San Diego Comic-Con may not be happening in person this year, but that doesn’t mean we don’t get to enjoy some fun panel conversations with the creative minds behind some of our favorite entertainment thanks to Comic-Con@Home.
This afternoon’s panel for FOX’s Bless the Harts (distributed by the now-Disney-owned 20th Television) Clips started with a clip from the show involving boxed wine and brought together voice cast members Fortune Feimster (Brenda), Kristen Wiig (Jenny Hart), Jillian Bell (Violet Hart), Ike Barinholtz (Wayne Edwards), and Maya Rudolph (Betty Hart) alongside executive producers Phil Lord, Chris Miller, and Andy Bobrow to discuss the animated sitcom, which is returning for its second season this fall. In the bullet-point list below, I’ve collected some of the more interesting tidbits to come out of this conversation.
Watch Bless the Harts | Comic-Con@Home 2020:
- Everyone involved is painting and drinking boxed wine throughout the presentation.
- Fortune Feimster asks what some of their favorite scenes were from season 1. Jillian Bell says anytime there’s a musical number, such as “4 to 10” in the style of “9 to 5”. Ike Barinholtz likes Chris Parnell’s character: local actor Ian Cole. Chris Miller likes Uncle Tommy. Phil Lord likes watching the political process of the town: a lot of discussion about ordering Thai food.
- Maya Rudolph knew series creator Emily Spivey for 20 years before joining the cast. They were office-mates at Saturday Night Live and Rudolph got to know Spivey’s mother’s voice pretty well from talking to her on the phone and is channeling that voice for her character.
- Asked if they could be quarantined with one character from the show, they chose Brenda.
- What new hobbies has the team picked up during quarantine? Kristen Wiig says painting, Phil Lord says drinking, Ike Barinholtz is helping his kid with remote schoolwork, Maya Rudolph has been baking sourdough bread, and Jillian Bell has been getting into Tarot cards
- The group discusses psychic mediums and whether or not they were able to predict the pandemic. Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudoplh once went to a psychic together and made fun of her the entire time.
- Some of the actors play multiple side characters on the show. Maya Rudolph likes the mail lady Norma. Ike Barinholtz plays a new character in season 2 that’s his favorite character he’s ever played in anything: “YouTube car repair guy from Chicago.”
- Bless the Hearts has been renewed for season 2 and will be back this fall. In the meantime you can watch the first season on Hulu.
- In season 2 there will be some fun guest stars including Natasha Lyonne, Kristen Schaal, and Ken Jeong.
- An early 2000s-themed Halloween episode is coming up in which the family visits an abandoned mall. “It’s very funny and a little spooky.”
- The first fan question is “Which person among the group is the funniest and which is the most serious?” There are lots of joke answers.
- What’s it like for Maya and Kristen to play mom and daughter when they’re such good friends in real life? “Maya has always been like a mother to me.” They recorded together once and it was super fun.
- Will there be Bless the Harts merchandise? Chris Miller jokes he will sell some on Etsy. They try to come up with what the merchandise will be– a boxed wine shirt and Betty’s necklace are two examples.
- What sets Bless the Hart apart from other shows? You’ll laugh and feel warm like you’re watching a family. Fortune Feimster says it is very accurate to North Carolina culture. Andy Bobrow was most proud of the moment when the family is looking for change in their car to buy biscuits– the focus group reaction was “this is real.”
- Their paintings will be posted to CharityBuzz.com and the proceeds from the auction will go to the NAACP’s Empowerment program. Ike Barinholtz says they should all go on the wall of a mental hospital.
- They showed another extended clip to close out the panel, in which Jenny and Betty spy on Violet. “Teen sarcasm is just a slippery slope to teen pregnancy.”
Bless the Harts returns Sunday, September 27 on FOX.