Moonbeam City Creator Scott Gairdner Aims for Giddy Pointlessness with Rob Lowe Led Series; Scores That and More

Comedy Central’s new animated series Moonbeam City is described as many things–visually stunning, absurdist, retro-futuristic, 80’s inspired, neon soaked, a Duran Duran album cover come to life, smart, and packed with laughs.

It’s also an absolute blast to watch each week, and that’s what creator, showrunner and executive producer Scott Gairdner wants you to take away from the series. “That’s the main idea,” he said. “With all of the details of what it is, and what it’s trying to accomplish aesthetically or comedically it’s just supposed to be a bunch of fun for a while.” Gairdner says “giddy pointlessness” is the area he strives for in his comedy, adding that he doesn’t want to proclaim himself a satirist.

What makes it so fun are exaggerated 80’s caricatures, theme restaurants with names like Arrest-arant and Trapezios with themed wait-staffs,  a hero who falls in love with a dolphin,  evil ‘strike animations’ at the bowling alley, a self-indulgent nemesis, splashy cars, flashy shopping malls, a show within the show called Crime Zappers, punny criminals, a dream cast and crew ready to go over the top at any moment, and an unending list of guest stars playing absurdist characters in outlandish situations.

But seeking out “giddy pointlessness” doesn’t mean the series doesn’t also have something to say. The show follows Dazzle Novak voiced by Rob Lowe. He’s a handsome, idiotic detective who has sex all of the time, and commits more crimes than many of Moonbeam City’s criminals. His sexy chief of police Pizzaz Miller, and obnoxious immature rival Rad Cunningham cause havoc of their own in gorgeous Moonbeam City and its environs, with officer Chrysalis Tate providing some of morality among the crew.

And as you can imagine, that world is rife with opportunities to take on plenty of topical issues, and while Gardiner prefers to steer clear of them himself, he says he’s delighted that the other writers on the series explore those areas. “I like that you don’t know what to expect each week.” He’s especially excited about tonight’s episode, Cop Con, written by Ryan Perez. “He’s a lot more able to weave actual themes and topics into this scripts than I am,” Scott said. “It deals with police brutality in an interesting way. It’s sort of about the idea that all the cops leave to have this raucous party and leave criminals to police themselves and the world becomes this idyllic paradise. Until the cops come back with all of their new violent weapons.”

The characters inhabit a gorgeous painted neon 80’s futuristic world brought to life by Titmouse Productions, and that universe is populated by a memorable cast of characters, played by some very familiar names. Scott says the casting was a dream come true and it all started when they decided to be bold in casting lead character Dazzle Novak.  “Rob Lowe was the list,” he said making it clear that they didn’t plan on second or third choices. “That’s the standard of the kind of performer we want and the kind of icon we want to play Dazzle Novak.”  If Lowe turned them down, he said, they would just  come up with a new list later.

But Gairdner said there are risks aiming so high.  “You roll the dice in casting to try to get a big name.  You don’t know if you’re going to get someone who is good in the part or just phoning it in and doesn’t really care.”  Working with Lowe has been just the opposite.  “I really think Rob Lowe is the kind of guy who if he’s in…he’s in. If he has taken the time to choose the part he is totally on board, and that’s been great for us. He came down to Comic Con and supported us and was really funny on our panel.” He said Lowe has been killing at the recording sessions too.  “He doesn’t just want to look at his lines and get out of there. he’s curious about how the whole thing is going and any way he can help promote it and get it out there.” That enthusiasm spills over to inspire the writers. “It emboldens us to write the best stuff we can for him knowing he’ll be really excited when we can show up to a recording session and say well today you’re having sex with a prison voiced by Molly Shannon and that really makes the evil prison warden Susan Sarandon furious.”

And that includes writing Rob Lowe’s sex scenes and his signature sexual catch phrase “oh-kay” which became “a thing” in the very first recording session.  “Oh-kay” may not seem like a catch phrase, but once you’ve heard the way Dazzle Novak uses the term, you understand.  There are sultry okays, angry okays, “losing your mind mid orgasm thrusting wildly” okays. Gairdner isn’t sure who came up with the term. “That was a pretty organic event,” Scott recalled. “I honestly can’t remember if I threw it out or if he started doing it…its to the sands of time now. It was just so odd the first time we heard it, but now we put it in the script.” And even though they have a full library of sex sounds, Scott said they record them new every time Dazzle has sex, which is a lot.  “We don’t have to do that but if you get the chance to make Rob Lowe simulate a bunch of sex sounds you gotta make him do it,” Gairdner said, which may be because Lowe goes all in during recording sessions which includes thrusting in the booth.  Watching Rob record is something Gairdner describes as “a real treat” for the team.  “Audiences on tv mostly see Rob Lowe in fancy designer suits, but we get to see him half-shaven in board shorts on his way to go fishing. And then just humping air in a little recording booth.”

