Praise Petey Star Annie Murphy Compares Animated Series to Schitt’s Creek (Exclusive)

Annie Murphy has definitely made her mark on the entertainment world, thanks to roles on Schitt’s Creek, Russian Doll, and Black Mirror. Later this month, she will be adding the animated series Praise Petey to her filmography, once the show makes its two-episode premiere on Freeform. While speaking to ComicBook.com‘s Chris Killian about her role on Praise Petey, Murphy touched on the unintentional similarities between Petey and her Schitt’s Creek character of Alexis Rose, as well as the overall creative intent of the series’ creator, former Saturday Night Live writer Anna Drezen. 

“I knew that I could do it, because there is such an overlap between those two characters, initially,” Murphy said in our interview, which you can check out above. “But I mean, Anna Drezen, who’s the creator of the show, I will do anything she writes, ever. I just think her brain, she’s so funny and so smart and so weird. And I just loved that about [it] as soon as when I read the script. As soon as I saw that she was dating a literal plank of wood, I was like, ‘This is a show for me. I gotta do this.’”

What Is Praise Petey About?

The animated series Praise Petey follows Petey, a New York City “it” girl who has it all until her life comes crashing down around her, but a mysterious gift from her father lifts things up a bit: she’s going to “lean into” modernizing his small-town cult. Drezen is creator, writer and executive producer and will EP alongside Monica Padrick, Mike Judge, Greg Daniels, Dustin Davis, and ShadowMachine’s Alex Bulkley and Corey Campodonico. The cast include Schitt’s Creek‘s Annie Murphy as Petey, Cowboy Bebop‘s John Cho as Bandit, The Good Fight‘s Christine Baranski as White, and The Flash‘s Kiersey Clemons as Eliza.

“I can’t believe I get to make this show with so many funny and smart people,” Drezen said in a statement when the show was first announced. “Getting to work with Monica, Bandera, Freeform, ShadowMachine, 20th Television Animation and this amazing cast has been a blast and dream – a bleam. This rules.”

“It’s kind of the A-team. It was a spec script that we bought and Annie Murphy got attached early on,” Jamila Hunter, Freeform’s EVP of Programming and Development, added. “We’ve had such a great opportunity to attract talent because Anna [Drezen’ is so incredibly funny and smart. Animation has a great opportunity to be funny and thought provoking. That’s what we love about it.”

Are you excited for Praise Petey? What do you think of the comparisons to Annie Murphy’s character on Schitt’s Creek? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Freeform makes its animated debut with Praise Petey, premiering on Friday, July 21st at 10:00 pm ET with two back-to-back episodes.  Episodes are available next day on Hulu.

Editor’s note: This interview was conducted prior to the SAG actors’ strike.