My favorite fictitious law enforcement officials are back for season five on Comedy Central. The half-hour comedy debuted January 16 and is the brainchild of “Viva Variety” and “The State” alums, Robert Ben Garant, Kerri Kenney-Silver and Thomas Lennon, all of whom star in the series.
Carlos Alazraqui (2nd L), Robert Ben Garant (2nd R) and Thomas Lennon (R) - EPA/JOSHUA GATES WEISBERG
The trio is part of an ensemble crew of sick and wrong cops whose foibles run the gamut from narcissism and seething rage to passive-aggressive taunting. "Reno 911!" is a narrative comedy that spoofs the (mis)adventures and relationships of a local Reno, Nevada precinct.
Along with Garant, Kenney-Silver and Lennon on the "Reno 911!" beat are Carlos Alazraqui, Mary Birdsong, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Niecy Nash and Cedric Yarbrough.
The debut episode featured stand-up comic Nick Swardson as re-occurring regular cast member Terry who is in full denial mode over his sexuality, aided by guest-star Christina Applegate.
A bonus this season is the "Reno 911!" site on comedycentral.com will include new content, featuring original videos, a new game and previews and highlights
Monsters and Critics had a chance to speak to Robert Ben Garant regarding his character Travis Junior and the new season.
Is your show the Holy Grail for stand-ups wanting a crack at a guest appearance?
RBG-You know, the show has become really popular with a lot of celebrities, but yeah in comedy, Tom, Kerry and I came up together in Improv situations, and we love working with Nick (Swardson) Patton (Oswalt) and others. They get total room to improvise, and Nick came up with Terry all on his own, the skates, his look, he came up with all of that and we went with it.
How do you keep from cracking up constantly?
RBG-Well [laughs] we really don’t, we are lucky we edit our stuff, and let me tell you those mustaches that Carlos (Alazraqui), Tom (Lennon) and my character Travis have? Well Carlos is the worst, the mustaches help and can hide the fact your upper lip is about to go. And whenever Tom (Dangle) and I are in frame and looking around a crime scene - you'll notice we do that a lot – we are laughing or trying not to.
How did you meet Thomas Lennon (Dangle)?
RBG-Tom did the lights during New Group in ‘88, which became ‘The State’ – the next show and he was in it, we’ve worked together since 1988.
After ‘The State’ was up Tom and I did ‘Viva Variety’ with Kerry (Kennedy-Silver).
By the way, Tom doesn’t own a pair of shorts. In real life he thinks shorts are hilarious and that adult men should never wear them. We could be on a beach in Miami and he will wearing creased jeans and a long-sleeved jacket.
Your wife is a civilian; does she ever get annoyed with your comedy entourage?
RBG-Oh yeah, we can be the most annoying people in the world. She is just finishing culinary school, but yeah, she tires of all the silly noises and voices and all.
Did you connect with George Lopez on "Balls of Fury"?
RBG- Yes, he was awesome in that, and we talked about him taking on a character for Reno, he wanted to go dark with it, opposite of his network comedy stuff, really push it. He watches ‘Reno’ and is a fan, and he is such a nice guy; his stand up is unbelievable too.
George will play the corrupt mayor of Reno, completely awash in scandal. There is a dark streak in him.
A lot of people come on the show to get to show how evil and twisted they are, instead of the watered down stuff they are offered on network.
Are you guys left alone regarding censorship?
RBG-Yeah well they know us really well now. We have worked with Jim Sharp – the executive in charge for over 15 years, since ‘The State’.
They know what they are going to get with us, just how gross we will push it. We’re comedy pros, we know how far to take it. And Comedy Central is a great place for us and a great place to work. ‘South Park’ trailblazed the way for us, they were unique and bold and helped us to emulate pushing the comedy boundaries.
Who inspired you personally for comedy?
RBG-For gags, Buster Keaton, hands down, Junior’s dash camera gags are pure Keaton inspiration. All of us, Tom and I just loved Monty Python growing up. We pace the show similarly, and in a weird sense, Tom is the Basil Fawlty of Reno.
He’s the John Cleese of ‘Reno 911!’ with his slow, simmering breakdowns.
I also love Steve Martin LP’s and obviously his smart guy routine, he is classic.
You’re from Tennessee, any good barbecue here for you in LA?
RBG-Good God no, there is no good barbecue in Los Angeles. Not even close. When I want to have some good barbecue and when I am back there I will go to the (Charles Vergo’s) Rendevous in Memphis.
How long will you keep Reno 911! going?
RBG- ‘Reno 911!’ is still pretty fun to do, I think our last season just hit its stride, we are really enjoying where it is right now. We’ve figured out the easiest way to shoot, our crew is a well-oiled machine like Patton’s third army, they’re fast and they know the gig.
The show has been on long enough to attract lots of great guest stars, a lot of interesting people want to do the show, they’re finding us and we’ll keep on doing it.
Our show is liquid, the flavor changes every few minutes and I really enjoy it.
Do you spend time in the real Reno and interact with any of the police?
RBG-I go with my DP and camera man Joe Kessler to shoot Reno skylines and stuff on the strip, we get lots of exterior shots and new stuff for each season. We shoot the show in Los Angeles.
The last time I was in Reno a bunch of cops were waiting for us in the airport and as I was walking down the terminal towards them, they all stopped me and shook my hand and told me how much our show saying we put their town on the map.
They also said it was the most realistic cop show on the air, one guy tells me, ‘It’s like you have a microphone in our briefing room!’
I think Tom (Lennon) was in the Reno homecoming parade last year too.
What is one of the funnier scenes you shot for the new season we can look forward to?
RBG-Chris Tallman, who plays one of my favorite characters, Gary the Klansman, is going to help me build a wall between Mexico and the US. He cracks me up to no end.
Toby Huss plays one of my favorites too, he has some great scenes this coming season. Christina Applegate also was very funny in the premiere; Nick (Swardson) did that whole scene as improve when they were explaining to Dangle and Wiegel about the pregnancy. His character Terry will have some great season five moments too.
Reno 911! on Comedy Central Wednesday, 10:30p/9:30c
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