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Uncanny!
Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Getty, Peacock
In a move that takes the words “NPR Tiny Desk” to a new and literal level, Mike Judge’s next animated series is a public-radio parody performed by stop-motion puppets. Created by Silicon Valley’s Zach Woods and Brandon Gardner, In the Know is a satire about NPR’s fictional “third-most-popular host” Lauren Caspian, “a well-meaning, hypocritical nimrod, just like you and me,” who is also a sweater-vest-wearing, bespectacled little puppet man. Woods inherently gives off a marionette-master vibe (something about long fingers?), so this is the perfect marriage of artist and medium. What took him so long?
“We love public radio. It’s so engaging and comforting. But public radio also reflects aspects of ourselves that we’re embarrassed by,” Woods and Gardner said in a joint statement. “Our conflicted feelings about public radio reflect our personal ambivalence. We are privileged, well-intentioned, guilty hypocrites. We’re extremely self-conscious but barely self-aware. We buy expensive, ethically sourced dog treats and have them delivered to our door by people who are penalized for bathroom breaks. We put ‘No Justice, No Peace’ signs next to our home-security lawn decals. We’re sanctimonious doofuses who don’t get made fun of enough.”
“Which is why we created a show set in an NPR studio with a host who is, sadly, an only slightly exaggerated version of ourselves,” the statement continued. “And we wanted him to do interesting, funny interviews with a far-flung array of real-world guests.” In contrast to the stop-motion workplace comedy, the real-world celebrity guests will conduct their sides of the interviews in live-action Space Ghost Coast to Coast style.
In a new trailer, we get a look at Lauren’s ridiculous interview style. He calls Mike Tyson “Michael Tyson,” asks Hugh Laurie, “What should we do about Meghan Markle?,” and tells a baffled Jonathan Van Ness that he’s a sapiosexual who “once got an erection by reading Plato’s ‘The Cave.’” Other guests include Finn Wolfhard, Kaia Gerber, Ken Burns, Jorge Masvisdal, Norah Jones, Nicole Byer, Roxane Gay, and Tegan and Sara, to whom he poses the question, “My girlfriend, who is also named Lauren, looks like me. Does that make me an honorary twin lesbian?”
Also executive-produced by The Office’s Greg Daniels, Peacock’s first foray into adult animation will premiere on January 25, 2024. Besides Woods as Lauren, the ensemble will be rounded out by Judge, J. Smith-Cameron, Carl Tart, Caitlin Reilly, and Charlie Bushnell. Peacock has given Vulture a first look at these Anomalisa-esque puppet people.
Photo-Illustration: Peacock
Photo-Illustration: Peacock
Photo-Illustration: Peacock
Photo-Illustration: Peacock
Photo-Illustration: Peacock
Photo-Illustration: Peacock
This post has been updated.
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