There’s been a lot of ink spilled about the state of TV comedies in the age of streaming. But when you talk to Denis Leary and Joel McHale, all of those hand-wringing questions about the fate of the sitcom or the future of the medium start to appear silly.
“It’s the same thing it always has been, which is you’ve got to f—king make people laugh out loud,” Leary said. “If they’re not going to laugh out loud, they’re not going to watch because there’s just too many options out there.”
Thankfully, making people laugh isn’t a problem for either Leary or McHale.
Minutes into a joint interview for TheWrap’s latest digital cover, Leary mentioned that his Fox comedy “Going Dutch” and McHale’s “Animal Control” are both available to stream on Hulu. But only “Animal Control” is on Netflix.
“They were like, ‘We’re putting yours on Netflix and not Denis,’” McHale quipped. “And I went, ‘Why?’ And they were like, ‘Just to piss him off.’ It was a weird move.”
Minutes later, Leary got him back after McHale listed his myriad of ongoing shows — Fox’s “Crime Scene Kitchen,” Peacock’s “House of Villains,” Prime Video’s “The 1% Club” and of course “Animal Control.”
“Your family does not want you around at all,” Leary joked.
“No, when I am home, there’s a lot of ‘What are you doing here?’ ” McHale said.
Based on their on-screen performances, it’s no surprise that Leary and McHale have had the long and notable careers they’ve had. First known for his work as a standup comedian, Leary was a MTV staple throughout the ‘90s before he started taking more serious roles in movies like “Demolition Man” and “Wag the Dog.” He then went on to co-create and star in FX’s comedy drama about post 9/11 firefighters “Rescue Me,” a show that netted Leary three Emmy nominations and turned him into a household name, while showcasing his unique talent for finding humor in the darkest corners of life.
As for McHale, his first major series was as the host of E!’s weekly talk show “The Soup,” a series that introduced America to his dry and bitingly sarcastic sense of humor. But it was his role as Jeff Winger on NBC’s “Community” that cemented McHale as Hollywood’s go-to when you need a sardonic leading man with a vulnerable edge. Since then, the actor’s sharp wit has been deployed in everything from baking competition shows to awards darlings like “The Bear.”
But as consistently excellent as their on screen work is, it’s only when you speak to them that you realize exactly why Leary and McHale have had the careers that they have. Both are true comedians. Repeatedly, answers to questions devolved into jokes and bits that pulled in this photo shoot’s audience of publicists, camerapeople and assistants.
“As soon as the moment when someone said ‘We’re going to pay you to perform,’ ” McHale started before Leary excitedly jumped in, finishing his thought.
“Exactly. I was like, ‘I can’t believe we’re tricking these people,’ ” Leary said.
Yet more than their love of a good joke, what cements Leary and McHale as true pros in this business is their intense respect for and appreciation of their co-stars and writers.
“These people are so talented — the people that are around us — and so funny that I do worry that next season Michael Thorn, our boss at Fox, is going to go, ‘We’re doing the show for two more seasons. We don’t need you for as many episodes,’ ” Leary said.
“Maybe they’re thinking that we won’t be alive,” McHale joked before adding that his “Animal Control” co-stars “make me look much better. Like thank God there’s funny people here.”
It’s a bit ironic that these two actors, who portray fallen men who have to learn to trust and appreciate the people around them, are both so reverent to their costars. That respect is even more notable when you consider that both “Going Dutch” and “Animal Control” feel as though they were tailor made for their leading men. In “Going Dutch,” Leary plays a strict and by-the-books colonel that’s been reassigned to America’s least important military base in the Netherlands. It’s a perfect fit for Leary’s exasperated and rant-fueled comedy while allowing for sweet moments between Leary and his on-screen daughter, played by Taylor Misiak. Danny Pudi, Laci Mosley and Hal Cumpston round out the main cast as the central unit in this fish-out-of-water military saga.
“I wanted to be a character actor once I started acting,” Leary said. “So I’m kind of in my own wheelhouse right now. I’m playing a character role — age appropriate — within a comedy. I love that. I love going to work and just laughing my ass off all day, which is what I do. That’s the dream for me.”
As for “Animal Control,” a bitter former cop-turned-animal control officer is a role that McHale could play in his sleep. But instead of a snarky one-line machine, McHale’s performance brings depth to Frank Shaw as the show details his slow self-improvement journey. Add in wacky yet sincere performances from Gerry Dee, Vella Lovell, Michael Rowland, Ravi V. Patel and Grace Palmer along with a whole lot of animals, and it’s a recipe for laughs.
“There is quite a bit of improvising, and then when the animals come in, things change,” McHale said. A good example of that happened in Season 3. During the episode in question, McHale walked into the house of a dog whisperer played by Ken Jeong, who was supposed to have four dogs sitting and staring at him until he dismissed them. But because the dogs wouldn’t sit still, the idea was abandoned.
“There was a piano in there, and Ken improvised an entire song that made it to air,” McHale recalled. The actor paused for a moment before ribbing his “Community” and “Animal Control” co-star. “As we know, as a doctor he was a murderer. So that’s all I want to say. He killed all those people.”
Even outside of disobedient dogs and a camel named Mayhem, “Animal Control” allows for a great deal of improvisation, especially during the radio conversations that happen each episode. “Going Dutch” is much the same way, with Leary predicting that about 40% of what makes it to air is improvised material and 60% comes from creator and showrunner Joel Church-Cooper and his writing staff.
“It really helps to have him there every day because he’s generating ideas off of our ideas,” Leary said. “It keeps you alive the whole time on the set, plus the main cast is really good at improvising within the reality of the scene and the characters, so you’re never bored.”
Both Leary and McHale have had the sorts of careers where they’ve been able to experience the unimaginable, whether that be starring in critically adored thrillers like “Yellowjackets” or voicing a beloved character in the “Ice Age” franchise. But there’s one medium that Leary still wants to tackle: Broadway.
“My dream is to literally do a musical one day,” Leary said. The comedian’s first experience with show business happened in high school when “a nun stuck me in musicals, and I f—king hated it. I really don’t like most musicals,” he said. His one-man show “No Cure for Cancer” was later hailed as an off-Broadway success. Now Leary has changed his tune.
“My two favorite musicals are the anti-musical ‘Spamalot,’ which is a f—king brilliant show, and ‘Book of Mormon,’ ” he said, musing that he could possibly play Sir Lancelot, a role once played by Hank Azaria or combine the two plays to make “Mormelot.” But after joking that no one wants to hear him sing, Leary dismissed the idea.
“Jesus, that’s a lot of work,” he said.
“Wait, you’re not going to do the musical because it’s too much work?” McHale asked.
“Maybe soon as my career winds down, and I have a year off. It’s not winding down,” Leary said before adding. “It’s going to wind down at some point.”
McHale was less optimistic. “My guess is — like myself — it’ll wind down when you’re dead,” he said. “I want to just keep going. Hopefully, I will step on stage sometime — then aneurysm — and then that’s that.”
“Going Dutch” and “Animal Control” air new episodes Thursdays on Fox and stream the next day on Hulu.
