Clements and Davenport met while writing on the FOX program Allen Gregory, where they quickly established a friendship and established the Reality ShowShow podcast on the Earwolf Network. The podcast featured the duo, alongside reality stars such as Survivor winner John Cochran or comedians like Paul F. Tompkins and Anders Holm, humorously analyzing reality shows such as The Challenge, World's Worst Tenants, and Splash. Due to the show's small audience and the hosts' growing disinterest with the premise, Clements and Davenport ended the Reality Show Show after 39 episodes. Two weeks later, on October 8, 2013, the first episode of Hollywood Handbook was released with guest Jake Johnson. In Hollywood Handbook, the hosts play highly-successful versions of themselves, presenting the podcast as "an insider's guide to kicking butt and dropping names in the red-carpet-lined back hallways of this industry we call showbiz". Initially, the show consisted of Clements and Davenport doing segments such as "The Teaser Freezer", wherein they would comment on a trailer for an upcoming movie, followed by an interview with the guest which included audience questions during the "Popcorn Gallery" segment. In recent years, however, the show has adopted a much looser format, featuring less planned segments and more interactions with the guests and Earwolf staff.
Reception
Hollywood Handbook has been featured on Vulture's best-of comedy podcast list in 2015, 2016, and 2017, ranking seventh, second, and fourth respectively. In 2019, Vulture recognized two episodes of Hollywood Handbook as some of the "best episodes of the year". It also ranked third in Pastes 2017 list, and second in The A.V. Clubs 2015 reader's poll. Writer and critic Nathan Rabin has written many articles for Vulture and The A.V. Club about episodes of the show, praising one as "anti-comedy for the ages". Notable fans and guests of the show include Tom Scharpling, Paul F. Tompkins, Julie Klausner, and Paul Scheer.
Spin-offs
On June 14, 2017, Clements, Brett Morris, and actor and comedian Ben Rodgers launched the first season of the Stitcher PremiumseriesHollywood Masterclass which satirizes MasterClass lectures. The show's second season began August 29, 2018. On January 31, 2018, Clements and Davenport launched Hollywood Handbook: The Pro Version, a 30-minute version of the show featuring interactions between the duo and members of the staff such as "Chef Kevin" and "Engineer Brett", as well as segments like the aforementioned "Teaser Freezer". The show is posted every Wednesday on Stitcher Premium. It was called one of the "best new comedy podcasts of 2018" by Rolling Stone.
