Interview: Exploring the Joys Of Character Growth, Sci-Fi Madness, and Lasagna Rays With Solar Opposites’ Thomas Middleditch, Mary Mack, and Sean Giambrone

It’s a golden age for adult animated series and Hulu’s Solar Opposites has quickly emerged as one of the most popular programs of the new streaming era. Solar Opposites has found critical and commercial acclaim across its first two seasons through its chaotic blend of stock sitcom storytelling with exaggerated sci-fi surrealness. The stories told in Solar Opposites often feel like they’d be impossible in any other television series, but there’s also a real heart to the show that’s present in its atypical alien family of Korvo, Terry, Yumyulack, and Jesse. Solar Opposites loves to operate in extremes and blast a laser through any melodrama, but its characters have carefully evolved in compelling ways since the start of the series. The Solars all grow in unprecedented ways during the new season of Solar Opposites. Thomas Middleditch, Sean Giambrone, and Mary Mack, the talented actors who provide the voices for Terry, Yumyulack, and Jesse, candidly open up on the new changes that their characters face, how to find the real emotion behind these alien figures, and what their go-to sci-fi rays would do.

Daniel Kurland: More than anything else there’s an overwhelming emphasis on family this season. Was it satisfying to further develop that dynamic and kind of explore these characters in new roles and different contexts, like switching up who’s in charge?

Thomas Middleditch: Yeah, I think that the growth of the Pupa is helping usher in new dynamics, but I actually think that it’s one of the sweeter elements of the show. You can have 22 minutes of insanity and people getting blown apart, but so many episodes end with the family coming together in some sweet group hug. It’s really nice. It warms the heart.

DK: Well off of that juxtaposition between intense violence, sci-fi insanity, and wholesome family values, do you think that sweetness is an important element for why the show has found such an audience and connected with people?

MM: Oh yeah, I think so. You always need to be able to relate and connect on some level. We accomplish that with the family sitcom angle. We can then do a lot nastier things because of the foundation that we’ve built with the family. It anchors the audience and gives you more leeway. 

DK: Along those lines, there’s a lot of stasis in this series, but it’s still a show where the characters get to grow and there’s a serialized logic to it all where the characters’ memories don’t just reset at the end of an episode. After three seasons, is it rewarding to actually see changes in these characters from when you first started to play them?

Sean Giambrone: It happens so smoothly that I almost don’t pick up on them. Sometimes I’ll watch the earlier episodes and notice them, but it does feel nice. For the fans, it’s definitely a reward for being there through the whole thing. I like that they bring back characters who you think have wrapped up their stories or are gone. I think it’s exciting because we don’t know how these characters are going to continue to change each season.

MM: Sean and I went through puberty! We’re growing, in all the ways!

DK: Thomas, you touched on the Pupa earlier and one of the biggest changes this season is how he matures and becomes its own character. Are you excited to see what that might open up for your characters as he serves a larger presence in the show?

TM: Yeah, of course. I don’t know what the final plan for the Pupa is if it’s not some world-eating demigod Cthulu monster. We’ll have to see what comes, but the show has certainly allowed more space for a more conversational version of the character, which would be great. If that ever happens in season six, seven, eight or whatever that it will be a welcome change at that point.

DK: I was a big fan of the show’s Christmas special last season. Would you like to see the show tackle more holiday specials and what holiday do you think would be the best to focus on next?

TM: Well, are you going to Comic-Con…

DK: With the season being 11 episodes long and an extra one dropping last season, I just figured that something similar might happen again this year.

TM: There may be some announcements at Comic-Con.

MM: Yeah, try to make us talk now!

DK: I know how this stuff works! Solar Opposites has always been really good with meta and self-aware jokes, but in this season you really play with form and there are gags where the punchline arrives in the next episode. Has it been fun to see the show play with structure and take advantage of the binge model to build upon comedy?

MM: It’s awesome!

TM: As a comedian, it’s always so satisfying to have callbacks and running jokes and characters who aren’t just goldfish memory wiped each episode. It’s the serialization of animated shows and sitcoms, which if you go back a few decades were these multi-cam shows that kind of just existed. It’s super rewarding and every time that something comes back in a script it’s just great.

MM: And it’s rewarding for the viewers! It makes them feel like they’re in on the joke, especially when you’ve planned a punchline several episodes in advance. The audience becomes part of the family.

DK: There are a lot of crazy sci-fi rays in Solar Opposites that transform people into various things. What would your go-to sci-fi ray be if you could have one that does anything?

MM: That’s such a good question!

TM: Easy! I’d turn people into the weird animal monsters from The Island Of Dr. Moreau, for no other reason than for my own personal amusement. 

MM: I would have an environmental ray that would suddenly make everybody care about the environment. It would be such an improvement! That would be my ray and let’s make it happen!

SB: Because of your shirt I’m thinking about Garfield and I’d like to just have a bunch of Garfields walking around.

DK: I thought that maybe you were going to go with a lasagna ray, but I love that you just went with Garfield.

MM: Yeahhhh! A lasagna ray! I change my answer! I don’t want to help the world any more.

TM: Fuck the planet, I love lasagna!

DK: Is there an episode from this season that particularly stands out to you for whatever reason or is your favorite?

MM: I love it whenever Aisha, the AI, yells at us. I love getting reprimanded by Aisha.

TM: There’s a moment where Terry and Korvo get into trains for a hot second, which I think is funny because I’ve been following a couple of people online who are train enthusiasts. I’ve always thought that was both sweet, but so interesting. I used to post these videos whenever a train would go by and just launch all of these facts out like these train enthusiasts do. Train enthusiasts are so sweet and funny, so when that happened in the show it was like all of my worlds were coming together.

SB: I liked becoming a gambling guy. That was sweet.

Season three of ‘Solar Opposites’ is available to stream on July 13th, only on Hulu