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(And who could possibly forget aboutChiijohn, the hunkiest otter in the eastern hemisphere?)
Youve spokenin the pastabout how youve wantedLast Week Tonightto have aMuppet Showquality to it.
Tim Carvell [Last Week Tonights showrunner] and I were both huge fans of the Muppetsgrowing up.
They were big comedic influences on us.
I still think that the Muppetsare spectacular.
Its interesting watching little clips of them now.
I have a 2-year-old and 5-year-old, and Ive wondered what they think about them.
They seem to really like the Swedish Chef.
The Swedish Chef is still funny!
Its classic, wordless comedy.
I always loved it.
In our first season, we did a verySesame Streetstyle songat the end of an episode about prisons.
In doing that, we began to think that we could execute segments at a bigger level.
We could get good puppets and mascots made.
Bob Balaban makes most of our puppets.
Wait, not Bob Balaban.
Once we realized what was possible, that opened up the way that we thought about using mascots.
How do you and your writers know when its effective to include a mascot in a segment?
Do you write with certain guidelines in mind?Not really, but we dont want to overdo it.
We want it to be motivated each time.
We made Jeff the Diseased Lung in a Cowboy Hat.
We made it to fuck with Marlboro.
That was pretty cleanly motivated in the body of the story.
We felt bringing that mascot to life would be fun.
Can you tell me how much an average mascot costs?No!
Youre basically asking me to cancel myself.
If HBO ever finds out how much we spent on this stuff, were toast.
Theyre never going to find out that number.
Ill take that to my grave.
Im not even going to whisper that into someones ear when I die.
Theres one mascot most people havent even seen.
Its onscreen for a second and a half.
I think it was worth it.
But someone looking at our line budget might quibble with that interpretation.
We didnt rent it, we made it.
Who would have a life-size cockroach costume?
Stevie Nicks famously has aclimate-controlled shawl room.
The guy whos in most of our mascots,Noel MacNeal, is incredible.
He was the star ofBear in the Big Blue House.You might be able to recognize his voice.
Hes so, so great at bringing these mascots to life.
There have been many, many times where Ive forgotten Noel is inside the thing that Im talking to.
Partly because when youre inside it, you cant see it, so it loses its charm.
The joy of them for me is as a viewer and not a participant.
But also, I think Id be bad at it.
Good puppeteers are incredible.
Theres a lot ofOh, how hard can that be?ideology when it comes to puppeteering.
Getting to talk to the real thing is an absolute dream come true when it happens.
Im much happier at looking.
Have you encouraged your fellow late-night cohorts to also embrace mascots?
I texted him and said, All right, theres this mascot and were shooting something.
Itll take 15 minutes and you could do it after your rehearsal!
I knew the only way to get Seth to help was telling him that it was practical.
They were in character thewholeday.
you’re able to talk to them, but they wont respond.
Theyre the Daniel Day-Lewis of mascot-teers.
Its the method technique.
Seth left as creeped out as he was charmed.
It represented a story that took years to unfold, and it was incredibly frustrating.
We did this piece aboutcoal,and the CEO, Bob Murray, sued us.
That lawsuit took years for us to get out from under.
He tried to silence so many people.
To me, the opposite of silence was a Broadway musical with us telling Bob to go fuck himself.
Having Mr. Nutterbutter attached to that memory is very important.
But also, as a mascot, hes spectacular.
His mouth opens and his head turns.
Theres so much that Noel can do in there.
I cant look at that squirrel without laughing.
It was a real problem.
There are certain things Muppets do that I find enjoyable and keep giving me increasing returns.
One is the penguins.
You know when the penguins opentheir mouthswhen they laugh?
I cant handle the squirrel movements.
It wouldve been a statement.
Im not sure I wouldve wanted to put Noel or even the costume in that situation.
I think you know how we feel.
