Given that both Dule Hill and his Psych co-star James Roday Rodriguez have roles in Warner Bros. Animation’s new Night of the Animated Dead, it’s inevitable that someone would have asked about the show. But when you factor in that Night of the Animated Dead is a remake of George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, and that the style of zombie movie that film popularized was already parodied on Psych, you see even more clearly why it was impossible to sidestep those comparisons. Add in character actors like Katharine Isabelle and Jimmi Simpson, both of whom appeared on Psych over the years, and you’ve got a veritable nostalgia fest for fans of the long-running USA series.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Of course, for Hill, it was maybe a little less glaring than it was for the show’s superfans. Still, he said, he noticed all the familiar faces, and was thrilled to find another chance to work with actors whose craft he really respected when they appeared on his show.
“I thought about ‘Nightmare on State Street,’” Hill told ComicBook. “I thought about ‘Tuesday the 17th,’ because Katie Isabelle was going to be in that episode, I believe. And then, of course, when you have Jimmi Simpson joining, I quickly thought about like, ‘This is kind of funny how we did our own version of all of this.’ I love the idea of a group of us being able to continuously work together over the years, to be able to share this screen again, really the voice again with Katie Isabelle and with Jimmi Simpson, of course, James Roday Rodriguez. And I’m a big fan of Josh Duhamel and I’ve known Nancy Travis for years. To be able to get together and play around on this journey, I thought it was great. And the idea that so many of the actors had been a part of Psych, I think it’s wonderful.”
“When we find people who you respect their gift and what they bring to the table, why not continue to keep working with them?” Hill added. “I hope that we have this conversation again in two years from now, on something else, say, ‘Oh, wow, here you’re working with Will Sasso again. You’re working with Katee Sackhoff again.’ Why not? I think it’s good when you connect with artists that you vibe with, why not keep creating? Because that’s where magic can continually happen.”
Night of the Animated Dead is now available on digital, DVD, and Blu-ray.
