July 17th, 2023 
Jackson Murphy 
Disclaimer: This interview with actress Annie Murphy was conducted over Zoom prior to the SAG-AFTRA Strike, on Monday June 26th, 2023, as part of a virtual press junket organized and provided by Freeform.
Emmy-winning “Schitt’s Creek” actress Annie Murphy lends her voice to the title character on Freeform’s first-ever animated series, Praise Petey. Its one-hour series premiere is this Friday July 21st at 10pm ET/PT. Murphy, who also voiced Chelsea in recent DreamWorks release Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken, joins me for a fun conversation about her major animation summer. (This Animation Scoop Q&A was edited for length, clarity and structure.)
Jackson Murphy: Petey goes from a fashion magazine assistant in eccentric — and at times realistic (right now) — New York City to running a cult in the south. How did you want to approach your character kind of reacting to and adjusting to this major change in her life?
Annie Murphy: I mean, let’s be honest, there’s a bit of Alexis [from “Schitt’s Creek”] in Petey. It was a nice sweet spot. I got to throw on my vocal fry again and plunge back into that world. It was so much fun working with Anna [Drezen], the creator of the show. We had so many giggles. She has such a wild and bizarre brain that I adore so much. I was very, very happy to be asked to play Petey. It was a big honor.
JM: Great. She’s a very fun character. A funny element is that Petey’s favorite reality show is “Hot People Oversharing Their Trauma and Then Kissing”, and I feel like that is 80% of Reality TV these days.
AM: And I’m not mad about it. I’m there for it. 100%.
JM: (laughs) In working with Anna, the creativity must be off the charts.
AM: Oh yeah. She is such a cool woman and has such an amazing vision for the show. And I’m so proud that it’s a female-led animated show. I feel like that’s… I’m not as well-versed as you, but I feel like it’s a bit of a new territory, so I’m really happy to be a part of it.
JM: It’s awesome. And such a strong lead character you voice. She’s very confident. She’s a go-getter. Especially in the second episode, she has a real arc and a sense of understanding of situations that go on. You’ve obviously done 22-minute episodic television in live-action, but how, through your voice performance, did you want to create an arc in 22-minute episodic animated television?
AM: Well, Anna wrote some very, very strong scripts. I just got to go in and be ridiculous. When we first meet Petey, she’s whispering her ideas in the boardroom and then shimmying and apologizing for her thoughts, so Anna has given her a lot of room to grow in confidence and self-worth. All it takes is inheriting a cult and that’s all you need to grow some confidence. It’s as simple as that!
JM: And sometimes you’ll run into a celebrity! Alan Tudyk shows up in the first episode. Of course he’s voiced a number of characters in Disney animated movies, including “Zootopia” and on the “Zootopia+” series. I guess you never know who you’ll run into in New Utopia?
AM: I’m constantly surprised by the cast of characters that Anna has come up with. There are a couple of [big] surprises.
Jackson and Annie Murphy — June 26, 2023
JM: I grew-up with 25 Days of Christmas. Freeform is also known for the 31 Nights of Halloween. You’re part of their first-ever animated series. What does that honor mean to you?
AM: It’s amazing. I have always wanted to do voice work. To be a part of that crew and to be the first animated show is a great honor.
JM: Cool. And I feel like the Friday night 10:00 slot is great. Also a part of the show is Mike Judge, an animation icon. He serves as an executive producer. Were you a big “Beavis and Butt-head” and “King of the Hill” fan?
AM: I was!
JM: I laughed hysterically throughout the new “Beavis and Butt-head” movie that came out last year. And “King of the Hill” is coming back! One of the other recent [voice acting] gigs you had was “Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken” — the big DreamWorks animated movie. Director Kirk DeMicco and producer Kelly Cooney Cilella spoke highly of working with you.
AM: Shucks! They’re such sweethearts. That was my first big movie that I’ve done. I hope I get to keep the ball rolling here because I love showing up to work in sweatpants. It’s a dream come true.
JM: (laughs) Isn’t it the best? That movie put a spin on “The Little Mermaid”. You voiced Chelsea, who’s a spin on Ariel — she’s got the red hair and some attitude. Did you watch “The Little Mermaid” a lot when you were growing up, and how did you want to approach this voice performance?
AM: Oh my gosh. Yes, “The Little Mermaid” was on heavy rotation in my house. It was fun because we are always rooting for The Little Mermaid but in playing Chelsea, we find out, in fact, that mermaids are the evil ones, not the ones we’re rooting for anymore. To play a purely evil character was a thrill. I haven’t had that opportunity before in my career, and it came uncomfortably naturally to me to be just a pure bad one. And then we got to see the kraken. It’s a creature we don’t know a ton about so there’s still this element of mystery to them. We find out we’re rooting for the massive, tentacled sea creature, not the pretty little mermaid.
JM: You do a fantastic job with it. You’ve had a MAJOR voice acting summer, Annie!
AM: No wonder my voice is gone! I’ve been fortunately so busy.
JM: Your co-stars and friends from “Schitt’s Creek”, Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara, have done some voice work over the years, including “Over the Hedge”. Did you go to them [for] any advice on getting into the animation world?
AM: You know I didn’t. I’m just always too busy trying to invite myself over to their houses for dinner. That’s my main concern when it comes to those two. But now that I have a couple of things under my belt, it would make a good topic of conversation at dinner… at the dinner I will invite myself to!
JM: You won your Emmy award a couple years ago during one of the most bizarre Emmy award ceremonies ever.
AM: (laughs) It’s one of those things where you’re like, “Did that really happen?” It was so surreal and wonderful and bizarre. There was a person in a hazmat suit giving out Emmys. That’s a memory that I have now forever. So wild.
JM: And they have voice acting Emmy categories, so maybe you’ll be back with “Praise Petey”! What’s your opinion on standing desks? [Mentioned in one of the first couple episodes]
AM: Difficult to adjust. Finding that perfect height. It’s a skill.
JM: Right! One of the other voice actors on the show is John Cho, who voices Bandit. The chemistry is good, and it’s kind of this “Will they / won’t they”? Did you end-up doing scenes together?
AM: No. Luckily we were able to do table reads with everybody. At least we had one pass of the script. We could hear it out loud. We could see each other’s faces on the computer. John does such a good job on this show. It’s so cool to work with him. They are constantly on-again / off-again. It doesn’t get old, though. It’s a trope for a reason!
JM: “Schitt’s Creek” lasted a long time. In your conversations with Anna and Freeform, how long do you see “Praise Petey” going?
AM: I hope it goes on for 76 seasons. I’ve had the best time working with Anna. I’ve had so many laughs. I feel like it’s a full workout every time I go into the booth. I’m having so many giggles. I’m in for however long they choose to keep this show alive.
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