Once Lowe said yes, they kept going after other giant names, landing Will Forte, Kate Mara and Elizabeth Banks to play the other lead characters Rad, Chrysalis and Pizzaz. “It was just a crazy time watching all of these people sign on and it absolutely changed the way we wrote the show after,” Gairdner said.  And those brilliant voices are supported by pretty impressive list of guest voices who also populate Moonbeam City. John O’Hurley plays a recurring role as the host of an over the top crime re-enactment series called Crime Zappers. Patrick Warburton voiced Chrysalis’ sea faring dad, Peter Serafinowicz plays an evil genius who creates twisted strike animations for bowling alleys and Kevin McDonald voices the cuckolded husband of one of Moonbeam City’s rich and powerful sisters.  SNL’s Kate McKinnon had a great turn as one of the sisters, Panache Miller, and Trace Adkins skyped in from Nashville to play firefighter Sizzle Conrad yelling things like “jump girls into my jacked arms” and making out with sorority girls while yelling “fire makes me hot”.

Gairdner says that the some of the best guest voices haven’t even aired yet.  “We’ve got Adam West as Dazzle’s father Razzle Novak. We have Susan Sarandon and Molly Shannon in this prison love triangle episode that’s one of the insanest things of the year. On the finale we have Rad’s parents as played by Andy Richter and Catherine O’Hara who really blew us away. ”  O’Hara was the final record of season one and one of the craziest.  “She did this insane cracked out Canadian Hillbilly voice that was as weird as anything she ever did on SCTV. She is as bizarre and full of energy as she’s ever been in her career. I can’t wait for people to see it.”

All of these characters inhabit a world detached from any real timeline or geographical space, but the 80’s influence is undeniable. The primary color palette for Moonbeam City was inspired by a type of art prevalent in nail and beauty salons of the 1980’s, gigantic malls and entertainment venues are everywhere, a laser industry in decline might remind you of the oil business,  there’s 80’s hair galore, and lightening that evokes the feeling of primetime dramas like Dynasty and Falcon Crest (and appears to come from nowhere).

Gairdner says he isn’t quite sure where his love of the decade comes from; he was born in 1985.  “The show is early 80s influence so it’s really striving for something I didn’t even get to experience. It’s like an era and an aesthetic I’m obsessed with but I missed and that’s probably why I’m obsessed,” he said.

“I was just born in the wrong era. I feel like a transgender person in terms of the time I was born. I reject the time in which I was born and (laughs) it’s a biological problem. No I think I’m a person that’s bummed out by the bland milquetoast nature of a lot of stuff here in the 2000’s and I’m obsessed with all things not just 80’s but 60’s and 70’s. I think there was a bolder more dynamic time in terms of design and architecture and music so that’s one I wish I lived.” He cites a life-long love of Disneyland, Tomorrowlands, the Monorail and Epcot Center as a possible entre to his love of the aesthetic. “The future by way of the past. That’s always a vibe I really loved. I thought, if that was a word for a really stupid tv show, Imagine how much fun that would be.”

Of course he can’t live in Moonbeam City but the Moonbeam City offices hold plenty of inspiration. Gairdner described the office. “Tommy Blacha, my co-showrunner and executive producer has ordered a lot of strange eastern European artwork or magazine foldouts of young Rob Lowe or David Hasselhoff posing next to a miniature Knight Rider car in someones back yard. A favorite piece of ours is Don Johnson in a white shirt and blazer and pants slowly emerging from the ocean soaking wet which is a tableau we’re very much wanting to copy with Dazzle at some point.” Also in the office is a poster from Runaway with Gene Simmons, Tom Selleck and some robots.  “We’ve definitely created this little den of strange 80s iconography that literally does inspire ideas for shots or moments to be odd and visually dynamic. Yeah I’m very proud of our little cave at Titmouse which hopefully we get to go turn on again soon and do a Season Two. That’s our hope,” he said. “It would be a real shame to take that wet Don Johnson poster down. That’s the main reason for Comedy Central to bring us back, don’t make us put that poster in a closet.

Watch brand new episode of Moonbeam City airs tonight at 10:30 immediately following South Park. Watch a preview below.