of done arguing with my family and friends about, that was a big one for years. Israel and Palestine was something very contentious with a bunch of people in my life.

    It’s funny that you have people yelling at you, “Why do you hate Taylor Lorenz?” Is that your biggest online fight? 
    Taylor Lorenz was probably the big one. That all stemmed from when I saw her saying something about how the striking Starbucks workers were not wearing masks on their picket line. Some of them were not wearing masks on the picket line outdoors on their picket line in early 2023. They’re just baristas and whatnot, trying to get a better wage, and you’re coming in and while her thing is all telling people they’re being insufficiently leftist. I’m a union worker for almost 11 years now. So, no, I’m not going to tolerate that. Then I saw she gave crap to someone about going to a restaurant or something, meeting with friends and stuff, so I made a meme about her just like, You know what? You’re a big public figure and you’re going around saying all this stuff. You can and should be able to handle criticism. I get criticized, my page gets criticized. I can handle that. She responded with the whole about how I joined the right-wing harassment campaign. Yeah, that was the big one.

    I don’t know if you knew this, but this is the most important election of our lifetime.
    I hear that one every four years.

    How are you feeling going into this election?
    I mean, not great. Four years ago, Trump lost and we were sold that Biden was going to be the second coming of FDR. By 2020, I was so cynical, and you could see that by whatever I was posting back then. Four years later, that’s just all compounded. I mean, sure, there’s a lot of potential to come up with memes on the election. But we’re kind of rehashing, though, because it’s the same two guys that ran four years ago and they’re just older. More older Biden jokes. Trump’s the harder one to make jokes about.

    Why is that? 
    I’m a socialist, so obviously, I don’t like a billionaire business magnate. That’s obvious. So every time there’s an election, I get the stuff about, “You only go after Democrats.” I’m like, “No one ever confuses me for a Republican.” I get confused for a Democrat. Every time I make something mocking Democrats or Biden, that just reinforces that idea. I don’t even know if I’m going to vote. I don’t like any of these guys. Don’t even throw RFK at me, none of them. I live in New Jersey, what does it even matter here? [Laughs]

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    Nic Juarez

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