The Fourth Wall

Adult Swim has been the home for many influential pieces of alternative comedy, but Childrens Hospital is a series that helped the fledgling network establish their brand. The Dadaist comedy helped bring live-action to the programming block as well as an enviable cast and crew of comedic talent.Childrens Hospital was a jewel in Adult Swim’s line-up for the seven seasons that it ran. However, the series has decided to gloriously return in the form of a police procedural parody series on Netflix, Medical Police. Medical Police retains the absurdity of Childrens Hospital, but gives it a glossy action makeover and makes Drs. Owen Maestro (Rob Huebel) and Lola Spratt (Erinn Hayes) the series’ driving forces. The result is one of Netflix’s silliest series in ages and a very worthy follow-up to Childrens Hospital.We got the opportunity to talk with Rob Huebel and Erinn Hayes about their return to the characters Owen Maestro and Lola Spratt, how Medical Police differs from Childrens Hospital, and their favorite moments from subverting action tropes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Writing the score for an adult animated comic-based property like Harley Quinn is probably far from the typical experience for a composer, but Jefferson Friedman is equal to the task. Having already scored for DC's short-lived live action comedy, Powerless, Friedman knows his way around this particular universe. He's also composing music for NBC's New Amsterdam, which couldn't be more opposite to Harley Quinn, but even there Friedman finds some similarities that he shares with us. He also talks about the process he uses to create the different themes and how he got an opportunity to actually create new music for the DC Universe logo animation in addition to the score of one of its most successful animated properties, Harley Quinn, which just aired its second episode as of this podcast publication. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The best superheroes in comics lore have inspired readers for decades, so it should come as no surprise that when Disney+ launches its streaming service with plenty of new and existing Marvel content, it will seek to lift our hearts with stories of real life heroes in Marvel’s Hero Project. This non-fiction series will tell the stories of kids who have overcome adversity to make a difference in their communities and become their own kind of superhero to those around them. We spoke with executive producers Sarah Amos and Stephen Wacker about the new feel-good docuseries premiering on November 12, 2019. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ben Smith is no stranger to Jason Bourne and his associated movie adaptations from the Robert Ludlum novels, having produced a number of the theatrical versions of the tale of sleeper assassins. Now, along with Universal Content Productions, he is presenting a prequel of sorts on television in the form of Treadstone, coming to the USA Network on October 15, 2019. The TV series will explore the origins of the black ops initiative that turned ordinary people into deadly assassins that could be activated at any time. With storylines taking place in the 70s as well as in modern times, Treadstone appears poised to give us an action-packed international romp worth of Ludlum and (ahem) the Bourne legacy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Schwartz has given us some of the most memorable television themes in modern times, from his very first gig as the composer for Northern Exposure with its signature creole sound to the final seasons of The Good Place and Veep in coming months. Schwartz spoke to us about the unlikely start of his career and the twists and turns along the way, including an interesting story about how a trip to Bora Bora led to the very distinctive opening music for Arrested Development. We gain a bit of insight into how Schwartz puts together a unique combination of instruments for his themes and why having producers that have musical talent themselves can be a blessing and a curse in his profession. The Good Place season 4 begins on September 26, 2019. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It takes a special kind of stunt coordinator to manage a show like Cobra Kai, in which the fight choreography is central to the story. That's where married couple and professional pairing Hiro Koda and Jahnel Curfman come in. The design duo has been nominated for their work on season 2 of Cobra Kai, and they spoke to us about how they coordinate such a large number of sequences for a single show. Koda was also the stunt coordinator for season 3 of Strangers Things and Ozark, and Curfman worked on the sets of Venom and Avatar and served as the stunt double for Sandra Bullock in Birdbox as well as for Karen Gillan in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and the upcoming Jumanji: The Next Level. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After Moon garnered praise at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, director Duncan Jones won a BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Director, and the science fiction story starring Sam Rockwell quickly became a modern classic. Now, upon the tenth anniversary of the movie’s release, new viewers and established fans alike can enjoy the story of a lone astronaut in the final stretch of his three-year contract mining the lunar surface in a special 4K Ultra HD release available as of July 16, 2019. We spoke to Jones about what new things might pop off the screen in this high definition version of his first film. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sometimes it can be a thankless task to be part of the comedy duo in any Power Rangers iteration, but Kristina Ho has taken the role of Betty Burke and turned it into a fan favorite character that brings an undeniable energy to the show as Hasbro takes over the franchise. The episode of the podcast is the first of a two-part visit with the cast of Power Rangers Beast Morphers conducted by our resident expert, Shamus Kelley. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kevin Heffernan and Steve Lemme are best known for their work with the Broken Lizard comedy troupe, the group responsible for a string of comedy films in the 2000s, like the first Super Troopers and Beerfest, that shaped American comedic sensibilities at the movies for a decade. With their original truTV series Tacoma FD, however, Heffernan and Lemme wanted to do something a little different. The show premiered in late March and gradually gained a niche following that has resulted in some pretty good ratings for the network. Ahead of the season finale next Thursday, the longtime friends and collaborators spoke to Den of Geek about the inspiration for the series, its surprisingly familial themes, and more for The Fourth Wall podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Catherine Hardwicke may be known for directing of movies like Twilight and Thirteen, but her recent remake of action thriller Miss Bala is notable for the reframing of its female protagonist for a modern audience. Kayti Burt spoke with Hardwicke about the home entertainment release of Miss Bala, adapting a Spanish-language movie for English-speaking audiences, and her experiences as a woman director among male peers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our interview with Emmy-nominated production designer Drew Boughton is a true example of The Fourth Wall's mission: to allow creative people to talk directly to our audience in a voice that's not always heard. What does a production designer do? How did Boughton create the looks for the various cultures represented in the alternate 1960s history of The Man in the High Castle? We got some great insight into how a set goes from drawing to construction in this episode of the podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ultraman has a rich history in Japan spanning decades, so it will take special skill to unify the many incarnations of the hero into cohesive transmedia universe. Jeff Gomez, CEO of Starlight Runner Entertainment, is equal to the task, and he spoke to our Tokusatsu expert, Shamus Kelley, about how his company accomplishes the task of building a mythology, not only for Ultraman, but also properties like Avatar, Spider-Man, Men in Black, and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Murr" from Impractical Jokers is also James S. Murray, noted horror thriller author. His debut novel Awakened just came out in the summer of 2018, and he's here to talk about its origins and inspiration and about the coming trilogy, which continues with book 2, The Brink, in summer 2019. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.