MCP

Welcome to the seventh (and final) installment of our MYSTIC COSMIC PATROL WEEK ongoing feature!

Debuting yesterday at Funny or Die, “Mystic Cosmic Patrol” is a nostalgic sitcom romp of mystical proportions. Created as an homage to kid-friendly shows like “Power Rangers” and “Ultraman,” the fast-paced webisodes combine monsters and comedic mayhem to create a parody worth every bingeable minute.

We recently sat down with series star and producer Laura Monaco to discuss how ‘fun’ was always at its core, the joy she discovered in wearing multiple hats on the project, and how hugs may be in store for any future cosplayers who choose to dress up as her character.

TrunkSpace: From an outside perspective, it sure seems like the “Mystic Cosmic Patrol” experience was just as much fun as it was work?
Monaco: Yes. Absolutely. It’s a very, very fun project. Early on, Gavin (Hignight) and I talked about our goal, which was to just have a job that we could go to work and laugh every day, and feel good coming home and wrapping up. We definitely did that. It was a lot of work, but we definitely did accomplish that goal. We had such an amazing team around us. Everyone who worked on it was just as excited to be there, so it made it a really uplifting experience.

TrunkSpace: It just seems like a show that would not cost a network a fortune to produce, and yet, because of the nature of the series, the smaller production budgets wouldn’t hurt the look and tone of it either. A network could get a franchise at a relatively affordable price.
Monaco: I love that you get that. I’m very curious to see where it goes.

TrunkSpace: The trick there is, you don’t want to show them that you can make it for basically nothing because then they will give you basically nothing. (Laughter)
Monaco: (Laughter) Yeah. We can get away with some tricks, but we still need money.

TrunkSpace: You’re a producer on the project as well as starring in it as the yellow Mystic Cosmic Patrol member. Did you view your two separate jobs through a different set of eyes on set?
Monaco: For sure. It was an idea that Gavin had. We were working on another project together and I just got so excited about it. He and I would meet, and it started from there. The more we would talk about it, the more I just had so much I wanted to contribute creatively on both sides of it. It’s a little blurry for me where things kind of stopped and started with producing and acting, but it was just so amazing to be able to jump in creatively on both sides. I really enjoyed that.

TrunkSpace: Did you enjoy the problem solving aspect of producing? Putting out the fires that crop up on set?
Monaco: Definitely. And trying to find on the fly what’s going to work.

We kind of had an idea for some stuff and had creative discussions about how it was actually going to go down. Luckily, I had such a great team of producers that when it was time to act, I could really just go do that and enjoy being in that role and know that everybody else was running everything smoothly. We really had a good family on this.

TrunkSpace: Because “Mystic Cosmic Patrol” isn’t grounded in reality, were you able to approach performance from a different perspective than previous projects you’ve worked on?
Monaco: Yeah. I mean, it’s kind of funny because early on we had a few rehearsals and we had all of these ideas for different character work and things that we wanted to do. At one point they were just like, “Just be you.” I was like, “I don’t know if that’s good or bad that you just think it’s me living my life here.” (Laughter)

For us, it had to be reality. I basically am a girl who likes to be feminine, she likes to dress up and do all of these things, and she really takes her job seriously, too. Whether she’s good at it all the time or not depends, but she’s trying to do good in the world.

TrunkSpace: And getting to work with those costumed creatures, both in creation and in performance, must have been so much fun.
Monaco: It was unbelievable. The ideas that we have are one thing, but when Cig Neutron came on and created them, and then seeing Stewart put on the costume and moving around in it, I was just like, “What is happening right now?” (Laughter) It was so crazy.

TrunkSpace: The series is streaming on Funny or Die, but as far as long-term is concerned, are you hoping that it finds a home at a major network or on another platform?
Monaco: I could definitely see it on a network, but it’ll be interesting to see what Funny or Die has to offer and how this really goes down. This is the first time I’ve done anything in that format with them. It’ll be interesting to see what’s possible. But really, the way everything seems now, content can live in more places than it ever used to. It doesn’t seem like there’s anything quite so typical anymore.

TrunkSpace: And it’s a great show for what people need now more than ever… escapism.
Monaco: Yeah. It’s such a serious time, and there’s so much that people are trying to figure out, big issues in life… it’s so nice to escape to something that is totally silly. You can just really go into another world, play around for a little bit, and not take things too seriously. I feel like it’s a good time for that, for sure.

There’s heart behind the show as well, which I really appreciate. There’s silly humor for sure, but there’s heart involved, too. I think if anything, that will just keep growing.

