todaysviralmedia Senior Editor Brandon Schreur spoke with Robotic Hen creators Seth Inexperienced and Matthew Senreich in regards to the new Self-Discovery Particular. Inexperienced and Senreich mentioned poking enjoyable at actuality tv exhibits like 90 Day Fiancé within the new particular, what comes subsequent for Robotic Hen, and extra.
“From co-creators Seth Inexperienced and Matthew Senreich, the fan-favorite parody sequence delivers a half-hour of rapid-fire sketches that highlight Discovery, Meals Community, and TLC. In Robotic Hen: Self-Discovery Particular, the ever-awkward Robotic Hen Nerd embarks on a journey of self-discovery the American means—by occurring actuality TV,” an outline of the particular reads. “Will he discover a 90 Day Fiancé… or find yourself as Shark Week chum?”
The Robotic Hen: Self-Discovery Particular will debut on Grownup Swim on July 20, 2025, and shall be accessible to stream the subsequent day on HBO Max.
Brandon Schreur: I wish to begin simply by asking the 2 of you the way this venture took place. How lengthy have you ever been engaged on and growing this Self-Discovery particular? What did the method of bringing it to life seem like?
Seth Inexperienced: It undoubtedly was some time within the cooker. Attending to the purpose the place everyone agreed that we might do it took the longest period of time. As soon as we knew what we have been doing, we simply jumped into the manufacturing the way in which we all the time do — employed the writers, acquired all of the employees on, began recording, began drawing, began animating, constructing all the things, and modifying.
Matthew Senreich: The standard course of, yeah. However, like Seth stated, we’re pushing the buttons a bit bit on our house owners, which makes it a number of enjoyable.
Inexperienced: Oh, yeah! I don’t know when you heard, however Discovery Media World purchased Warner Bros. World Media, which owns all these subsidiaries, together with all the Turner property, just like the Cartoon Community and its late-night subsidiary, Grownup Swim.
Senreich: However there’s all the time one thing enjoyable about enjoying with the people who you already know. And, like, that’s the way it labored with Star Wars, that’s the way it labored with DC — we’ve identified these individuals. So, it’s with the ability to work with these people who we’ve identified.
Inexperienced: Yeah, this was reaching out to our new company stepdad and saying, ‘What’s up, dude? You wish to have enjoyable? You wish to mess around with us?’ They usually did!
Positive, and I really like that they have been up for that. That’s such a enjoyable dynamic when you’ll be able to poke enjoyable like that. I wish to ask about a number of the particular issues that you simply’re right here — I’ll be sincere, I’ve been a 90 Day Fiancé fan for a very long time now.
Inexperienced: You will love this! This entire throughline, oh my gosh. We even have Huge Ed within the particular!
No means. That’s superior. I really like the thought for this venture, and I’m questioning, if you got here up with this concept, was there a number of analysis required? Have been you followers of these items earlier than, or did you need to go binge all of 90 Day Fiancé to organize?
Inexperienced: It’s the latter. Properly, I imply…
Senreich: It’s a combination.
Inexperienced: Yeah, there have been undoubtedly a few premises that we have been conversant in from exhibits that we’ve seen earlier than. However after we acquired the writers collectively to determine what this entire factor was going to be, we watched all the things. We watched all the things. Simply to actually perceive the totality of the house that we might deal with.
Senreich: I feel everyone had seen several types of these exhibits, and that’s what introduced all of it collectively. There was one individual within the room, I can say, who’s a diehard fan of all of it. They undoubtedly helped information us. That was nice.
That’s superior. This appears like such a cool new chapter, too; Robotic Hen has been round for perpetually, however going after actuality tv exhibits — I really like that concept as a result of it looks like there’s a lot to mine there. I really like the scope of it.
Inexperienced: Actuality is difficult, too. Its genres in it of itself, proper? Simply actuality as a style doesn’t fairly outline all the varieties of applications that it encompasses.
Senreich: There are competitors exhibits, there are cooking exhibits, there are physician exhibits. It’s onerous to seek out these little niches and just remember to can go broad with them.
Positive. And, I don’t know, possibly I’m flawed, however I really feel like there’s been such an increase in reputation for these, and everyone seems to be watching these exhibits. A Robotic Hen episode about it makes a lot sense — that is the sort of stuff we eat after we’re like, ‘I don’t know what else to look at’ after which we placed on 90 Day Fiancé. It makes it excellent for Robotic Hen.
Senreich: I like it.
It’s additionally actually cool that you simply’re doing this on the twentieth anniversary of Robotic Hen, proper? It’s been out on the planet for a very long time. I’m curious what it’s like wanting again at that legacy. Does it really feel prefer it’s been 20 years, or is it like time strikes so quick and also you’re like, ‘Oh, shit, it’s been 20 years?’
Inexperienced: Sort of, yeah.
Senreich: Yeah, time strikes very quick on this present. And, once more, I all the time say that it feels such as you’re nonetheless enjoying with the identical individuals who you began with. You go to work every single day, and also you’re seeing these mates of yours and also you’re simply goofing round with them, enjoying with these literal toys to make these tasks. I feel that’s the thrill that you simply get. It doesn’t really feel like work if you’re doing these sorts of tasks. So, 20 years — it’s bizarre to suppose that means. It actually does really feel bizarre.
