Chadd Gindin is the showrunner of upcoming FOX animated comedy series Grimsburg, starring and executive produced by Emmy-winning “Mad Men” actor Jon Hamm. Ahead of this Saturday’s New York Comic Con panel at 12:30pm (on the Main Stage with fellow FOX comedy Krapopolis), Gindin gave me his first interview in 30 years, since his days of being a kid stand-up comic. He reveals as much as he can about Grimsburg, which will join the Animation Domination lineup soon. (This Animation Scoop Q&A was edited for length and clarity.)

Jackson Murphy: I know the show’s been in the works for a couple years, and it has already been renewed for Season 2. Congratulations.

Chadd Gindin: Thank you. It has been quite some time being on this project. Very excited to get it out there.

JM: How has production been — bringing to life a new FOX Animation Domination entry?

CG: It’s been great. It’s a dream. I grew up wanting to do this. You spend all that time working and writing on different shows and clawing your way up the ladder. I worked on Animation Domination before. I was on “The Cleveland Show” [as a writer and story editor]. To get to see it from there and then to now finally have my own show. It’s pretty insane. Everyone I’ve worked with from FOX to Bento Box has been so great.

JM: I wanted to ask you about “Cleveland”. What was a highlight for you of that experience? Huge to have “Family Guy” have a spinoff show? What’s a key memory from that?

CG: My memory there is that it was an absolutely all-star writers’ room. Such heavy hitters. So many have gone on to run and create shows on their own. I remember going in there as a lower level and thinking I was pretty funny and getting there and going, “Oh. I’m not nearly as funny as I thought I was.” These guys really understand not just sitcoms but animated sitcoms. They were so funny. And the people you work with. Rich Appel taught me so much. Mike Henry. You couldn’t ask for a funnier person in the room. And I learned what it takes to make an animated show. It’s a lot. There’s a lot that goes into it. Learned a little bit there, and then when I got thrown into the fire here, realized, “My bosses were doing SO much more work than I had any idea they were doing.”

JM: Jon Hamm stars as detective Marvin Flute. What is as much of the plot of “Grimsburg” as you can tell me at this point?

CG: It’s a tale about a defective detective who has returned to his home. He is, without a doubt, Grimsburg’s greatest detective, who can solve anything but himself. That’s his biggest problem. It’s a special town that’s full of weird, wild characters, in the vein of a “Twin Peaks” or a “Fargo”. Any of those weird, middle of America towns that have odd things happening in the corners of it. He’s aided by his family and his co-workers in the detective department there. It’s an interesting show mostly because what maybe differentiates it a little bit from some of the other shows on Sunday is that while there’s a family element to it, there’s also a pretty heavy workplace element.

We did our best to… make it a little different. It’s not like we’re totally blowing away what’s gone on before us or anything like that. Our hope was to make it a little bit to the left of that. One of the things we talked about when we were developing this show was: we love everything that’s going on on Animation Domination, but we also love a lot of what’s going on in streaming with animation. This is our attempt to find a middle ground between those two, so that it doesn’t feel different from what you’re watching on Sunday night but also it’s something else. When you see it, you’ll hopefully feel that, see that, hear that, laugh at that.

JM: I saw “Blue Velvet” for the first time recently. Quite a movie. What do you think will make Marvin the next great FOX lead animated character?

CG: He’s such an interesting character. He’s a guy who has all this knowledge. He can solve anything and yet he can’t figure himself out. He has that ability. Those blindspots are what sometimes make characters the funniest.

JM: Jon Hamm recently played Fletch and was a police chief trying to crack a case in “Maggie Moore(s)”. In working with him, what does he love about the detective character and being a part of this show?

CG: I think he loves the genre as much as I do. That’s what’s important. This is a sort of genre comedy. It’s not just a family show. We play off a lot of detective genre tropes. You look at those detectives and he fits right in the mold. I’m sure he grew-up watching those detectives like I did. We all wanted to be a detective growing up, solving crimes and being the hero at the end of the day. He gets that, and he also gets comedy. The man is a comedy savant. He really loves comedy. You can see that when you watch “30 Rock” and him hosting “SNL”. I think, in his heart, he loves comedy, and it shows.

JM: Then this is a great opportunity for him! And Wendie Malick from “The Owl House” is in the voice cast. {At this moment I see an interesting look on Chadd’s face.} Is that true?

CG: No. (laughs)

JM: Oh! The internet’s crazy, man!

CG: If you look online, there’s some weird casting information on there.

JM: So you’re gonna set the record straight on Saturday when you’re at the panel?!

CG: Absolutely.

JM: What are you most looking forward to from the New York Comic Con experience, and having this be paired with “Krapopolis” for the panel?

CG: It’s my first Comic Con. Not that I never wanted to go, I just never could… nor did I have a show to bring there). I’m super excited to see it… to be there and feel that energy. Having my first time be at one while I’m debuting a show that I’m running is pretty exciting!

If you attend New York Comic Con this Thursday through Sunday, you can pick-up “Grimsburg” and “Krapopolis” mini-posters at the FOX Animation Domination booth on the main floor. And at Saturday’s panel, you can expect “Grimsburg” cast announcements, release date news and much more!

10/15 UPDATE: At the NYCC panel, FOX announced that “Grimsburg” will premiere following an NFL doubleheader on Sunday January 7th. Cast members joining Jon Hamm include Erinn Hayes, Rachel Dratch, Alan Tudyk, Kevin Michael Richardson and Greg Chun.