The IN THE KNOW Cast Previews the Peacock Hybrid Animation Series: ‘The Script Was the Funniest Thing I’ve Ever Read’

The new Peacock series IN THE KNOW comedy follows the behind-the-scenes antics of NPR’s third-most popular show—also called IN THE KNOW—hosted by Lauren Caspian (voiced by co-creator Zach Woods). But the Peacock series has a twist: It’s a hybrid animated series—with Lauren and his staff taking the form of stop-motion puppets, while the interviews he conducts are with real-life (and live-action) notable guests like Hugh Laurie, Ken Burns, Finn Wolfhard, Tegan and Sara, and Nicole Byer. (All six episodes bow Thursday, January 25 on the streamer.)

It’s an ambitious series—one that’s hard to describe properly, especially in the earliest of stages. “They must have pitched it was going to be puppets,” J. Smith-Cameron, who voices Barb, the overburdened co-executive producer of the fictional NPR show IN THE KNOW, tells Give Me My Remote in the video below. “But I was more just reacting to the script because that was something that was there that I could latch on to; I thought the script was really funny…it wasn’t until we saw them, which was after we’ve done most of our work, that we got a sense of what [the stop-motion puppets] were like.”

“The script was the funniest thing I’ve ever read,” adds Caitlin Reilly, who voices Fabian, ITK’s researcher/fact checker. “And the way that Zach and [co-creator] Brandon [Gardner] explained the characters to me, and to us, I’m sure, were spot on. And..the recording process was very collaborative and it was very much, you know, our own performances…[but] there weren’t a lot of changes—they had a very clear vision.”

“We read the scenes, and right off the bat, I just was like, ‘I need to be a part of this’ because we were just laughing hysterically in that Zoom meeting,” recalls Charlie Bushnell, who voices intern Chase. “Chase, he’s like a frat bro, but I think he’s a sweetheart as well…he has a heart of gold.”

(Carl Tart, who voices Carl, a sound engineer, meanwhile, jokes that he was lured in under false pretenses: “They told me I would be joining the cast of SUCCESSION,” affectionately giving a nod to Smith-Cameron’s last role.)

Though the series is high-concept, working together in the booth to record their parts helped solidify what the show could be.

“We got into the studio and we were all together,” Bushnell says. “I’m so glad we were…we were just bouncing off each other and just having the time of our lives.”

Working with each other—especially for the characters who become a bit more entangled —was a vital part of the experience. “That developed a chemistry between us that I think really comes across even in these animated characters,” Tart adds. “I think that’s important to do. I think that’s a model [of recording that] doesn’t get done very often; I’m sure other shows do it. But I think what it lent to was a…chemistry building…and a playfulness and a freedom that…you can’t [get in] a lot of animation. Because a lot of times your stuff is kind of already developed when you go in; you’re just putting your voice into what’s already been animated and drawn because it takes so long.”

On-screen, things are a little less smooth for the staff. “I love Fabian’s inquisitiveness for the right thing,” Reilly says with a laugh. “I think that she tries really hard to do…. good. But then, in turn, creates more chaos. She’s definitely a social justice warrior. But..there’s something very human about her where I think at the end of the day, we’re all just trying to get by. I think her and Lauren share a couple tender moments where it’s like we’re human, and we’re messed up, and that’s okay. And it’s exhausting trying to be a good person.”

For Chase, “he’ll just come into work and just talk about all these crazy experiences he has—even though it’s not technically work-appropriate talk,” Bushnell adds, praising how “unapologetically himself” the layered character is. “I love Chase, I think we can all maybe learn a thing or two from him.”

And they all have to navigate the well-meaning, but often clueless, host Lauren Caspian…and somehow get the show on the air. “Lauren is everyone’s biggest headache,” Smith-Cameron previews. “But I think [the problem for] Barb [is] just getting them on air is sometimes—just start[ing] the show is such an effort. And then it shifts to being another kind of aggravation where Barb and Carl are in the booth going, ‘Oh my God, oh my God, what are they doing?’”

“We are the voices of reason in this crazy workplace, even though we all still both have our own problems too—not to speak for J, but her character is dealing with something so crazy and she’s still got to deal with all these people and she’s such a nice person,” Tart adds with a laugh. “[But] we kind of take solace in each other and see each other for like, ‘Hey, this is crazy, right? Like, we can talk about this, because it doesn’t feel like [there’s] anybody else we can talk about this with.’ And I think that’s cool.”

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IN THE KNOW, Series Premiere, Thursday, January 25, Peacock

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