What if you discovered a mushroom that could cureanything?
How are you feeling about the shows new cultural context?
Steve Hely:Well, it was a little shocking.
© Adult Swim
That event was deeply upsetting, of course.
But I guess its cool that were hitting on something thats feeling relevant.
io9: Marshall is a pretty unconventional hero.
© Adult Swim
What informed his backstory and his appearance?
Joe Bennett:He was based on a big bag of different characters.
Its a guy thats a little unhinged, a little sloppy, very confident, very smart.
© Adult Swim
He would always represent himself in court.
I like that Marshalls a pacifist.
Hes got his own philosophies or ideologies that he knows are a little bit in the minority.
© Adult Swim
io9: Do you think thats why Frances takes such an interest in helping him out?
And then Frances is wrestling with what her place is in this world and what she really believes.
io9: There are a lot of villains on the showdrug manufacturers, insurance companies, shadowy government operatives.
© Adult Swim
Which do you think is the top of the pyramid in terms of being the absolute worst?
Hely:We always kind of thought about it liketheres no human villain.
Its more the system.
Theyre just people who are caught in a system thats beyond all of our control.
We talked to all kinds of people with different perspectives.
We talked to a retired DEA agent and we talked to pharmaceutical people.
And we charge a lot because thats how we fund the next invention.
And arent you happy that we have Advil and penicillin and covid vaccines and stuff?
you’ve got the option to see it from their point of view.
We tried not to make any one person a Voldemort or whatever, but rather make them multi-dimensional.
Theyre also super quirkywhy did you want to lean into them as comic relief?
Hely:A lot of that job is, youre sitting there waiting or staking out a place.
Theres just a lot of time to kill.
Theres a lot of topics that they just kind of throw out or whatever.
And then at the end of the day, theyre real people.
This is their job, but they have their own wants and needs.
We just tried to make [them] more than one-dimensional characters as [much as] possible.
Why was it the right place for your show?
The tones can be a little more subdued sometimes.
Its exciting and fun that they want to expand what Adult Swim might mean.
Hely:There is a lot we dont know about mushrooms.
Mushrooms are extremely weird, and I think weve barely begun to understand what all they do.
There are some that are delicious.
So it seems not totally insane to have one that could act sort of like a stem cell therapy.
Did you have certain performers in mind for the characters?
We love Martha Kelly [who plays Harrington].
And a lot of the people, we just grabbed.
Some of the voices are me and Joe.
What we were going for was making them sound real.
You want whatever voice is correct for embodying the character.
… All our coaching or directing was like, do it, like, no acting.
Its hard for pro actors, especially when theyre alone in a recording booth, to get there.
Bennett:I feel fine about it.
Its going to have a future.
Im not worried about it.
And you know, doors will open.
[They] always [have].
I feel like [theyll] continue to do that if I just dont dwell on the negatives.
I have a go at put my head down and blinders on and just make things that are fun.
But yes, theres more story to tell for sure.
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