Rhett James McLaughlin (born October 11, 1977) and Charles Lincoln “Link” Neal III (born June 1, 1978) are an American comedy duo. Self-styled as “Internetainers”, they are known for creating and hosting the YouTube series Good Mythical Morning.

 Their other notable projects include comedic songs and sketches, their IFC series Rhett & Link: Commercial Kings, their scripted series Rhett & Link’s Buddy System on YouTube Premium and Rhett & Link’s Wonderhole, their podcast Ear Biscuits, and their novel The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek.

As social media influencers with numerous channels, they have a combined total of over 30 million subscribers, ranking as the second most influential content creators in 2024 according to Rolling Stone.

Early lives and career

Rhett McLaughlin and Charles “Link” Neal first met on September 4, 1984, the day they began first grade at Buies Creek Elementary School in Buies Creek, Harnett County, North Carolina. They later wrote a song and produced a documentary about this meeting titled Looking for Ms. Locklear.

In an interview on The Tonight Show, they recalled being forced to stay indoors during recess after both wrote swear words on their desks. They were given coloring books featuring mythical creatures such as unicorns—an experience that ultimately inspired the name of their YouTube channel, Good Mythical Morning.

At age fourteen, they wrote a screenplay titled Gutless Wonders and began filming a movie adaptation. Only a few scenes were completed, and the project was never finished. However, the screenplay was later read across multiple episodes of Good Mythical Morning.

During high school, they produced a 25-minute parody film based on the tragedy Oedipus Rex, with Rhett portraying Oedipus and Link playing his father’s servant. As teenagers, both were also members of a Christian punk rock band called The Wax Paper Dogz.

Media properties

Under their production company Mythical Entertainment, the duo run a number of media properties, some starring themselves and some featuring other performers.

Good Mythical Morning

On January 3, 2011, the duo launched a morning talk show, “Good Morning Chia Lincoln” in their studio, located in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, with an Abraham Lincoln Chia Pet as a centerpiece, where they picked a topic, usually a personal experience or news story, and stated their opinions on it. The series ended on February 28, 2011, as a result of half of the Chia Pet dying.

After the move to Los Angeles^[29] and the cancellation of their TV show, Commercial Kings, the duo launched Good Mythical Morning on January 9, 2012. The series took the same format as their previous show and added a “Wheel of Mythicality”, containing suggestions from fans on how they would end the show, usually with a brief improvised scene.

Good Mythical Morning ran its first three seasons ending on April 5, 2013, as the duo took a break from the daily videos to start a new show with a weekly format, The Mythical Show. The series won the Best Variety Series at the International Academy of Web Television Awards in January 2013.

The fourth season of GMM introduced the “Taste Test” series where the hosts guess the food in blindfolds, challenge themselves to eat something or compare a particular type of food across different brands. Some of the most popular videos in GMM from this series are the “Bug War Challenge”, the “Ghost Pepper Challenge”, the “Carolina Reaper Challenge” and the “Sriracha Challenge”.

Season 5 of GMM brought in “Will It” series, where the hosts try and invent different varieties of a famous type of food with unusual and often increasing levels of disgusting ingredients. The first episode was aired on May 5, 2014, on Cinco De Mayo titled “Will it Taco” where they tried pine needles, baby shampoo and pork blood tacos. The series was also featured in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon with episodes of “Will it Tea”,^[34] “Will It S’more”, “Will it Hummus”, and “Will It Hot Dog”.

After the end of The Mythical Show on July 11, 2013, the duo continued with the Good Mythical Morning series, now with an addition to the main GMM episode—Good Mythical More (“the show after the show”) uploaded simultaneously to a separate channel in addition to their GMM channel.

The ‘Good Mythical More’ episodes held on to their ‘improvised on the spot’ nature from earlier season of GMM while the main episodes became more and more structured. Season 6 of Good Mythical Morning premiered on July 14, 2014, with a new introduction sequence with animation by Digital Twigs and music by Pomplamoose.

Several notable personalities, including PewDiePie, Mayim Bialik, Shay Mitchell, Bill Hader, Amy Schumer, and Daniel Radcliffe have been guests on the show.

