We are the gobsmacked creators behind TOO MANY COOKS- Casper Kelly (Writer/Director) and Paul Painter (Editor & Creative Consultant) - AUA!

Too many cooks. TOOO MANY COOKS. Too many cooks. Too many cooks. TOOO MANY COOKS. Too many cooks. Too many cooks. TOOO MANY COOKS. Too many cooks. Too many cooks. TOOO MANY COOKS. Too many cooks. Too many cooks. TOOO MANY COOKS. Too many cooks. Too many cooks. TOOO MANY COOKS. Too many cooks. Too many cooks. TOOO MANY COOKS. Too many cooks. Too many cocks. TOOO MANY COOKS. Too many cooks. Too many cooks. TOOO MANY COOKS. Too many cooks. Too many cooks. TOOO MANY COOKS. Too many cooks. Too many cooks. TOOO MANY COOKS. Too many cooks. Too many cooks. TOOO MANY COOKS. Too many cooks. Too many cooks. TOOO MANY COOKS. Too many cooks?

[EDIT: Too many cooks. TOOO MANY COOKS. Too many cooks. Too many cooks. TOOO MANY COOKS.]

You're giving me PTSD.

Did Smarf touch the button or not before he died? I have to know before I die.

Should I even say what I think? What if you disagree?

What was it like seeing your 4am show get onto the front page of Reddit and across social media?

I am a regular redditor (lurker). Last night when this was all over twitter I was getting overwhelmed. I then went to Reddit just is as my usual habit just to get a break from Too Many Cooks. And Too Many Cooks was the number one thing. My head exploded!

How difficult was it to strike a balance between the desired repetitiveness of song and the sporadic, and often jarring, transitions into other shows/realities? In other words, was it a constant challenge to know when you were teetering on monotony and needed a fresh jolt of insanity?

Absolutely the hardest part! You nailed it. A lot of showing it to people and trial and error. Paul and I really crawled up the ass of this thing.

Too Many Cooks is one of the most brilliant and funny things I've seen in a long time. Thank you for making it.

Was there an inspiration for the creepy killer? Also, are there other "infomercials" you've done for Adult Swim that have been largely missed?

I think also a see a bit of Killer Bob from Twin Peaks and a bit of Jack Nicholson in the Shining there.

Do you realise that you've completely shut down and demoralised countless visual comedians like myself by completely mastering and finishing the genre? You bastards.

Nah, the real question is how did this idea come into being; how did you pitch it? How did you come up with it? It's such a unique idea so I understand if there wasn't much more thought behind the idea than you were watching some sitcom and your mind wandered.

I think it was a shower idea - just simply the idea of a show sitcom open that doesn't stop. It made me laugh. But I didn't think it could work for 11 minutes so I didn't do anything with it. Then my coworker Jim Fortier (Squidbillies) told the idea to Mike Lazzo (head of Adult Swim) at a party and he laughed. So I decided to go for it. I told Mike I wasn't sure it could work for 11 minutes - just adding actors. Mike said even Andy Kaufmann would only do that for about 4 minutes - and then I needed to start zigging and zagging. He was right.

Is Victoria Sun single?

I know I was more nervous on set than she was.

How many times do you think you guys listened to that song? Don't get me wrong, it's great, but jesus, I can't get it out of my head and I only listened to it twice. It's pretty maddening.

Rough guess but maybe 1000.

What is the overarching theme in Too Many Cooks?

I've watched several times in the past 2 days trying to figure it out. So far I've gathered that Ken DeLozier is a typical American, and media (the Murderer) is consuming his life, destroying him. Smarf is his one last connection to innocence, fighting off the Murderer to an apparent stalemate, though in reality the Murderer has won. Did I just smoke too much and overthink this?

I love this interpretation. Honestly my brain is too fried from this day to even try to say what I think it is. And I don't even know if Paul and I agree on this. There's a lot that has to be inferred so it is open for interpretation. I am sorry for this quasi copout answer.

