What can possibly go wrong when a network reboots an early 2000s family sitcom, forcing its thoroughly dysfunctional cast back together? Hulu is betting that viewers will bite. So much so that the streaming giant allowed that rebooted series within its aptly titled new comedy, Reboot, to hail from Hulu itself. Meta? You bet.
Emmy- Peabody- and Webby Award-winning actor Keegan-Michael Key loved the idea so much that he was jazzed to join forces with Modern Family creator Steve Levitan in the new comedy.
“Steve has been very influential in television over the 15 years and working with him was an opportunity I wanted embrace,” Key told me. “The ‘why do this now?’ of it had a lot to do with what we've seen with [TV] reboots. I really liked the meta nature of the show and that it would tell fun, wonderful stories. And it's also commenting on itself, but in an expert way.
“That really resonated with me,” he added. “I'm a sucker for high-concept stuff. This is right up my alley.”
The eight-episode series drops Sept. 20 on Hulu. In addition to Key, it also stars Judy Greer (Blumhouse’s Halloween, The Thing About Pam, The First Lady), Johnny Knoxville (Jackass Forever), Paul Reiser (Mad About You, The Kominksy Method), Rachel Bloom (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Calum Worthy (The Act), and Krista Marie Yu (Last Man Standing).
As the TV gang in the show’s sitcom — wonderfully dubbed Step Right Up! — reunite, suddenly, they must deal with their unresolved issues in an ever-changing modern world. Misadventures ensue.
Keegan-Michael Key on Working with the Reboot Cast
By all accounts, Key is a team player that Hollywood appreciates. An enigmatic performer, he garnered worldwide attention as co-creator and co-star, alongside Jordan Peele, in the groundbreaking Comedy Central sketch series Key and Peele, which won the 2016 Emmy for Outstanding Variety Sketch Series.
No doubt his enthusiastic approach to creative work led to costarring roles in Dolemite Is My Name, Playing with Fire, Toy Story 4, The Lion King, and, more recently Schmigadoon! The guy writes, produces, and handles both comedy and drama in film, TV, and theater with grounded confidence.
Key plays Reed in Reboot, whose past relationship with sitcom star Bree (Greer) becomes a bit of an issue—he’s with somebody else when audiences tune in. Knoxville and Worthy round out most of the inner sitcom cast, while Reiser and Bloom star as creatives who work behind the scenes on the show.
“It’s always wonderful to spend time with kind, decent people,” Key said of his castmates. “It makes you feel safe, want to open up, and give your all. That’s what I experienced with Paul, Judy, Rachel, Johnny, Caleb, and Krista. It was it their warmth and the immediate familial feeling we had. Some of us knew each other, but when I first met Johnny, I just connected with him almost immediately.”
He said working alongside Reiser, a series veteran, was a major treat.
“Paul has this wonderful, father-like quality, and it really comes across both on screen with Rachel, and off-screen with all of us,” Key said. “And at the same time, he's still a member of the group. He's still a father and a pal. And everybody here is so naturally funny. They’re just funny people.”
One of the biggest perks of Reboot involved working with Levitan, whose work has been celebrated since he brought Just Shoot Me into the world. He went on to become an Emmy powerhouse with Modern Family on ABC.
“There's a thing I learned from Steven—it's just ‘paper,’” Key said, meaning the script. “And if that doesn't work, try something over here. If that doesn't work, just crumple that piece of paper, and try something new. The other thing is the concept of: Don't invent, remember.”
He went on to say that so much of what happens on screen in TV shows comes from the personal lives of the writers.
“A lot of the jokes and scenarios are things that have actually happened to the co-creators and the writers,” he explained. “Some of us [Reboot] actors even made suggestions about things we experienced. And then the writers integrated it into the scripts. It's amazing. You, as a human, are a wealth of information. You have so many things you could share.”
Key offered one anecdote. In one episode, Zach (Worthy) wants to ask Elaine (Yu) out. The Hulu human resources person says, “You can only ask her once.”
“That's real. All the writers, producers, and actors were in that human resources meeting at the beginning of the season,” Key said, laughing. “And somebody had the idea, ‘Oh God, if you ask them out more than once, it's harassment?’ I learned that you can just pull from your experience, your memory, your everyday life.”
Several scenes throughout the series take place in the writers’ room, in fact. Key hopes audiences witness how hard writers work and, “how much energy, thought, and consideration is put into the creation of a television show.”
“Because to me, a television show is a piece of art, much like a piece of fine art on the wall that a painter takes time to think about,” he said. “There's the blank canvas in their mind. Writers decide what they want these characters to experience because they’re trying to elicit a response from the audience.
“So, I hope audiences get a sense of, ‘Oh, is that how they do it,’ because the thing about our show is that it’s very, very accurate. It is how they [the writers] do it.”
How Sitcoms Informed Keegan-Michael Key
After making a dent in Key & Peele, Schmigadoon!, and The Pentaverate, among other outings, Key is starring in the highly anticipated Warner Bros. film, Wonka. He said these days, he deeply contemplates film and TV roles before committing to a project.
“I’m approaching roles with more mindfulness these days and making an effort to think about how the project will affect me, professionally and personally,” he admitted. “And how that project affects the people watching. I ask myself: ‘What am I sharing with the world by doing this project?’ And I think those are things that need to be at the forefront of my mind when I'm going to choose a piece of work.”
While he was drawn to Reboot for many reasons, he pointed out the sitcoms he watched growing up.
“As a child, I was very informed by Good Times, Facts of Life, and Diff'rent Strokes. That's the era that I grew up in,” Key said. “Those shows had very strong messages and captured my imagination. I didn't have words for it when I was younger, but that fish-out-of-water scenario has always been interesting to me.”
He noted Ricky Schroder’s character on Silver Spoons, and Willis and Arnold on Diff'rent Strokes, and later, characters in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
So, what does he love most about performing?
“When I was a kid, I didn't know where to place my energy,” Key said. “There were people in my life who thought, ‘Maybe we should get him into the arts.’ And it was the most wonderful thing that could have happened to me. I didn't know how to express myself, and someone said, ‘Here's an avenue you can go down.’ And that, as you can see, made all the difference in the world for me—emotionally, spiritually, mentally.
“Now, I hope people are entertained by Reboot,” he added, “but also fascinated by what happens behind the scenes on a television show. I'm very grateful for this — to be able to perform.”