The 1000th episode of Good Mythical Morning was uploaded on the morning of October 13, 2016 (4 years, 9 months, and 4 days after the first episode aired on January 9, 2012). The video was titled “1000th Episode Celebration Special” and has received 3.33 million views as of October 17, 2024. On October 19, the first episode of the YouTube Red original show Rhett & Link’s Buddy System aired on the Good Mythical Morning channel.

On July 23, 2021, the 2000th episode of Good Mythical Morning was uploaded, marking 9 years, 6 months and 14 days since the first episode aired on January 9, 2012, and 4 years, 9 months and 10 days since the premiere of the 1000th episode on October 13, 2016. The video was titled “2000th Episode Celebration Special” and has received over 1.88 million views as of October 17, 2024.

In October 2021, they debuted a spin-off of GMM titled Good Mythical Evening, a pay-per-view livestream event that was not available on YouTube. Rhett & Link described the show as a “decidedly R-rated spin on ‘Good Mythical Morning’ […] featuring cursing, drinking, and adult situations galore.” The first edition sold more than 70,000 tickets. The event was announced to be returning in September 2022, available on Moment House.

The Mythical Show

On April 25, 2013, Rhett McLaughlin and Charles “Link” Neal released the first episode of The Mythical Show on their second YouTube channel. The program was a weekly 30-minute variety show that aired on Thursdays at 5:00 p.m. (EST).

Each episode featured a collection of shorter segments starring Rhett & Link alongside guest actors and prominent YouTube personalities, including Tony Hale, Jill Wagner, Kat Von D, Smosh, Grace Helbig, Shay Carl, Fine Brothers, Tessa Violet, Hannah Hart, Paul Scheer, Key & Peele, Miranda Sings, and Kassem G.

Individual segments from The Mythical Show were also released as standalone videos on their main channel. The series concluded on July 11, 2013, after a total of 12 episodes.

In 2014, Rhett & Link won a Webby Awards People’s Choice award for Individual Comedy Short or Episode for their video Breaking Bad: The Middle School Musical, which originated from The Mythical Show’s “Middle School Musicals” segment and parodied Breaking Bad.

Guest appearances

Rhett McLaughlin has portrayed and rapped as American aviator Wilbur Wright, Italian sculptor Donatello, and American explorer William Clark in Epic Rap Battles of History.

Charles “Link” Neal has portrayed and rapped as American aviator Orville Wright, Italian polymath Leonardo da Vinci, and American explorer Meriwether Lewis in Epic Rap Battles of History.

Rhett McLaughlin and Charles “Link” Neal have appeared in YouTube Rewind videos since 2012. Rewind YouTube Style 2012 featured the duo alongside Dope Zebra, who had previously appeared in a LMFAO music video for the song Sorry for Party Rocking. Subsequent appearances included YouTube Rewind: What Does 2013 Say?, YouTube Rewind: Turn Down for 2014, and YouTube Rewind: Now Watch Me Rewind, in which Rhett & Link were shown performing exaggerated dance routines. They did not appear in Rewind 2018.

Rhett & Link have also appeared as guests in three episodes of Epic Rap Battles of History. On February 16, 2012, they were featured in a Season 2 episode portraying the Wright brothers in a rap battle against the Mario Brothers. On July 14, 2014, Rhett & Link appeared alongside Smosh in the Season 3 finale, portraying two of the four Renaissance artists battling the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Sponsored videos and web advertisements

Rhett McLaughlin and Charles “Link” Neal released their first sponsored video, Cornhole Song, in 2007 for AJJ Cornhole. Following its success, the duo began integrating small brands into their content, including Smule with the video I Am a Thoughtful Guy, and iRESQ. Over time, larger corporations also sponsored their videos, including Alka-Seltzer, McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Cadillac.

In January 2008, Rhett & Link served as web correspondents for the Sundance Film Festival on behalf of IGotShotgun.com in partnership with Cadillac. That summer, they released a series of videos for the Alka-Seltzer Great American Road Trip. The campaign won a Gold award in the Consumer Goods category at Advertising Age’s 2008 W3 Awards and received Best Online Campaign honors at Adweek’s 2008 Buzz Awards.

