November 15th, 2021 
Jackson Murphy 
The new Netflix animated series Dogs in Space (premiering this Thursday Nov. 18) is exactly that: dogs in space on a major mission. Creator Jeremiah Cortez and co-showrunner Adam Henry take me to a galaxy bark, bark away.
Jackson Murphy: Your story of how you got this show made is remarkable. What made you think of an astronaut dog story in the first place?
Jeremiah Cortez: That just kind of came about in the passing of thinking of a character named Garbage. That’s the main character. Growing up I always wanted this corgi and I wanted to name him Garbage. I love the breed. Growing up I realized the likelihood of me being able to have that kind of a dog was unlikely given the dog’s price tag. So during my last semester of college I created this cartoon corgi named Garbage. I put him in a spacesuit and gave him some friends and sent him off on this space adventure. Why I chose space? I’m not quite sure but that’s how it all started and it all snowballed from there.
JM: Yeah. And you got it to Netflix and they greenlit it. Adam, what got you hooked on Dogs in Space early on in this process?
Adam Henry: What got me hooked, Jackson, is Jeremiah. We met in 2018 just having coffee, and it was just one of those things where as soon as we started talking and hanging out, we were like brothers. It was easy and comfortable. He had the show at that point – he had sold it to Netflix. He had met a lot of people at that point to see who could help him run it. And it turned out that we got along really well. Let me tell you, when you can get along with the creator on a show for three years, it’s a pretty awesome experience.
JM: Good. This show has such a fun vibe about something that’s kind of serious: dogs needing to find a new planet to save the human race. So Jeremiah, how were you able to find the comedy in all of this?
JC: Yeah, that was a tricky thing because it is a very dark topic – given what we know about the world now and the human race and this overpopulation and pollution and running out of resources here. In this story it’s very much: the human race didn’t learn their lesson and now they’re finally paying for it. That’s why we send up these dogs because they find it more efficient, as far as these scientists are concerned. But at the heart of the show, it’s still a story about dogs who just want to get home to their owners. It was tricky to find that middle ground so we could have that commentary and still make it a comedy. But as long as the characters are making fun of themselves and the whole situation that they’re in and relying more on each other and their friendship and experience of being out on this adventure by themselves – that was something to find the comedy, emotion and heart in.
JM: Jeremiah, you’re right about the commentary. Just in the first episode with Captain Garbage missing his owner Chelsea and that storyline… you feel that emotionally. Adam, what percentage of your crew has pets and how did that emotional storyline affect everybody working on this show?
AH: We couldn’t have anyone with a cat on the show.
JM: (laughs)
AH: In interviews, that was sort of a deal-breaker if they didn’t have cats. Sorry, you can’t work on our show. No – just kidding. There are a ton of people who have dogs on the show. And pretty much everyone’s dog is in the show. Jeremiah made a point of: if you have a dog and you’re on the show, your dog is gonna be caricatured and put on the show. There definitely was a doginess. When we first started the show we were [working] on Sunset Boulevard and the office we were in was dog-friendly, so the first month and a half of the show, we were creating it and the writers’ room and there were two or three dogs hanging around the whole time.
JM: That’s awesome. I was gonna ask then, Jeremiah, about studying dogs and their behavior. Every main dog – you look at all the characters – so different, not just in look but in spirit and in personality. What went into studying dogs and their behavior for these characters?
JC: When it came to pitching Dogs in Space, it was trying to figure out the correct way of doing it for the fanbase and audience I was looking at. One of them was dog lovers. I wanted to make sure I was doing it right by them. So I got some dog breed books, read-up on the breeds, picked the ones I thought would be good… for the main cast. I had Garbage. He was a very spunky, ready for action-type character. And it was just finding the cast ensemble that would best complement that type of personality and trying to find the dogs that would best fit that with their personalities. These dogs have the breeds and their mannerisms and tell you how manageable they are and how much training they take.
JM: You made some good choices. The show starts off with a big action sequence and has a fun space vibe. Adam, how much went into the designs of all the aliens and creatures you create and the really cool, massive environments?
