Luke Barats started Barats and Bereta with Joseph Bereta while studying at Gonzaga University. The duo recently signed a six figure comedy contract with NBC after their video clips generated over 1 million views on YouTube alone. Visit their YouTube page here.

What is Barats and Bereta and how did it all get started?

Barats and Bereta is a comedy team, I guess. It started in college - Joe and I did a lot of improv, theater, and stand up at Gonzaga University. Because he was majoring in Broadcasting, Joe had to produce content for the campus TV station and that became our excuse to put our comedy on video. We threw the videos up on a website in 2005 so our families back at home could easily view what we were making.

Could you tell us a little about each of you and your backgrounds?

Our backgrounds are fairly similar, and I'm afraid the answer to this question is going to be very boring. I'd like to tell you we're from opposite sides of the tracks with two very different philosophies on life and comedy, but it's really not the case. Joe is from Columbia Falls, Montana. The guy is a gifted, gifted athlete (he can do a backflip!) and really got into the whole comedy/improv thing in college. His broadcasting background has given us access to a lot of nice equipment, and has also proved invaluable in the edit bay. I'm from Eagle, Idaho, and not as gifted athletically (I can do a cartwheel!). I got more into theater and writing in high school. I graduated in May with a degree in Theater Arts and History.

How did your recent NBC deal come about, what does it involve, and what will this mean for Barats and Bereta?

It means good things for Barats and Bereta. The NBC deal came about because of the exposure we've gotten on the web - YouTube, in particular. It seems a lot of YouTube folks are getting gobbled up at the moment, and I guess it was just our turn. For the next year we'll be developing a series with NBC and if things go well a pilot will come out of it. We'll continue to post videos on the web as often as we can, though.