The series continued to earn industry recognition in 2009, winning two Gold awards (Best Campaign and Best Single) and a Craft award for Music at the Bessies, as well as two Gold awards in the Interactive category—Viral Marketing and Business-to-Consumer Website at the Advertising & Design Club of Canada Awards.

Also in 2008, Rhett & Link released the web series Seaborne and Roach, sponsored by SpyAssociates.com, and Surrogate Sharers, a branded series promoting Starburst.

In 2009, the duo launched the web series I Love Local Commercials, sponsored by Microbilt, in which they created free, low-budget commercials for small local businesses across the United States. The series began with four commercials for North Carolina businesses, including TDM Autosales, Bobby Denning Furniture, and Redhouse Furniture.

These videos quickly went viral on YouTube, particularly the Redhouse Furniture commercial, which featured the controversial jingle “Where Black People and White People Buy Furniture.” The success of the series led Rhett & Link to invite nationwide nominations for future episodes, including a widely recognized commercial for Butt Drugs, a historic drugstore in Corydon, Indiana.

The popularity of their commercial work attracted coverage from major advertising publications such as Advertising Age and Adweek, as well as features on CNN, NPR, The New York Times, Forbes, and TMZ. A commercial created for the Cullman Liquidation Center won Best Local Commercial at the 2010 Ad Age Viral Video Awards.

Podcasts

RhettandLinkast

In 2007, Rhett & Link created the RhettandLinkast for iTunes. Originally filmed in a backroom at Cru, the two soon relocated to a spare property belonging to Rhett’s father-in-law in Lillington, North Carolina.

Ronstadt

On May 13, 2021, Rhett & Link announced they would be co-producing and starring in a scripted podcast titled Ronstadt, set to release on June 1. McLaughlin portrays the eponymous character, a 9-1-1 call center responder who handles supernatural cases. The podcast consisted of 9 episodes aired in June and July 2021.

Music

As a duo

McLaughlin plays guitar and Neal plays the recorder, pan flute, and harmonica; they both sing. Rhett & Link perform live musical comedy and have completed two albums. In 2001, Rhett & Link independently released Just Mail Us the Grammy, featuring the popular song “The Unibrow Song”. In 2005, Rhett & Link independently released I’m Sorry, What Was That? (Live in the Living Room), a live album featuring “The Wal-Mart Song”.

Rhett McLaughlin and Charles “Link” Neal have released multiple independent music projects alongside their online video work. Their early album releases were made available through the iTunes Store.

In April 2007, Rhett & Link placed third in the TurboTax TaxRap Contest, a competition judged by Vanilla Ice.

In 2008, they independently released Websongs Vol. 1, an online album featuring tracks such as Facebook Song, Cornhole Song, and Velcro Song. On February 1, 2009, they followed up with Secret Songs, a compilation of tracks that had previously been exclusive to winners of their monthly “Community Building Exercises,” which were part of their Quest for the Seven Keys contest.

On December 4, 2009, Rhett & Link partnered with DFTBA Records to release the album Up to This Point.

On October 4, 2013, the duo released the video Epic Rap Battle: Nerd vs. Geek, which surpassed 50 million views on YouTube and sparked several internet memes. The video featured a rap battle between a nerd and a geek sponsored by TigerDirect. Following its release, their channel Good Mythical Morning published the companion video NERD vs. GEEK: How to Tell the Difference, which explained the distinctions between the two archetypes.

In May 2015, Rhett & Link released Song Biscuits: Volume 1, an album compiling songs from their Song Biscuits series, in which they wrote and performed a song—often with a guest—within one hour. The album was released on iTunes.

To accompany their YouTube Red series Buddy System, the duo released Buddy System (Music From Season 1) in October 2016. The album featured seven songs, one from each episode, and was released one week prior to the show’s premiere. It was made available on Google Play Music and iTunes.

James and the Shame

Main article: James and the Shame

In July 2022, Rhett McLaughlin released a solo single titled Believe Me under the stage name James and the Shame. He subsequently announced a full-length album titled Human Overboard. On August 19, 2022, a second single, Where We’re Going, was released, with its music video debuting one day earlier. The track is a duet with his wife, Jessie. The full album was released on September 23, 2022.

