Paget Brewster has the interesting distinction of being in multiple television series that have had fan campaigns and loud cries for continuation, reboots, movies, or remakes — Community, Criminal Minds, DuckTales, Friends, Another Period, and the painfully underrated Andy Richter Controls the Universe. Recently, she's been headlining a kind of continuation of her own, the hilarious weird series Birdgirl on Adult Swim and HBO Max, which is a spin-off of sorts from Harvey Birdman Attorney at Law.

Made two decades after that pioneering meta-comedy, Birdgirl ups the raunchiness but also sweetly develops its characters, all while embracing the kind of Dadaist chaos seen in the funniest Adult Swim shows. First premiering in April 2021, Paget Brewster plays Judy Ken Sebben, the CEO of Sebben & Sebben, whose crime-fighting ego Birdgirl starts to become more and more dominant in a Jeckyl & Hyde type way.

Paget Brewster on the Bonkers Birdgirl

Brewster's voice acting performance is delightful as always, richer, and more psychologically complex than most; it was also personally important. "Birdgirl was a savior to me," she tells us, "I mean, that's how we kept our health insurance, recording Birdgirl here from the house and doing another animated stuff." Excited about the recent second season and its future, Brewster says her character has "definitely gotten weirder," and explains that she loves the trajectory the show has taken:

I don't know if you've seen Season Two, but it is off the rails. That's a very strange show that I'm super proud of [...] It's a trippy show, with more nudity than I think I've ever seen, and swearing. They did a bunch of like homage animation this season that I thought was really funny. Obviously, it started with their Hanna-Barbera influence from Harvey Birdman, but they're going into other avenues that I just love. So I'm really proud of Birdgirl and being able to be in a spin-off that feels like its own thing. I just am really happy that those guys pushed for it, and we get to do that show.

With the second season of Birdgirl finishing so recently, there's still no word yet about the show going forward. "Hopefully we get a third season," Brewster says, "I don't know yet."

Brewster's Future in Community and Criminal Minds

Brewster has been fielding questions on a few different reboots and continuations for a while now. "I think I've heard something about a Community movie," she says, referencing the long-gestating hope for "six seasons and a movie" for the beloved show. She's also overjoyed by the very recent announcement of a Paramount+ reboot of Criminal Minds, where she played Emily Prentiss on and off for a whopping 194 episodes.

"It makes me feel like I really invested in some long-term work, it feels good," Brewster laughs, acknowledging just how many of her projects have climbed aboard the reboot train fueled by fans. Like Brewster, many are hoping that Birdgirl won't need a reboot, because it won't get canceled in the first place. "Fingers crossed," she says. Meanwhile, all two seasons can be streamed on HBO Max, and Brewster makes a small but effective appearance in the excellent queer horror film Hypochondriac.