Venture Bros. creators Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer dish the details on the long-awaited season six!
This Venture Bros. article was first published in the Den of Geek NYCC Special Edition Magazine.
you’ve got the option to find out about that issue and everything else in itby clicking here.
This [season] is everybody stumbling around.
The Venture Bros. sixth season is finally happening and it sounds like it could be well worth the wait.
This is a show that truly pushes that expression to the limit.
Did the series feel fresh in a lot of ways?
And a side benefit is that its sort of like a weird reboot.
There are so many different factions on the show now between everything.
Did you ever think this universe would get so thorough when you began?
DOC HAMMER:No.
Did you, or no?
JACKSON PUBLICK:No, I mean not to the extent that it has.
I knew, probably both of our natural inclinations were to keep digging deeper.
DEN OF GEEK: Building more and more.
JACKSON PUBLICK:Yeah.
To keep continuity going.
We were never interested in a sitcom everything goes back to zero every episode kind of thing.
We realized we just had a lot of complex stuff to wrap up.
We just wanted to clean up.
Why dont we just paint over these not-level floors?
DOC HAMMER:But our inclination is to make this kind of storytelling.
I loved what you did with Ghost Robot in Bot Seeks Bot for instance.
I dont know, who do you got, Doc?
I love writing for them, and I also like fleshing out Shore Leave.
JACKSON PUBLICK:Well, Old Team Venture too, right?
I got a little bit in this year.
He is fascinating because he is that kind ofJohnny Questmold.
Its like playing with a toy from your childhood.
JACKSON PUBLICK:Yeah, yeah.
DOC HAMMER:With a lot of the other characters…
JACKSON PUBLICK:A Fun Toy from China.
DOC HAMMER:Like the Chinatown version of a Hulk that has a likeness chest.
JACKSON PUBLICK:Thatd be about thirty seconds long.
DOC HAMMER:Brick Frog shows up again!
JACKSON PUBLICK:You could do a day in the life of Brick Frog.
Yeah, I think it would be a pretty sad day in the life episode.
DEN OF GEEK: Oh definitely, he doesnt seem like the most noble character to begin with.
JACKSON PUBLICK:Although, he could turn it around at any time, you know?
DOC HAMMER:Yeah.
He could be like one of those great Marvel villains that becomes a good guy after awhile.
DEN OF GEEK: I could see that.
He has it in him, I think.
This season you have the Ventures headed to New York and spreading the walls of your sandbox even further.
Living there yourself, does this add anything at all to the season since its now in your backyard?
Theres so much to say about the city thats already been said.
JACKSON PUBLICK:Here and there, we manage.
So thats been a bit of a production nightmare because its such a complex place to take on.
And any time youre outside, youre like, well we need fifty extras walking around.
And oh, by the way, there are cars in New York.
Those have to be in the background, moving around, stuff like that.
Organizationally and design-wise, its been really, really hard.
DEN OF GEEK: Youve spoken about some setbacks in the production this season.
This year we just happened to hit a perfect storm.
Every season a couple of things go wrong, and you make up for it.
But this year like four departments just had the rug swept out from under them.
There were kind of too many things going wrong at once.
Its all coming out really great.
DOC HAMMER:Yeah, nobodys going to notice this, but they will notice how long it took.
Everyones just been working their asses off and that just grinds you down after awhile.
You hit other snags, and you have to take a break.
Theyve given you a lot of freedom in that respect at least, havent they?
DOC HAMMER:Yeah.
They give a shot to keep us to deadline, but theyre very forgiving.
JACKSON PUBLICK:Yeah.
It was a weird one.
It got away from us.
It was a very ambitious season.
DOC HAMMER:It looks beautiful.
We just watched some of the episodes last night.
DEN OF GEEK: Awesome.
Do you have any idea when we can expect season six?
JACKSON PUBLICK:I would say the earliest that you possibly get it on would be January.
And I certainly hope that we can put it on then.
But I havent talked to Adult Swim in an official capacity abouttheyve got to plan their scheduling.
DEN OF GEEK: Of course, its out of your hands to a degree.
JACKSON PUBLICK:But maybe well get a sweet spot!
DEN OF GEEK: Okay, so January makes sense.
Why does now feel like the right time to be getting into this sort of material?
That theres almost a destiny to people like Rusty.
He still has to live up to his past.
DOC HAMMER:We have to watch the movies first.
DEN OF GEEK: Oh my God,The Eiger Sanctionis insane.
I love it so much.
Did you know thatArcherdid a big thing on it last year?
Im just happy that its slowly making its way into the public consciousness.
DOC HAMMER:Oh did they do a little thing onThe Eiger Sanction?
JACKSON PUBLICK:Did they?
I didnt see that one.
But I think Doc Hammer and I can take full credit for anyEiger Sanctionrenaissance.
DEN OF GEEK: I think so!
I saw it through your commentary track.
DOC HAMMER:If youve seenThe Eiger Sanction, then you’re able to thank us.
I promise you, nobody was watching that weird rape-y film until we started mouthing off about it.
DEN OF GEEK: Its crazy.
Are there any references like that that youve tried to work into the show but have been unable to?
DOC HAMMER:We just put them in and then forget we do!
Its the way that Jackson and I think.
JACKSON PUBLICK:Its part of our vocabulary.
DEN OF GEEK: Its how you talk.
Ive got to talk about that!
DOC HAMMER:Well referenceDegrassi, and were not really thinking about it.
We just reference it because its a weird portion of your life.
JACKSON PUBLICK:Well you did invest heavily in a pretty deep cut in your first episode this season.
DOC HAMMER:Yes!
JACKSON PUBLICK:You built the whole story around it!
DOC HAMMER:I made the entire story around one object in one moment of the video.
DEN OF GEEK:Oh man, thats great.
DOC HAMMER:We talked about it!
JACKSON PUBLICK:Yeah, no, we talked about that.
We talked about doing that.
That was an obsession of ours for a long, long time.
JACKSON PUBLICK:Yeah, yeah.
With even heavier reference and payoff.
DOC HAMMER:Oh yeah!
Its not like were not going to do that.
DOC HAMMER:Yeah!
Anybody thats making things likeDr.
JACKSON PUBLICK:Yeah, I would have really loved to have gone on a hiatus to write forDaredevil.
Ill be straight up and down with you, that would have made me happy.
Some of them suck.
I dont know, yeah, theres stuff.
DOC HAMMER:And theres something aboutVenture Bros.that people dont understand.
I dont really know much else…
DEN OF GEEK: Itisyour world.
JACKSON PUBLICK:Its a pretty big umbrella.
DEN OF GEEK: And getting bigger!
DOC HAMMER:Yeah.
JACKSON PUBLICK:Thats how I ended up turning it into a show in the first place.
I took a bunch of crap that was in my notebook from like five years time.
because superheroes, and spies, and scientists all live in this world.
I think youve outgrown that for the most part.
DOC HAMMER:It borders around the idea of misunderstood destinies.
Youre just kind of stumbling around until it feels good.
This is everybody stumbling around.
Also, its the season of the Monarch.
Im just going to say that.
DEN OF GEEK: Oh yeah?
JACKSON PUBLICK:Its a pretty heavy Monarch season.
A lot of Monarch, yeah.
DEN OF GEEK:I cant wait.
JACKSON PUBLICK:You must.
DEN OF GEEK: Yeah, I must wait.
JACKSON PUBLICK:If Ive gotta wait, then youve gotta wait, man.
Season Six ofThe Venture Bros.should air on Adult Swim in early 2016.