Human Overboard was recorded at Finn-land Studios in Burbank, California, with Derek Fuhrmann serving as producer. The album falls within the country music genre, with McLaughlin citing Jason Isbell, Tyler Childers, and Sturgill Simpson as primary influences.

McLaughlin performed material from the project live at Mythicon, the 2022 fan convention hosted by himself and Charles “Link” Neal. A follow-up EP titled Nothing Left to Love was released on November 3, 2023.

Film and television

In 2006, Rhett McLaughlin and Charles “Link” Neal began work on a documentary about their search for their first-grade teacher, Ms. Locklear, titled Looking for Ms. Locklear. The film was released in 2008 and won the Southern Lens Award from South Carolina Public Television, leading to a broadcast on PBS in South Carolina. It also received Audience Choice awards at the ACE Film Festival and the Secret City Film Festival, as well as second place for Documentary at the Secret City Film Festival.

The documentary was selected for screening at several film festivals, including the Real to Reel Film Festival, Landlocked Film Festival, Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, BendFilm Festival, Asheville Film Festival, and the Cucalorus Film Festival. On September 9, 2009, Rhett & Link released the film on DVD, distributing it independently online.

Rhett & Link were among the early internet personalities to attempt a transition from online platforms to network television. In 2007, alongside Stevie Ryan and Joy Leslie, they co-hosted Online Nation, a short-lived series featuring viral internet videos that aired as part of the fall lineup on the CW Network. The premiere episode attracted approximately one million viewers; however, the series was canceled after four episodes. Following the cancellation, Rhett & Link responded with an online video addressing the outcome.

In 2011, the duo starred in Rhett & Link: Commercial Kings, an original docu-comedy series on IFC. The ten-episode series, which premiered on June 24, 2011, followed Rhett & Link as they traveled across the United States creating commercials for small local businesses. The show was based on their successful web series I Love Local Commercials and, despite its premise and reception, was later canceled.

Rhett & Link also served as musical correspondents for Brink, hosted by Josh Zepps, on the Science Channel. In this role, they wrote and produced several music videos, including My Robot Girlfriend, Space Junk, and The S.E.T.I. Song.

The duo made guest appearances on several late-night television programs, including Lopez Tonight, where they were interviewed, created a commercial segment, and appeared as backup dancers. They also appeared on Last Call with Carson Daly and Conan.

Rhett & Link competed as a novelty act on Season 7 of America’s Got Talent, where they were eliminated in the first round. As of August 2018, they had also appeared five times on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Looking for Ms. Locklear

Looking for Ms. Locklear is a 2008 American documentary film written, produced, composed, edited, and directed by Rhett McLaughlin and Charles “Link” Neal. The film follows the duo as they set out to locate their former first-grade teacher, Lenora Locklear, whose classroom marked the beginning of their lifelong friendship.

The documentary was filmed in Buies Creek and Washington. It was released online through RhettandLinKreations on July 23, 2008, and was later screened by the Southern Culture Movie Series in 2016.

Premise

Using only word of mouth, two lifelong best friends and internet comedians embark on a search for the long-lost teacher from the first-grade class where they first met. Their journey leads them into the heart of the Lumbee people of North Carolina, an often-overlooked Native American community. By chance, they arrive during a pivotal moment in the tribe’s century-long struggle for political recognition and identity.

Set against a modern backdrop dominated by mobile devices and superficial digital connections, Looking for Ms. Locklear highlights deeply personal stories and human interactions, emphasizing that meaningful communication extends far beyond emails and text messages.

Discography

Books

Book of Mythicality

Rhett McLaughlin and Charles “Link” Neal unveiled their book, Rhett & Link’s Book of Mythicality: A Field Guide to Curiosity, Creativity and Tomfoolery, on February 13, 2017. The book was published by Crown Archetype and was made available for pre-order through major online retailers the same day.

The book’s cover was revealed publicly for the first time during an interview with the duo on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on March 24, 2017.

Rhett & Link described the book as a blend of autobiography, trivia, and advice. It explores the origins of their friendship and career while offering guidance on how readers can add “Mythicality” to their own lives, illustrated with anecdotes from their personal experiences.

