The New York Times ran a great piece on Children’s Hospital, a web series turned television show created by Daily Show alum Rob Corddry. In addition to Corddry, other web series cast members included Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, Lake Bell, Erinn Hayes, Ken Marino, Ed Helms and Jason Sudeikis.
For the television show, new regulars like Malin Akerman, Henry Winkler and Kurtwood Smith were added.
Megan Mullally as the Chief
From The New York Times:
“The idea was born of child abuse, essentially,” Mr. Corddry said. At a hospital with his daughter, who had injured her arm, he was taken by the comic possibilities of the terrifying scene: “scared parents, crying mothers, tiny bodies on tiny gurneys.”
A result was an unsparing parody and, in its twisted way, a celebration of mainstream hospital shows, packed into 10 episodes of about five minutes each. The primary target was “Grey’s Anatomy,” with nods to “ER” and “Scrubs” and a subtext of deep affection for “M*A*S*H.”
[...]
“Megan Mullally, herself, green-lights a show,” he acknowledged. “I think that’s our main strength.”
Ms. Mullally plays the Chief, an oversexed chief surgeon who flails about on crutches and is an obvious take-off on Dr. Kerry Weaver, the character Laura Innes played for 15 seasons on “E.R.” She said she called Ms. Innes, a fellow Northwestern alumna, before shooting the Web series: “I was like, mmm, just in case. Just in case. But she thought it was great.”
The actors and writers have more room to breathe now that “Childrens Hospital” is a television series, but not much. The episodes for Adult Swim are 15 minutes long (11 ½ minutes after commercials); they will be shown in a half-hour slot at 10:30 p.m. with another 15-minute show, “Delocated.” The original Web episodes have been combined, two at a time, into television episodes that will be shown beginning Sunday. The new episodes will begin on Aug. 22.