AH: In that sense, it’s a big show. As with most shows when you pitch them and start them and start making it, they tell you, “Hey, this show’s bigger than you said it was gonna be.” I’m like, “It’s in space! It’s a space adventure. You should’ve known better.” Creating all that was great. Jeremiah… is an amazing character designer. The majority of the dogs, especially at the beginning, were his character designs. And then we would bring in other designers, usually to do the aliens. It’s a world-building show. You have a parameter where you can’t spend $5 million on an episode but we are still world-building. So it was a challenge design-wise to still be a world-building show, still make sure you have some [episodes] where you don’t go to a new planet but still have that feeling of you’re in space and in this crazy, big room to play with.
JM: We gotta talk about the voice cast. Haley Joel Osment voices Garbage. Jeremiah, you mentioned that Garbage has some spunk to him, and I can tell that there’s a kind of a pep in Osment’s voice performance. How did he get this gig?
JC: We put it out there and we were fortunate enough for him to come in and audition. That blew my mind. I grew-up playing the game Kingdom Hearts. He was the voice of the main character Sora. To hear that he was gonna come in and audition was a treat for myself, and it’s kind of almost like it was predetermined. It was destiny. In creating the show I wanted to make sure I really honed down that relationship between Garbage and Chelsea. This longing – this journey to be back with his owner. One of the movies that I remember referencing early on was A.I., which of course was a story about a robot boy who wanted to be with this human mom. It’s crazy. I thought of it the other day. I was just like, “Oh man. I referenced A.I. and that was Haley Joel as the boy. And now we’re doing Dogs in Space and he’s now doing Garbage, this dog who is kind of this same character – longing to be back with his owner on Earth.”
AH: And all I could think of was The Sixth Sense every time.
JM: Yeah. Both iconic movies. It’s nice to hear when it feels like destiny when it comes to casting actors for roles. And speaking of that, Sarah Chalke voices Stella and Chris Parnell voices Ed. They’re also both on Rick & Morty. I saw them at San Diego Comic-Con a couple years ago. Adam, was it intentional to bring these two Rick & Morty stars onto this space adventure show?
AH: We love Rick & Morty. The writing of that show blows us away. In comedy, to a certain extent, the best comedy writing is in animation right now: Bob’s Burgers, Rick & Morty, BoJack Horseman. We’re probably drawn to those characters and those actors, perhaps, because we’ve heard them a lot and love them. I grew-up on Sarah Chalke on Scrubs. I had a little crush on her then. And Chris Parnell: I grew-up on 30 Rock with him as Dr. Spaceman. Both of them are so talented. It was really a treat for us.
JC: For Ed, when I was creating the characters, I wanted a smarmy, conniving dog on the crew. Dr. Spaceman was part of that reference character I wanted. So that mixture of Dr. Spaceman is very much a part of who Ed is. I always wanted [Parnell] to be the voice of Ed. And I asked… he was on my wish list… and I was like, “There’s no way we’re gonna get him for the show.” And we got him and he nailed it. He came in the first day and he was Ed.
JM: That’s so great. I have to ask the both of you… since the show has a little bit of a Star Trek vibe… what did you guys think of William Shatner going to space?
AH: (laughs) Well, I wish he had a dog with him. But other than that.
JC: We saw the clip the other day and… I guess I felt happy for him since his whole life has been space and he actually got to go up and experience it. And you could hear it in his voice how stunning and surreal it was for him.
AH: I think he’s an alien. I don’t think he’s human anyway. He’s 90 years old! He’s still hopping around going into space. That’s just not normal!
JM: It’s amazing. What an honor. I wish he did have a dog. If you had the power to send dogs to space, what would you want these dogs to bring back to Earth?
AH: (laughs) Other than a planet, probably signs of alien life. Definitely.
JC: Some kind of trinket. Dig a hole. See what you can find.
AH: He wants them to bring back gold.
JC: Space gold.
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