Kevin Fredericks appeared on CBS Mornings to discuss his new book Successful Failure: Lessons Learned Flat on My Face.
In the conversation, Fredericks explained how his setbacks—including being fired from a banking job—ended up guiding him toward a more authentic and fulfilling career in comedy and creative work.
He emphasized the importance of reframing failure as a stepping stone rather than a dead end, sharing that vulnerability and honesty about mistakes can create deeper connections with others.
Fredericks encouraged viewers to embrace missteps as opportunities for growth, stressing that resilience, reinvention, and authenticity have been key to his personal and professional journey.
KevOnStage: Fredericks launched his own streaming app, KevOnStage Studios, featuring shows starring him and other All Def alumni. The service has already built up a nice collection of original, for-us-by-us programming. Real Comedians Challenge Show is the flagship program, with Fredericks and comedians Tony Baker, Angel Laketa Moore and Tahir Moore (no relation) engaging in various challenges — painting, songwriting, applying makeup on somebody, etc. — talking trash to each other until one of them is victorious at the end.
There are also other shows, such as Black People Don’t Do Improv, a bare-bones improv game show; Explain This, where Fredericks and Tahir Moore sharpen their roasting skills by doing deep dives on comedians’ old photos; and Black Card Off Layaway, with African American comic Keysha E. engaging in foreign-to-her, Black activities like playing spades and making potato salad.
Fredericks also has a heavy, social-media following, with his 1.3 million followers on Instagram usually ready for all the viral-video commentaries and other funny clips he drops on the page. With the fan base he has online, it explains why several of the cities on his tour, which also features Tahir Moore and Angel Laketa Moore, have already sold out. The Friday and Saturday shows he’ll be doing at the Improv this weekend are full.