The book was officially released on October 10, 2017, and subsequently appeared on The New York Times Best Seller List in the “Advice, How-To and Miscellaneous” category for the week ending October 14, 2017.

The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek

The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek was published on October 29, 2019. The thriller novel was co-written by Rhett McLaughlin, Charles “Link” Neal, and Lance Rubin. The story is largely inspired by Rhett and Link’s real-life experiences growing up in Buies Creek.

The book debuted at No. 13 on The New York Times Best Sellers list.

Tours

On May 16, 2017, Rhett McLaughlin and Charles “Link” Neal announced a U.S. tour to promote their upcoming book. The tour was initially scheduled for 16 theaters across the United States, with tickets made available for pre-sale the same day. Due to exceptionally high demand, second shows were added at five venues, increasing the total to 21 performances. General ticket sales opened on May 19.

On August 12, two additional early shows were added in New York and Los Angeles, bringing the final total to 23 performances. The duo confirmed these would be the final additions to the tour schedule. Every show on the tour sold out.

In 2018, Rhett & Link announced three performances in Australia, which took place in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane on July 27, 29, and 30, respectively. Following the announcement of the Australian dates, three additional North American shows were scheduled in Toronto, Atlantic City, and Mashantucket for November 8, 9, and 10. These performances were confirmed as their final shows of 2018, though not their final tour dates overall.

The November 10 performance marked the final show of the Tour of Mythicality. In February 2019, Rhett & Link performed a concert in London as part of VidCon London. They continued touring throughout spring, summer, and fall 2019 under the banner Rhett & Link Live.

In the summer of 2024, Rhett & Link embarked on the Good Mythical Tour.

Mythical Entertainment

Rhett McLaughlin and Charles “Link” Neal founded Rhett & Link, Inc. in 2009. In 2017, the company was renamed Mythical Entertainment, LLC. Mythical Entertainment is managed by Mythical Holdings, LLC, which is itself managed by Lillington Basement, Inc..

Mythical Entertainment produces a wide range of content, including online videos, television series, podcasts, books, recorded music, and live tours. The company also oversees the sale of related merchandise through its own storefront and via Amazon.

On February 22, 2019, Mythical Entertainment announced its acquisition of the Smosh brand, including Smosh, Smosh Games, and Smosh Pit, following the liquidation of its former parent company, Defy Media. Ian Hecox, co-founder of Smosh, stated that under Mythical Entertainment, the brand would operate with full creative freedom and launch its own podcast, SmoshCast.

In July 2021, Rhett and Link announced the launch of the Mythical Accelerator Fund, a five-million-dollar initiative intended to acquire minority ownership stakes in businesses run by other social media creators. The fund’s first investment was a minority stake in a company founded by content creator Jarvis Johnson. The second investment followed in April 2022, involving musician and creator Daniel Thrasher.

Productions

Awards and nominations

In 2009, Rhett McLaughlin and Charles “Link” Neal were ranked No. 22 on Business Insider’s Top 25 Most Creative People in Advertising list. Later that year, they joined The Collective, a talent and media company based in Los Angeles.

In 2014, the Rhett & Link YouTube channel was ranked No. 35 on New Media Rockstars’ Top 100 Channels list.

Personal lives

Rhett McLaughlin and Charles “Link” Neal currently reside in La Crescenta-Montrose, where they operate their Burbank-based production company, Mythical Entertainment, LLC. Rhett and his wife, Jessie, have two sons. Link and his wife, Christy, have two sons and a daughter.

McLaughlin and Neal were both raised as Christians and previously worked as full-time missionaries while attending college. In 2020, each discussed changes in their faith in separate episodes of their podcast, Ear Biscuits. Both stated that they no longer identify as evangelical Christians. Rhett described himself as a “hopeful agnostic,” while Link said he considers himself “an agnostic who wants to be hopeful.”

In an October 2025 episode of Ear Biscuits, Rhett McLaughlin revealed that he had recently undergone a heart ablation procedure—specifically pulse field ablation, to treat atrial flutter and atrial fibrillation. He cited the experience as motivation to pursue creative work with less stress and announced the launch of his solo YouTube channel, @RhettMcLaughlin, which focuses on personal interests and video essays.