In each episode, one of the hosts would take a seemingly boring topic, and try to make the other believe that it is interesting.

The idea for the podcast came from the friendship that developed when McKay and Davidson worked together on The Big Short.

McKay and Davidson would have long conversations when they would try to "out-fascinate" each other and make dull subjects seem interesting.

On April 12, 2017, Gimlet CEO Alex Blumberg announced that Surprisingly Awesome was cancelled and would be replaced by Lichtman's new show, Every Little Thing.

[2] The Guardian reviewed the show positively saying, "Three episodes in, Surprisingly Awesome has managed to live up to its name and its mission.