I second this haha, is there some hidden theme/message or is it just a goof and a spoof?

Where does one draw the line between a goof and a spoof

goof | spoof

    ^here

You are my hero. If I wasn't a cheapskate I would give you gold.

Who wrote the jingle?

I wrote the lyrics, the song was written by Shawn Coleman (Squidbillies sound genius) and Michael Kohler (sound genius who did Stroker & Hoop theme, Archer sfx, Harvey Birdman etc.) All out of Atlanta! We didn't have a lot of money so they had to work on it between gigs. They both said it was the hardest project they worked on.

The way that it evolves is nothing short of genius, I'm also interested who composed this masterpiece of modern expression.

This city's like a pressure cooker turned up to HIGH

That specific line was Shawn Coleman. You should check out his songs for Squidbillies too.

When will we be able to know what happened after that dude said he was home?

We did shoot more of that scene but then decided cutting it off that fast was funnier.

Where'd you get the orange cat puppet from and how do i get him out of my nightmares? thanks

Chris Brown and Shane Morton - two amazing horror effects guys that also do stuff for Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell. For season 2 they built us a Cerberus.

Is this a homage to David Lynch?

I love him so much it has to be an influence. And Andy Kaufmann. Charlie Kaufman. Beyond the Black Rainbow. And of course Small Wonder.

Is this a one-shot deal or do you plan on continuing this?

Also, pardon my ignorance, but what else have you guys made/worked on that we may know?

Continuing? Maybe! I have other weird ideas to try too though. But it has been discussed. Your ignorance is pardoned. I cocreated/write/direct a show with Dave Willis (Aqua Teen) and wrote a book called More Stories about Spaceships and Cancer. Paul is best known for his ballet work.

I want to know... were y'all giggling maniacally while making TMC? Cuz I'd like to think you guys were.

Yes. And then when we would get sick of it. And then like it again.

The part where the Dynasty type sequence repeats was an accident. It was a glitch of playback where that bird repeated and it made us laugh.

Has there been any easter eggs no one (that you know of) has found yet?

I've been too busy to read people's posts about the Easter Eggs. Did people notice the painting?

Weirdos.

How did you get that 80's look down so well? And that sound design/editing was impeccable; props to your sound crew (PROPS? BUT THOSE ARE FOR THE ART DEPARTMENT HEYYUYOOYOYOYOYOYOYOOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOOYOYOOOOOOOOOOOOO)

Sorry, your insanity was infectious.

:)

I heard Tim and Eric do a lot of their casting through regular channels in LA. Did you follow a similar process to get such a large cast or were many of the roles hand-picked?

We used a couple of extras casting directors (yes there is such a thing - I didn't know that either). It was pretty painstaking to get the right look for each character so it felt legit. Also actors and friends did it for the fun of it - a lot of these were actors willing to do it for our cheap budget. Atlanta has a big acting community know. Did you know Georgia is number 3 in movie production in the US and number 5 in the world?

Also I do love Tim and Eric so much.

I love Wonder Woman. That spin was amazing. How do you feel about her?

That was a segment a lot of people in the building didn't like us stretching out. I liked highlighting sort of the awkwardness of the idea of it, but at the same time it is sexual. But mostly awkward.

What joke did you really want to put in, but for some reason couldn't?

I had a bit on the ending credits that was like "Coming up next, Two in the Bush! Chloe has her hands full!" and then Chloe does a funny soundbite. But we decided it was funnier to rush to the ending.

What's been your favorite response to Too Many Cooks so far?

Edgar Wright and Rian Johnson are up there. But my god all of it. I can't tell you how weird this is to know your heroes have seen something you did.

The biggest question is: How many "shows" are hidden in there?

I will leave that to an OCD viewer to discern.

What kind of drugs are you on and where can I get some?

Seriously, man. That disturbed me almost as much as Rabbits did, years ago. Well played.

