Jackie Beat is known for combining her razor sharp wit with her brilliant comedic timing, but who knew she also could dole out some pretty sage advice as well? When Season 2 of Dr. Jackie: Unlicensed Psychotherapist kicked off recently on OUTTV, we see Jackie distributing some of her “professional” advice to everyone from Bridget Everett and Murray Hill to Michelle Visage to Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee and Blondie lead singer Debbie Harry! I had an extensive session with Jackie myself recently, and we chatted about the Season 2 of Dr. Jackie: Unlicensed Psychotherapist, her favorite collaborations throughout her career, and she gave me a little peek behind the brilliance of her comedic writing.
Michael Cook: The new season of Dr. Jackie: Unlicensed Psychotherapist is about to kick off on OUTTV what can fans expect to see on this brand new season?
Jackie Beat: Me, looking gorgeous, giving terrible advice to my famous friends and making everything about me! Doesn’t that sound fun? And I really have some amazing special guests this season!
MC: You collaborated with some amazing performers this season, from longtime friends like Bianca Del Rio and Varla Jean Merman to comedic geniuses like Cecily Strong and Drew Droege. What was it like getting to collaborate with so many amazing performers up close. Anyone on your dream guest list for Dr. Jackie?
JB: It was great fun. I’m blessed to be surrounded by so many talented, hilarious people. The truth is sometimes people can be very talented and really deliver, but they’re egotistical or difficult to work with. This group knocked it out of the park AND they were a breeze to work with. I find the most talented performers are usually the easiest to work with because they know they’re good and they don’t have to convince people that they’re a star by being demanding. That’s what performers with Imposter Syndrome do. Wow, maybe I should actually become a psychotherapist!
MC: Sherry Vine is back as your annoying and perpetually confused assistant this season. The collaborations that the two of you have done since your days in New York City are legendary (I personally remember the original iteration of Lady Cops so very fondly which you revisited recently)! I also recall the days of Squeezebox; what are some of your best and most wild memories of that time with her?
JB: Oh my God, we have so much fun! Seriously, when we get together it’s very Lucy & Ethel or Patsy & Edina from Absolutely Fabulous. The New York Times called us “the Laurel & Hardy of drag.” Young people, Google it! Sherry and I have a real chemistry that only comes from loving each other and performing together for over three decades. She’s my sister.
My wildest memory is when we were performing in Tel Aviv together and some hot guy on our hook-up app was going to come to my room. But then he canceled at the last minute and I was bitching and moaning to Sherry in text messages about it and I sent her his pic. She said, “He’s actually coming to see me” but then told him she was too tired and he ended up visiting me! I mean, come on, that was the ultimate sacrifice!
MC: Let’s do a quick rapid fire of some of your most amazing collaborations; just offer me whatever comes to your mind about the person;
-Joan Rivers
The ultimate survivor! I remember sitting right next to her, pitching jokes, when she was in her eighties and still at the top of her game! She’d have a hot pink streak in her hair and one electric blue fingernail and I thought, “This is how she stays young at heart!” She taught me so much about writing jokes.
-Roseanne
The first time I went to her big gorgeous house to write with her she was standing up in the kitchen eating Cool Ranch Doritos with Beluga Caviar and I thought, “Oh, this is her in a nutshell: Trash with money!”
-Ross Mathews
We both adore dogs and love a good kaftan. We go way back… I helped him write his two bestselling books and countless jokes for everything from his TV show, “Hello Ross” to hosting the GLAAD Awards. I love him, but I do joke that him judging drag queens is like me offering people diet and exercise tips!
MC: Bea Arthur is your “spirit animal” and I feel my own special kinship to her. What is it about her that you gravitate towards? And what is it like getting to portray her during The Golden Girlz Live?
JB: She’s just so dry. Those slow burns, the double takes, the side-eye… Legendary! She’s not only funny, but obviously supremely intelligent. She was an ally to the LGBTQ+ community and an animal rights activist. I always say that you have to give people what they THINK they remember so when I portray her on stage the voice is even gruffer and deeper than her voice really was. But it’s a drag show so you have to exaggerate things.
MC: When you write comedy do you have a specific process or do you specifically see things in your daily life that you know would make brilliant comedy?
JB: For song parodies, I just listen to music and sick and twisted versions always just pop into my head. That’s tapping into the naughty twelve year-old boy in me. For jokes, you just have to take things to an extreme. Joan and I were talking once about how writing a joke is almost mathematical. This plus this equals the punchline. But sometimes things are funny because the math is wrong and it makes no sense. It’s hard to explain the process. I honestly think it’s something you’re born with.
MC: We saw new Dirty Sanchez music in the summer of 2023 with the amazing track “Out of Body”; any chance we could see another reunion?
JB: That song was about my best friend and Dirty Sanchez bandmate Mario Diaz’s sister who was very ill. Sadly, she has since passed away. But I wrote those lyrics about escaping from whatever physical pain or limitations you are struggling with and flying and being free. It’s much more metaphysical than our older songs which were just fun and filthy. I don’t think another reunion is going to happen because even doing this one new song was difficult because we are all so busy with our lives and solo careers. But I have learned to never say never!
MC: You’ve answered this question many times, but I am going to put a different spin on it; if they were to do a RuPaul’s Drag Race with queens that came up in New York City with you; who would be in the final top three with you?
JB: I would win. And the two runners up would be Sherry Vine and Varla Jean Merman. And they would hate me for it. And I would love that.
MC: Dr. Jackie: Unlicensed Psychotherapist has had some pretty interesting people in her chair. Who is someone Dr. Jackie would love to take as a patient?
JB: I almost got Paul Reubens aka Pee Wee Herman to do a phone session with me for Season 2 but it didn’t happen. We were texting and trying to make it happen and he said, “Jackie, you know I love you, but it’s not a good time right now.” And then, of course, we lost him. No one knew what he was going through. He was always so supportive and generous and loving. If we do a Season 3 I am going to call in every favor and pray and do voodoo rituals to try and get Dolly Parton to do an emergency phone session. How amazing would that be!?
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‘Dr. Jackie: Unlicensed Psychotherapist’ kicked off earlier this month on OUTtv with new episodes airing each week through June 20. Episode 1 will be free on OUTtv on The Roku Channel and on The Apple TV Channel in the US/Canada
