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HBO's 'Silicon Valley' really built a 'Bro app' based off the Yo app
(Frank Masi/HBO/"Silicon Valley")
Warning: There are spoilers ahead.
On Sunday’s episode of “Silicon Valley,” the Pied Piper gang are back and meeting with venture capitalists after a lawsuit from their main competitor, Hooli, caused the VC company of the late Peter Gallagher to back out on investing in them.
But there was also a funny subplot during the episode, in which Pied Piper member Dinesh (Kumail Nanjiani) tries desperately to sabotage his cousin’s Kickstarter campaign for his app called "Bro."
Bro is a messaging app that lets you send the word “Bro” to everyone else who has the app.
Showing his cousin he's "cool,” Dinesh donated $5,000 to his campaign, but now with Pied Piper's funding in peril, Dinesh doesn't have the money and tries to convince his cousin to halt the campaign.
If Bro sounds familiar, that's because there’s a very similar app already on the market.
The Yo app, created by Or Arbel — reportedly in only eight hours in 2014 — makes it possible for you to send people who also have the app the word "Yo."
(Business Insider)Yo app.
“Silicon Valley” creator Mike Judge told Business Insider that season 2 was being written when Yo hit the market and they thought it was comedy gold.
“It’s silly because it’s a nothing app,” Judge explains. "I remember thinking, there was MySpace and Friendster before Facebook and maybe after Yo some others would come along.” (Which has already happened, thanks to Aaron Paul. In fact, it's been brought to our attention since this story originally went up that there is also a real Bro app; though it has no relation to HBO or the show.)
But like most jokes or storylines on the show, the creators always attempt to bring as much reality to it as possible.
In the case of Bro, a team was formed to create a prototype.
(Frank Masi/HBO/"Silicon Valley")
“We worked with a bunch of iOS developers and there were some interfaces [of Bro] that were developed for the day we shot,” said “Silicon Valley” co-producer and lead technical consultant, Jonathan Dotan. “So some of the actors had the prototype [in the scene]."
There aren’t any shots of the Bro interface in the episode, but the use of the app leads to a funny sequence in which Pied Piper member Jared (Zach Woods) sets up a meeting with a VC company through "Broing" with one of its members. However, the meeting turns out to be disastrous for the Pied Piper guys, leading a heartbroken Jared to confront his contact saying, “I thought we were bros?”
According to HBO, there are no plans to make the Bro app available for the general public.
Business Insider reached out to Yo creator Or Arbel to get his thoughts on Bro. Though he was not aware the show spoofed his app, he seemed flattered.
“I love the show, so for Yo to be mentioned is amazing,” said Arbel. “We are doing some things that are bigger than sending a Yo or a Bro, but this is a milestone for us, to be honest.”
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