TrunkSpace: If the series takes off and becomes a huge hit, and in a year from now you see someone cosplaying it up as your character at a convention, what would you think about that?
Monaco: That’s my dream! I would love if people were just having so much fun that they would want to dress like that and be part of it for a little while. I’d probably just want to run up and hug them, but I love that idea. So awesome!

“Mystic Cosmic Patrol” is available now at Funny or Die!

Welcome to the fifth installment of our MYSTIC COSMIC PATROL WEEK ongoing feature!

Debuting today at Funny or Die, “Mystic Cosmic Patrol” is a nostalgic sitcom romp of mystical proportions. Created as an homage to kid-friendly shows like “Power Rangers” and “Ultraman,” the fast-paced webisodes combine monsters and comedic mayhem to create a parody worth every bingeable minute.

We recently sat down with series star Chris Masterson to discuss the high cost of red, embracing the more affordable blue, and reacting to a puke-inducing toilet.

TrunkSpace: What personality traits are required to lead the Mystic Cosmic Patrol? And why do most leaders of monster-fighting groups wear red?
Masterson: An inflated ego and a lack of awareness on how others view your actions. Well, this leader wears blue, but only because red was more expensive and Jack is nothing if not thrifty.

TrunkSpace: How did you become involved in the project and what drew you to it?
Masterson: The concept was brought to me by our executive producer, Tommy Meyer-Klipsch. I loved the concept of a “Power Rangers” type of a show starring six people with a mean IQ of 108, being tasked with defending Earth from evil space robots.

TrunkSpace: You’re also serving as producer on the series. What are your ultimate goals for it? Do you have a network home in mind that you believe best serves the project?
Masterson: I just want people who are fans of the genre to see it. Funny or Die has launched several of my favorite shows and characters so I’m pretty happy we found a home there.

TrunkSpace: You’re no stranger to comedy, but a lot of the humor you have delivered via previous roles was firmly rooted in reality. What was it like performing in a piece where anything, including a toilet creature named Potty Mouth, is possible?
Masterson: Pretty much the same for me. I think actors generally try to react realistically to whatever situation is presented to their characters, but from the point of view of the person they’re playing. In our case it’s through the eyes of a guy who’s pretty full of himself and is pretty certain he knows more than everyone else, but almost never does. And the world he’s in is just the world to him. The same way you or I might react to a neighbor’s dog getting loose and chasing us down the street is the way he’d react to being attacked by a puke-inducing toilet with arms, legs, and an attitude.

TrunkSpace: Flash forward a year from now and you’re walking the floor at a comic convention. You spot someone cosplaying as your “Mystic Cosmic Patrol” character. What goes through your mind?
Masterson: What the f@&k?!

TrunkSpace: It’s a great time for content creators, but more content also means that viewers are spreading themselves thin and DVRs are filling up with shows people mean to “get to eventually.” How does a show like “Mystic Cosmic Patrol” rise above the noise and find an audience?
Masterson: I hope we’ll have a pretty clear demo that’ll be sure to watch, regardless of what else is on because if you’re a fan of kaijū, the “Power Rangers,” and badly video’d 90s afternoon television (and if you have a sense of humor), you’re not gonna get much closer to that than us.

TrunkSpace: When do you feel the most energized and inspired as an actor? What is it that excites you about the craft?
Masterson: When it all starts coming together. When the various pieces that have been planned and rehearsed start to gel and I can tell it’s just starting to become something. That’s when I’m most excited to be doing it.

TrunkSpace: Where are you the hardest on yourself as an actor?
Masterson: I’m never hard on myself as an actor. I generally give it all I have and when I feel I fell short, I think, “Ha, well that didn’t work out!”

TrunkSpace: You played Francis on “Malcolm in the Middle” for 151 episodes. If “Mystic Cosmic Patrol” gets picked up and finds the kind of success that enables it to stay on the air that long, would you be happy playing a character again for such an extended period of time?
Masterson: Absolutely.

TrunkSpace: Potty Mouth sets a nice table of villains to come. What other kind of villains would you like to see the blue patrol member lay the mystic cosmic smackdown on? It seems like it is an “anything you can imagine” situation, which leaves the door open for some character-creating fun.
Masterson: I’d like to see some sort of a human centipede inspired space robot that feeds off of Earthlings it appropriates into its “circle”. That or a giant walking Zoltar machine who shouts fortunes at people, which come true the next morning, but they’re always terrible, terrible fortunes…

“Mystic Cosmic Patrol” debuts today at Funny or Die.