Naked Blink-182 Helped Ryan Reynolds Grow Up on TV Sitcom

Who says nobody likes you when you’re 23? Ryan Reynolds’ character Berg turned out alright on the late ’90s sitcom Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place, and it’s a naked Blink-182 that got him there.

Way before he donned his Deadpool tights and even a few years before he played the eternal college student Van Wilder, Reynolds caught his TV breakout role as Michael “Berg” Bergen, the wise cracking member of the three central characters in Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place. The show ran four seasons on ABC, but underwent a few changes along the way. In fact, a Blink-182 guest spot helped transition to a new phase in the show’s run.

While Blink-182, especially in 1999, were probably one of the last acts you’d think about when the idea of maturing came to mind, their naked presence played a big role in shifting the series away from its post college graduation roots and transitioning the central characters into adulthood.

In the second episode of the third season, Reynolds’ Berg, who had worked at and managed the titular college pizza place, made the conscious decision to go all in on his pursuit of being a doctor and make peace with giving up part of his youth to evolve in his more adult pursuits.

Making a guest appearance in the episode were Blink-182, fresh from their naked jaunt in the “What’s My Age Again” video and landing a gig at the pizza place to bring in some more money. The site of the naked band makes Berg realize his own age, feeling that it’s finally okay to move on from his youth and take the next step in his life. In the process, the “pizza place” was then removed from the show’s title, officially being renamed Two Guys and a Girl. You can revisit that pivotal scene in the show’s history below and pick up the series via Shout Factory.

The scene also references the nakedness being the band’s gimmick, but Blink-182 would also graduate to more serious adult themes, even within the same album cycle, by tackling the dark subject matter of teen suicide with “Adam’s Song.”

This TV treasure took place during promotion of Blink-182’s third album, Enema of the State. The band has since enjoyed a successful career as one of pop-punk’s most influential and beloved acts. They issued their Nine album in 2019 and the group is currently working on their tenth studio album.