Inexperienced: Yeah, it doesn’t monitor.
That is smart. I’m sort of curious, too, out of your guys’ perspective, has the job developed or modified since then? Like, I feel how a lot popular culture has modified — for instance, 90 Day Fiancé wasn’t a factor 20 years in the past. Or the Star Wars franchise appeared utterly completely different again then than it does now. Is it more durable or simpler to work on the present with how briskly issues transfer?
Inexperienced: I feel it’s the identical, actually. Our relationship with pop has stayed the identical, it doesn’t matter what the pop is. Particularly, the audiences — human beings relationship with popular culture, that’s what’s developed. We’ve acquired a bigger viewers than we’ve ever had as a result of extra individuals are open to appreciating these sorts of issues. After we have been developing, after we first began this present, individuals didn’t go to Comedian Con except you actually appreciated that shit. We met at Comedian Con — we didn’t meet there, however we met up there in, like, 1995?
Senreich: 1996, yeah.
Inexperienced: 96. It’s like, it’s a really completely different factor. So it’s grown exponentially. You’re now not going to high school and getting your ass kicked for liking Spider-Man. You’re virtually getting your ass kicked when you don’t like Spider-Man. I feel that’s modified, the sort of pop that youngsters are watching. The truth that all of the stuff we fought to have the ability to love has develop into so mainstream that it’s virtually punk rock to hate it, that’s what shifted.
Senreich: And, going a bit additional with it, after we began Robotic Hen, we have been making enjoyable of all these items that no person thought they have been allowed to make enjoyable of. The truth that we have been pushing these buttons, it was scary. Now, it’s commonplace the place individuals are placing these items on YouTube every single day. It’s virtually useful when individuals are making enjoyable of your stuff.
That jumps into what I needed to ask you subsequent. Was there ever a second throughout these 20 years if you keep in mind first feeling like, ‘We’ve acquired it?’ I don’t know if it was if you have been first developing with the present, pitching it for the primary time, or years later when followers began actually responding to a season. Was there ever a second the place you have been like, ‘We actually acquired one thing right here?’
Inexperienced: Yeah, it was in the course of the first season. We began getting the numbers again, and it was insane, getting the numbers that we have been getting. The late-night broadcast of the Cartoon Community ran from 11:30 p.m. to six a.m. on Sunday. 11:30 to six a.m. on Sunday. That’s like a graveyard to ship programming in 2002. It was virtually a joke. The truth that the present acquired 1,000,000 viewers in that point slot…And, then, after we first went to Comedian Con and had a room filled with people who have been like, ‘I keep in mind! I watched that! That sketch made me consider that very same industrial!’ That was the place we have been like, ‘Alright, guys, we now have one thing. That is one thing.’
Senreich: For me — I agree with all of that, however, for me, the second the place I used to be like, ‘Oh, that is greater than we thought’ is after we acquired that Star Wars particular. It was validation by the individual making a model, and he was saying, ‘I would like you to make enjoyable of my model extra.’ That, for me, was the second of, ‘Oh my god, we now have one thing I didn’t anticipate, right here.’ And so, yeah, that turned issues on its facet for me.
That’s acquired to really feel good. I really feel like, such as you stated, Robotic Hen has simply gotten an increasing number of fashionable over time, so it’s so thrilling to see individuals rallying round it and wanting extra. In regard to this new particular, is there a side of it you’re most excited for Robotic Hen followers to see? Whether or not it’s the Meals Community stuff or the TLC stuff, have been you ever like, ‘Oh, that is gold, individuals are going to like this?’
Inexperienced: I really like this particular. I feel it really works so nicely. I’ve been so excited — as quickly as we acquired our first script lock, I used to be like, ‘That is gonna f—ing work.’ It’s all the identical alchemy, proper? You get a sketch within the sales space, any individual’s recording it, and one thing you thought was horrible is out of the blue superb. One thing you thought was superb is out of the blue horrible. Like, we undergo the entire course of. The one factor I’ve acquired at this level is religion within the course of. We began with a really unfastened concept, then we forged the fitting writers — we get the fitting writers collectively to assist us make this factor. I do know that, by the point the writing is completed, we’ve acquired an concept. I do know that we’ll have it. That’s what it’s, it’s simply confidence within the course of.
Positive, completely. Only one final query for the 2 of you, I’d like to know if there’s something relating to the way forward for Robotic Hen you could tease. I do know it’s been on perpetually, and we acquired this particular. Is there something extra that followers can get enthusiastic about that’s developing?
Inexperienced: Yeah, we’re going to do that. This actually works nicely; it is smart for everyone. It doesn’t make the identical sense to give attention to 20 quarter-hour seasons anymore. The panorama of tv and all of the streaming stuff — it makes much more sense for us to dedicate our greatest property to half-hours which can be round a single topic, after which get to advertise them in a advertising quarter. That is what we’re going to do. It’s discovering the massive manufacturers that need this type of collaboration.
Due to Seth Inexperienced and Matthew Senreich for taking the time to debate Robotic Hen: Self-Discovery Particular.