"Roast" is trendy again in the humor world. Now comes "Roast on the coast", where Per Andersson, Magnus Betnér, Anis Don Demina, Gina Dirawi, Emma Molin, and host Kristoffer Appelquist are vacationing together on Cyprus for a few days – to then "slaughter" each other in the evenings.
This program is like a really unhealthy relationship. We were there and were super-mean to each other, but I still left with the feeling that I'm a little in love with all of them, says Emma Molin and laughs.
Took it to the extreme
Roast is about making as many mean jokes about each other as possible. According to Kristoffer Appelquist, it gets best when the comedians actually know and like each other.
The fact that we did crazy stuff all day and were in the sun and swam, meant that we could take it to the extreme even more. Because we liked each other more and that's what we hope will come across.
Emma Molin has worked a long time with Per Andersson in the Grotesco gang. So was she nicer to him?
I was probably both, I think. Hit with one hand and patted with the other.
It's not the first time roast has been tested on Swedish TV. Those with good memories remember "Roast at Berns" on Kanal 5 and "Grilled" which aired around the same time on SVT over 15 years ago.
The jokes were rough and didn't always go down well, since several of those who were subjected to roasting didn't know what was coming and became visibly sad.
Used to the audience
Now it's different. The audience – and the comedians – have seen roast on YouTube and Netflix and gotten used to it, thinks Kristoffer Appelquist.
Now everyone has seen the roasts of Justin Bieber, Martha Stewart, and Tom Brady. Then you also know about comedians like Nikki Glaser and know how it is.
Betnér, who has a long stand-up career behind him, has noticed that the roast concept has become increasingly popular. Even in more unusual contexts.
I get pretty often asked to come to both funerals and weddings and roast.
Ordinary people get in touch?
Yes, but then I usually say no since I don't roast those I don't know.
Or are dead, adds Kristoffer Appelquist.
"Roast on the coast" premieres on Prime Video on May 9. Two episodes are released each week.
Roast is an old American comedy tradition that has been broadcast on TV in different rounds. Including with Dean Martin as host in the 1960s and 1970s.
TV channel Comedy Central in the USA has specialized in roasts of famous people. Among the most talked-about are Justin Bieber (2015), Charlie Sheen (2011), and Pamela Anderson (2005). In 2024, Netflix showed a roast of Tom Brady, star in American football, which became very talked-about.
In Sweden, "Grilled" was broadcast on SVT and "Roast at Berns" on Kanal 5 in 2009-2010. Raw Comedy Club in Stockholm has also arranged "roast battles".
