Bart Batchelor and Chris Nielsen are excited about Psi Cops

If Scooby-Doo What we never learned as children is that ghouls and goblins are usually just old, stingy men who hate it when other people have fun. But what if these ghouls and goblins weren’t always just people with a mask? Psi Cops is coming in. The Canada-based animated comedy looks set to bring a paranormal twist to Adult Swim when it premieres on July 7.

Created by Bart Batchelor And Chris Nielsen, Psi Cops follows detectives Kydd and Felixx, who work as paranormal investigators at Psi Cops, a secret agency specializing in solving the unexplained. Kydd and Felix don’t seem like much of a character… well, that’s because they’re not. But the duo are determined to investigate everything from alien sightings to ghostly encounters to the occasional demonic presence.

Bubbleblabber sat down with Batchelor and Nielsen to talk about the show’s distinctive look, the difference between American and Canadian television, and whether we’re really alone in the universe.

Matthew Swigonski: The art style of the show is quite unique. Was there a direct inspiration for it?

Chris Nielsen: One of the driving factors behind it was that we wanted to develop something that was A.) completely unique and B.) also in the comedy and sci-fi space. So we decided to do this because it allowed us to kind of Play with many of our trademarks. Which is kind of like the old 3D stuff that we with shows like World doctors. But then kind of bring it to kind of something that could be described as a little classier, more sitcom-like animation, and that offers the ability to dance between those two worlds.

So we kind of have landed in this area where we can have these 3D characters that we can put into 2D puppets and animate them like a 2D show, like Archeror something like that. But then Be capable To break out completely and we can do cool 3D action scenes whenever we want. Or we can animate broken fingers or something like that whenever we want.

Bart Batchelor: Yeah, absolutely. And as for the aesthetic itself, we chose Daz’s 3D animation software because it has characters that aren’t currently used in mass pop culture. But I mean, Daz’s stuff looks amazing. And an easy way to create a unique look is Only Choose Daz or Maya, just to stand out. And then we’ve put all this on top, it’s X-Files. We’re in Vancouver. We wanted to create the atmosphere of the Pacific Northwest, an eerie, misty, primal forest atmosphere.

Matthew Swigonski: When you develop projects, do you have a particular aesthetic in mind? Or do you wait for the story to lead you to a style?

Bart Batchelor: Good question. That’s a good question.

Chris Nielsen: That is a very good Question. I mean, Only I try to go through some of them in my head and sometimes I feel like I have an idea. But we’re more comedy driven first and foremost. So the script, story and concept are the first things we put out there and then we try to find a look or something that complements that without getting in the way.

Bart Batchelor: And we make those decisions. Tuck and Ranger was not should be a broken cartoon series. So knowing that we are not thinking of software that is fun to destroy. Psi police officers We decided early on that this was going to be a broken show. Fingers can look funny, they can dart around everywhere. So we thought, “Okay, we need to choose a software and a look that fits that.”

Matthew Swigonski: The show premiered in Canada last year. And now it’s about to premiere in the US. Can you describe how it feels to have so many more eyes on the show?

Chris Nielsen: Can’t describe it. I can’t describe it. I’ve tried. I’ve tried many times.

Bart Batchelor: Yeah, it premieres on Sunday (July 7). We’re really proud of the show. There are 24 episodes and I think every single one of them is special and exciting. I mean, Canada is great. But Canada is small. Canada’s access to things is limited. Anything we pick up in Canada is usually because someone in the U.S. liked it and put it on Reddit or something. So we feel like not enough people got to see the show in Canada. We’re so excited to finally Only out with it. We are incredibly upset to make it accessible to a wider audience.

Matthew Swigonski: Canada has produced so many great shows lately, like Letterkenny and Schitt’s Creek. How does it feel to be part of these Canadian shows? consequences on US media?

Bart Batchelor: Man, we really hope that our show can take off and reach the level of one of those guys. But it’s interesting to create it. We’ve learned that we’re actually pretty lucky, create Things in Canada. Our client Corus and in particular Kathleen Meek, WHO kind of oversees the whole show. She just let us do what we wanted. I think that’s because (Psi police officers) is smaller and more relaxed.

Think about Letterkenny. That’s such a strong voice. That’s such a unique (show). Anyone who would have interrupted that would have ruined the show. (Jared Keeso) obviously just has to be himself and do his show the way he wants to. And I think that’s kind of a product of being somewhere smaller, where there is less at stake. They are Only like, “Yeah, let these creatives be crazy and have fun.” And then you can come up with something that has a strong voice. So We hope it’s popular and people in the US like it.

Matthew Swigonski: You kind of I’ve already touched on it, but can you perhaps give a taste of what viewers who may not be used to your humor can expect from the show?

Bart Batchelor: Right! We will say that no episode will ever becomes run as you expected. And if it runs as you expected, then it is becomes stop, and it is becomes Go in a different direction and then 5 more different directions.

Chris Nielsen: If it goes the way They expect you to seek help (laughs).

Bart Batchelor: We have 24 episodes. 24 individual cases of the paranormal. It’s just so much fun. If you say, “Man, I really don’t like vampires.” Don’t worry. Next week it will be ghosts, and then they are goblins. Only unlimited cases of the paranormal.

Chris Nielsen: In terms of the tone of the show and what kind of sets it apart is that we strive for fast-paced dialogue. It has a pace and a rhythm that’s pretty unique. And I think I’ve heard some people talk about it like, “It takes me a couple of episodes to get my head around it, but then I just wanted more.” And now here we are. We’re watching it and it’s been a year and a half since we finished it. And we’re thinking, is this too slow? Is this show way too slow? Do we need to go ten times faster in Season 2?

Bart Batchelor: Our goal was speed. The fastest cuts per minute at that time were Fury Street. And I can’t remember exactly how many cuts per minute they made, but we tried to double them. (laughs) That was our goal.

Matthew Swigonski: Do any of you believe in the paranormal?

Bart Batchelor: I was asked this question meand I said no, until the woman I was sitting next to asked, “Not even other dimensions!?” And I said, “Okay.”

Chris Nielsen: (laughs) Oh, It is the dimensions that Do it for yourself.

Bart Batchelor: Yes, then she says: “These other dimensions. What if ghosts are something like that?” And suddenly I believe in everything (laughs). One conversation over a beer and I went from being an unbeliever to being a convinced believer.

Matthew Swigonski: Sometimes that’s all it takes.

Chris Nielsen: Oh yeah, depending on how many beers I’ve had, my opinion changes. I think I’m a big Alien fan. They must be out there. We are becomes find them. They probably see us. They probably see our show. I hope you like it.

Psi police officers Premieres on Adult Swim on July 7.