1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,430 BRITTANY JONES-COOPER: Last time I saw you on the screen 2 00:00:02,430 --> 00:00:03,253 was in "Sunnyside." 3 00:00:03,253 --> 00:00:04,620 I watched the whole first season of that. 4 00:00:04,620 --> 00:00:05,420 KAL PENN: Thank you. 5 00:00:05,420 --> 00:00:07,253 BRITTANY JONES-COOPER: I know you co-created that show. 6 00:00:07,253 --> 00:00:08,460 And it's no longer on the air, but I 7 00:00:08,460 --> 00:00:10,230 know that was a big endeavor for you 8 00:00:10,230 --> 00:00:12,280 to co-create something and star in it. 9 00:00:12,280 --> 00:00:14,520 So I want to know on the backside of it, just 10 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:15,660 what was that experience like? 11 00:00:15,660 --> 00:00:16,690 How did you grow in it? 12 00:00:16,690 --> 00:00:17,880 What did you learn from it? KAL PENN: Yeah. 13 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:18,880 Thank you for the question. 14 00:00:18,880 --> 00:00:20,340 So the show is-- 15 00:00:20,340 --> 00:00:23,040 the entire first season is on Hulu. 16 00:00:23,040 --> 00:00:24,750 So folks can still watch it. 17 00:00:24,750 --> 00:00:26,070 And the cast is amazing. 18 00:00:26,070 --> 00:00:27,900 They're mostly stand-up comics. 19 00:00:27,900 --> 00:00:31,770 And I co-created it with Matt Murray, who comes 20 00:00:31,770 --> 00:00:33,570 from the Mike Schur world. 21 00:00:33,570 --> 00:00:35,470 And it was awesome. 22 00:00:35,470 --> 00:00:37,560 I mean, it was an idea that I had initially had, 23 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:38,370 like, five years ago. 24 00:00:38,370 --> 00:00:41,760 And then Matt and I collaborated into its current form. 25 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:44,430 We hired the most diverse writers room, 26 00:00:44,430 --> 00:00:47,220 my understanding is, in the history of Hollywood, 27 00:00:47,220 --> 00:00:49,240 the most diverse cast on network TV, 28 00:00:49,240 --> 00:00:51,930 I mean, things that we're deeply, deeply proud of. 29 00:00:51,930 --> 00:00:54,040 But that also, I think, gave us really interesting, 30 00:00:54,040 --> 00:00:54,840 fun plot lines. 31 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:55,863 So it's a story about-- 32 00:00:55,863 --> 00:00:57,330 essentially it's about a group of immigrants 33 00:00:57,330 --> 00:00:58,800 living in Sunnyside, Queens. 34 00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:01,980 And I play a dysfunctional city councilman 35 00:01:01,980 --> 00:01:04,560 who got kicked out of office for being drunk 36 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:05,970 and trying to bribe a cop. 37 00:01:05,970 --> 00:01:07,920 So it's sort of those-- like, those worlds 38 00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:08,890 all coming into one. 39 00:01:08,890 --> 00:01:12,300 It's essentially the setup for this weird group of friends. 40 00:01:12,300 --> 00:01:13,620 But the fact that, you know-- 41 00:01:13,620 --> 00:01:15,930 most of the writers were either immigrants themselves 42 00:01:15,930 --> 00:01:18,390 or have immigrant family members. 43 00:01:18,390 --> 00:01:19,470 The cast is very diverse. 44 00:01:19,470 --> 00:01:20,970 And it was all cast organically, right? 45 00:01:20,970 --> 00:01:24,600 Like, we wanted to go for the best actor, period. 46 00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:27,460 All of which is to say that between the improv 47 00:01:27,460 --> 00:01:29,220 and the writing skills that people had, 48 00:01:29,220 --> 00:01:30,810 it was a really, really fun season. 49 00:01:30,810 --> 00:01:32,430 So I'm glad it's going to live on Hulu. 50 00:01:32,430 --> 00:01:34,397 And I would love to do something like that all over again. 51 00:01:34,397 --> 00:01:36,163 BRITTANY JONES-COOPER: Yeah, the jokes and the pacing 52 00:01:36,163 --> 00:01:37,810 on this show were just really-- 53 00:01:37,810 --> 00:01:39,760 you-- you almost had to-- you had to pay attention. 54 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:39,900 KAL PENN: Yeah. 55 00:01:39,900 --> 00:01:41,350 You have to pay attention or watch it again, yeah. 56 00:01:41,350 --> 00:01:41,950 [LAUGHING] 57 00:01:41,950 --> 00:01:43,283 BRITTANY JONES-COOPER: Yeah, absolutely. 58 00:01:43,283 --> 00:01:45,900 [THEME MUSIC PLAYING] 59 00:01:45,900 --> 00:01:49,000