Patton Oswalt Dishes On The Awkwardness Of Filming A.P. Bio's Fanfic Episode - Exclusive
Mild spoilers for "A.P. Bio" Season 4.
The Peacock series "A.P. Bio" is known for its dark comedy, hilarious gags, and most importantly, wild, thematic episodes. With Season 4 comes a new slew of shenanigans that Jack Griffin (Glenn Howerton) and Principal Ralph Durbin (Patton Oswalt) get themselves into. However, this season, the show is going more meta than ever with an episode that toggles back and forth between reality and the fan fiction the Whitlock High School kids are writing about their teachers. If you thought the Destiel fan fiction you read last night was raunchy, wait until you see what Heather (Allisyn Snyder) has in store for the fictionalized versions of Jack and Durbin. From cowboys to homoerotic (sub)text, the Whitlock kids aren't playing around.
Looper sat down with Glenn Howerton and Patton Oswalt for an exclusive interview to discuss the new season of "A.P. Bio." Oswalt was quick to dish on the awkwardness of filming the fan fiction episode. The duo also revealed their favorite episode twists, and whether or not the show's kooky plans ever didn't pan out.
Turning fandom into fan fiction
The second we brought up the fanfic episode, Oswalt popped in with, "Oh my God, that episode. One of the weirdest things I've ever shot because we were going back and forth between fantasy and reality. So you had to figure out exactly 'What's the tone I do in each of these scenes?' And it's so fast, and there are so many cuts. God, it was nuts." Well, it was certainly a riot to watch, so Oswalt's hard work paid off.
On their favorite twists on the show, and if they planned out any gags or twists that didn't happen, Oswalt said, "Oh, wow." Glenn Howerton added, "Well, I mean, we got shut down after the eighth episode in Season 3 because of COVID. So there were two episodes that were written, that were supposed to be the episodes that played at the end of Season 3, that ended up being what we did first in Season 4."
He continued, "But no, I don't think there's anything really that Mike [O'Brien] has wanted to do that he hasn't been able to do. As a matter of fact, the things that we do on the show now are so wild, and so out there, it's the kind of thing that you'd really ... I feel like he's really earned it with those first few seasons, to really push it and push it and push it. And he continues to push it in Season 4. And the more he pushes it, the funnier it gets to me."
Oswalt noted, "It also feels like, as you said earlier, now that he's streaming, he really feels like, 'I have to step things up. People are coming to see us, and I have the freedom to really do some nuttiness,' and he just runs with it. He does not neglect that freedom at all."
Fans can check out the hilarious fan fiction episode, and the entire fourth season of "A.B. Bio," now streaming on Peacock.