I love Rabbits! You are making my year comparing it to such giants! I don't think any idea when you're high ends up being good under the light of day - except maybe for musicians. But I do think viewing it under an influence - with that time dilation thing - can really mess with people.

Hello!

First off, i wanted to say that i am so glad you all decided to bless us with this amazing piece of work.

How long was TOO MANY COOKS in the works? and how surprised are you at how drastically it blew up?

Thanks!

It came together very quickly and a stage opened up and we shot it in 3 days. The editing and music took a lot longer - months - because we all had to do it in addition to our day jobs.

Since the broth's no good, what are you gonna eat for dinner? I think it is a good night for Chinese Take-out.

I will order the Chinese for you if I can have your awesome user name. Fried rice, white rice, or brown? Or noodles?

Why is this so addicting to watch? I've watched it dozens ( I don't like exaggerating) of times already after discovering it last night.

Also How did the production of this short work out between all the sets actors, and variations? It seems like it would have been hell to put together.

That being said thank you for my new addiction, curse you and may you never be productive again.

Thank you! Almost all of it was shot in a warehouse with a lot of TV fakery. Like the hospital is a cinderblock wall and a clear curtain. Aimee Holmberg the production designer did blow out the living room though.

What were the actors' reactions when you explained the idea to them? Did the kids understand what was going on?

Yes. I think everybody got it. We did shoot the Victoria Sun pictionary part split screen though for the sake of the children.

Who's your favorite recurring guest star on Too Many Cooks?

Also, where are you going to do the next casting call for extras in season two?

Is it too dumb to say they're like my children and I love them all? The Killer (William Tokarsky) is a demon on our show Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell. He is also in Walking Dead and Anchor Man 2. We liked him and made him a character.

Also - when we delivered season 2 scripts for Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell to our boss at Adult Swim Mike Lazzo in January, we went to his apartment and had William in a diaper as Father Time and Matt Foster (Coat) also in a diaper as Baby New Year.

Matthew Sparks big smile always makes me feel happy when I see it. Especially right after he gets blown up.

I didn't realize until recently he was barefoot.

Were you inspired at all by Fatal Farm's work?

I loved "Too Many Cooks" so much. Though I'm a little mad at you for the 24-hour earworm and the future nightmares.

I love Fatal Farm. Lasagna Cat I love. Duck Tales. Happy Days. I didn't think of that but they had to have been an influence bigtime. To beat a dead horse Lasagna Cat with the "Eyes Without a Face" part is my favorite thing ever.

I've been thinking about this video all day. If that was your intention, great job?

Thank you!

No question. I just wanted to say that I watched that last night with my wife and a friend we loved it. Honestly one of the coolest things I've watched in a long while. Ok, maybe one question - what do you think the killers name was?

I think it's a thing that is not allowed to be known - the show itself won't allow it. But I did sneak some possibilities in his staticy credits.

Since "Too Many Cooks" blew up, is there a chance of making this a regular segment on Adult Swim?

Never say never.

I have to say, it's unbelievable how many things in my life have been falling apart lately but this really cheered me up this morning and again right now!

Can I just ask: is the shot at 2:30 known to filmmakers as The Roseanne?

Haha! Technically the Rosanne is tracking around the table facing in. We put the camera on a lazy susan on the table facing out. But I am being pedantic and find the term The Roseanne more than acceptable.

Hey Casper/Paul-

Too Many Cooks is dangerously close to a show pitch I've been working on for the better part of a year now, so thanks for making something that kicked my ass into high gear with regards to getting it finished and into a presentable format.

That said, you guys obviously have a taste for darker and more... challenging comedy. Why exactly do you think that this sorta avantgarde, more alienating form of comedy has been getting more and more popular as of late?

And again, thank you for the motivation

I don't know and honestly I'm really surprised. I love Wonder Showzen, Tim and Eric Bedtime Stories, Heart She Holler -- I guess it's in the zeitgeist? God I sound pretentious. Also I think I misspelled zeitgeist.