Rob Corddry Q&A
In a world where TV shows are cancelled faster than you can add them to your season pass list, 'Daily Show' alum Rob Corddry's arrival on TheWB.com with new buzzed-about Web series 'Childrens' Hospital' (all 10 mini-episodes premiere Monday, Dec. 8 on TheWB.com) is just what the doctor ordered.
A medical drama spoof where the doctors care more about their sex lives than their patients (ahem, 'Grey's Anatomy'!), Corddry's off-beat comedy is supported by a cast of thousands: Lake Bell, Rob Huebel, Megan Mullally, Nick Kroll, Erinn Hayes, Nate Corddry, Ed Helms, Jason Sudeikis, Ken Marino ... and more, if you can believe it.
Corddry let AOL TV peek behind the curtain, giving scoop on everything from why Web series are better than TV and how he got Hollywood's funniest actors to do his show, to his 'Arrested Development' movie idea ... and his fear of clowns. -- By Maggie Furlong
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1. The show is hilarious -- what made you decide to do a web series?
Why not? It just seemed like the best and easiest way to execute this particular idea. You can get away with a lot more, and also, there's a lot less air between having an idea and having people see it. It's a lot less micro-managed. We're not just getting away with a lot more, in terms of possibly risqué material, but just getting away with your own creative vision. You just do whatever you want, you know?
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2. How long did it take you to shoot the show's 10 short episodes?
Six days. Six 12- to 18-hour days. Luckily we're all in one location, so that helped us a lot. My producer, John Stern, is sort of a glutton for punishment -- I think he likes these kinds of challenges. [Laughs] He just likes sticking a square peg in a round hole. David Wain was the executive producer, and he did more of the creative side of the producing, and when John told David we were going to do this in six days, he laughed. [Laughs] But when you think about it, it's almost 50 minutes of material, and that's almost an hour-long show, so I think it's about right.
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3. You have such a big cast on this ...
[Laughs] We're staging a comedy coup. We're just taking this and we're barreling right into Judd Apatow's office. [Laughs] Getting schedules aligned was, of course, the hardest thing to do. And it's funny ... my brother was harder to schedule than Megan Mullaly. One of my best friends is in it for like five seconds because I couldn't nail him down. Yet I could get Jason Sudeikis. It's nuts ... it's totally nuts!
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4. How did you come up with the idea? Fear of clowns, fear of hospitals, fear of over-sexed doctors?
Yeah, it's a fear of 'Grey's Anatomy,' essentially. It's a fear of the post-Clooney 'ER.' It's a fear of hour-long dramas in general. [Laughs] But my pediatrician's office was polluted with terrifying clown pictures as a kid. You know, I don't fear clowns, yet I really don't like them, because no one takes themselves more seriously than f***ing clowns. You know what I mean? They're supposed to be, like, the ambassadors of comedy, but they just take their f***ing art so seriously. They really do believe that they can heal. That juggling you're doing in the cancer ward is probably time better spent giving the kids chemo. [Laughs] You know, laughter heals, but not as much as medicine does.
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5. But your character, Dr. Blake Downs, is a very serious clown ...
Well, Blake is not like a Patch Adams type of character, or one of these clowns from the Big Apple Circus that goes and entertains kids. You'll see this in episode 5 -- it's sort of Blake Downs' origin story -- you find out that he was just born a clown. It's not something you choose, it's something innate. Some people deny it, but he couldn't and so he's just walking through life as God made him. And it just so happens that he's a total d***. [Laughs] Some clowns are born with a sense of humor -- he's just a complete a**hole. [Laughs]
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6. And you're credited as Cutter Spindell. Explain.
Cutter Spindell, of course. He is the actor that plays Dr. Blake Downs. Episode 6 is a very special episode in which Cutter Spindell gets to write and direct a very special episode of 'Childrens' Hospital.' It's got commentary from Cutter Spindell, the actor, and David Wain, the producer. You find out that the show, sort of like 'St. Elsewhere,' is not as it appears, and it may exist in a completely different dimension entirely.
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7. What is your proudest moment or achievement with this show?
Uh, cramming Nick Kroll into childrens' feetie pajamas. That's a pretty good one I think ... pretty proud of that.
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8. Are there any 'Childrens' Hospital' promotional products? 'Childrens' Hospital' condoms perhaps? You know, for the kids
That's a super idea. No, doctors don't use condoms -- not these doctors! [Laughs] We have 'Childrens' Hospital' tongue depressors and 'Childrens' Hospital' tasers.
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9. Should we assume that you will never return to series television?
Oh my God, the way it's going now -- the way the economy is, and with the impending SAG strike -- f*** it, you're gonna see me on like that terrible celebrity dancing show. Daddy's gotta feed his family! [Laughs] I just bought a house -- I'm in the red, man. I've got nothing. I'm gonna do as much TV as they'll throw at me. That being said, though, I am working on a pilot for HBO with Paul Redford, who used to write and produce 'The West Wing.' We're gonna write the pilot this winter and see what happens -- it's loosely based on the Robert Redford movie, 'The Candidate.' It's just about the most unlikely gubernatorial candidate ever. We grew up thinking that anybody -- anybody -- can become President, and this show seeks to explain exactly how scary that idea is.
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