Interviewing the Childrens Hospital cast is always a mixed bag. On the one hand, they're hilarious and friendly people. On the other, what do you ask the actors on a 15-minute series that laughs in the face of continuity? Nevertheless, it was a blast chatting with Megan Mullally, Ken Marino, Lake Bell, Erinn Hayes, and Malin Akerman at Comic-Con Friday. Here are a few of their largely irreverent musings.
On theme episodes…
"I think next season's going to be all theme episodes, practically, from what I'm hearing." – Mullally
"What they do every season is they try to do maybe one-third episodes like that, where they kind of break away from the format." – Marino
On the lack of continuity…
"Rob has specifically said that he doesn't want any continuity whatsoever. So he doesn't want—if there's a passionate love affair between two characters in one episode, he doesn't want them to have anything to do with each other in the next episode." – Mullally
"But I think they are going to try to go deeper into the characters, even though the mythology of this world is—if you have a relationship with somebody in the last episode, it's irrelevant." – Marino
On what's left on the cutting room floor…
"The reality is, we have two days to shoot an episode, so it's pretty tight. … We don't have time to shoot an extensive amount of material. We shoot what's on the page. We play within that a bit. And then we have to move on." – Marino
On the possibility of a Party Down movie…
"We don't know. It's not 100 percent, but it's looking very good." – Mullally
"According to the powers that be, they said they're confident that it's going to happen. But until it actually—until we're on the set…" – Marino
On Rob Corddry's talent…
"I would do a show with him in his apartment. Listen, I'd have to write up a contract, but I would do, like, streetmosphere out with him on the street, if he wanted to do it." – Hayes
On pitching to the writers…
"Well, I pitched a musical version—I don't think it's going to happen—but it's just basically the instrumental break of a musical. So nobody's actually singing." – Marino
"I pitched something for next season, where [Akerman's character Valerie] consoles me but it's really Jon Hamm wearing a wig. And then we have to make out. I pitched it." – Hayes
On being dirty…
"It's very easy to go to penis jokes for me. And I'll go there." – Marino
"I have two small children so I have to go home and do bedtime stuff. And then masturbate. And then I like to enjoy a glass of wine." – Hayes
A Party Down movie?! So exciting! Except I thought that about the Arrested Development movie about 4 years ago...