Champaign ILL's Adam Pally: 'I am aware that I have crazy eyes'
On CNET's I'm So Obsessed podcast, the Happy Endings actor discusses his show Champaign ILL coming to Hulu.
- Patrick's play The Cowboy is included in the Best American Short Plays 2011-12 anthology. He co-wrote and starred in the short film Baden Krunk that won the Best Wisconsin Short Film award at the Milwaukee Short Film Festival.
The 2018 YouTube Premium series Champaign ILL, starring Adam Pally and Sam Richardson, is following in the footsteps of the popular Cobra Kai, which debuted that same year on YouTube Red (Premium's predecessor). But instead of moving to Netflix as Cobra Kai did after YouTube decided to stop producing original series, Champaign ILL is now streaming on Hulu. Pally's hoping for good things from the opportunity to pull in new viewers.
The show follows Alf, played by Richardson, and Ronnie, played by Pally, after their best friend, a famous hip-hop icon dies. His death forces the two to leave their lavish lifestyle behind and return home to Champaign, Illinois. Think of it like what would happen to all of Drake's crew if he died.
Champaign ILL reunites Pally with Happy Endings creator David Caspe. On CNET's I'm So Obsessed podcast, Pally explains that fans of the series Happy Endings should like Champaign ILL.
Pally said that he's grateful the Champagne ILL is getting a second chance.
"It has that same kind of fast patter," said Pally.
Pally, best known for starring as Max Blum in Happy Endings and as Dr. Peter Prentice in The Mindy Project, likens Champagne ILL's second chance to Schitt's Creek.
"I watched Schitt's Creek in a full weekend, which was brand new to me. And I loved it, every second of it, and I kept wanting more," said Pally. "It had been on Pop TV for at least four years before I got my eyes on it. To me, it's all just part of the new way that all of this works. And I'm really thankful that people are getting a second chance to get eyes on it [Champaign ILL] because I think that it deserves it. I think it's really good."
During our interview, Pally discussed working with Richardson, his early days on Happy Endings and why ice cream is better than custard. Here are a few of my favorite quotes from Pally.
On being in The Mandalorian
"It was everything you dream of. I got to ride a hover bike. I got to punch Baby Yoda. I was directed by Taika Waititi, and my scene partner was Ted Lasso. It was a dream experience."
On people upset Champaign ILL wasn't filmed in Champaign
"You know, they didn't shoot Star Wars in space."
On his 'crazy eyes'
"I am aware that I have crazy eyes. I am aware that my rhythmic pattern and my choices of both speech and looks are surprising, which can sometimes lead to being humorous."
On being on The Mindy Project
"It was a huge learning experience going from Happy Endings, which was my first job in TV, into The Mindy Project, which was totally different in the way it worked. Mindy [Kaling] is such a star, and she does everything. She's like a one-stop shop. And I got to watch the whole thing work. It gave me a lot of goals to achieve. "
You can listen to my full interview with Pally in the podcast player at the top of this article. Subscribe to I'm So Obsessed on your favorite podcast app. In each episode, Connie Guglielmo or I catch up with an artist, actor or creator to learn about their work, career and current obsessions.
