When Mission to Zyxx debuted in 2017, the podcasting area was very completely different. There have been fewer exhibits, and extra money was being spent as firms rushed to determine the right way to capitalize on the rising medium. At a time when many massive podcasts have been targeted on information and investigative reporting, Zyxx — an improvised comedy a few group of alien diplomats journeying across the galaxy in search of adventure — felt like an oddity that was channeling the spirit of basic radio dramas.
The present was a loving sendup of Star Wars and Star Trek’s most iconic (and ridiculous) narrative beats. And whereas nostalgia was an enormous a part of Zyxx’s attraction, meticulous sound design and impressed, on-the-spot performances made every episode sound like one thing from podcasting’s future.
When Mission to Zyxx got here to an finish in 2022, the present’s creators — Alden Ford, Jeremy Bent, Allie Kokesh, Seth Lind, Winston Noel, and Moujan Zolfaghari — wanted a break and time to determine what they wished to do subsequent. Ultimately they landed on The Young Old Derf Chronicles; it’s set in the identical universe as Mission to Zyxx and options many voices from the unique, nevertheless it’s a really completely different sort of (mini)collection, one which’s lampooning one thing rather more fashionable about sci-fi.
After I just lately sat down with Ford and Lind forward of The Younger Outdated Derf Chronicles’ debut at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, they instructed me that their new podcast is, partly, a response to the way in which that studios have grow to be obsessive about increasing their established franchises with prequels. However The Younger Outdated Derf Chronicles can be the artistic staff’s method of exhibiting followers how essential their continued assist has been.
This interview has been edited and condensed for readability.
Wanting again, how has the Zyxx fandom advanced, would you say, and the way has fan engagement impacted the present?
Alden Ford: After we began in season 2, we began a Patreon to assist fund among the extra bold points of the present and pay [sound designer] Shane [O’Connell] for the work that he was more and more placing into each episode to make them larger and crazier. That actually related us to our listeners in a method that I don’t suppose we actually would have anticipated in season 1 when it was only a present that was on the market and other people appreciated it.
Seth Lind: One thing that shocked us was simply how deeply so lots of the followers care in regards to the present. After we got down to make it, we wished it to be humorous, we wished individuals to love it, and we wished it to be standard. However we didn’t actually dare to hope that it might grow to be so essential and significant to individuals. We heard from individuals saying, “I used to be within the deepest despair of my life and this was the factor I’d look ahead to,” or “My associate handed away and that is the very first thing that made me snicker.”
Proper across the time the present was ending, a bunch of followers made us this thick guide they referred to as Mission to Zine that was a group of artwork and letters saying what the present had meant to them. Issues like that made us really feel a duty to our followers. The present is violent and it will possibly get very blue, however we all the time labored to guard its coronary heart and make it really feel prefer it was coming from a very good place. If there was one thing that appeared prefer it was punching down, we’d minimize it out, and whereas characters could possibly be imply as people, however just like the present as a complete couldn’t. I feel these instincts led to us cultivating a fandom that actually cares for one another. And having that group made it a lot extra significant to make the present.
AF: As followers of sci-fi, everyone knows very, very intimately how disappointing it may be whenever you’re a fan of one thing that doesn’t land the aircraft or will get canceled too quickly. And so for us, as soon as we obtained a couple of seasons in we obtained invested in making it pretty much as good as attainable. Particularly within the again half of season 5, we have been like, “What are the methods to wrap up this present so that everybody who listens and cares about it’s going to be glad by it?” After all, that’s an unattainable activity since you’re by no means going to do one thing that makes everyone completely satisfied. However I feel we ended it on our personal phrases, which is greater than a variety of exhibits can say.
AF: There’s a pair completely different causes. The enjoyable cause is that everyone knows how a lot Star Wars there may be now. I’m not complaining, however I do suppose it has grow to be its personal sort of cliché that no character, irrespective of how foolish or tertiary, deserves their very own absolutely fledged miniseries the place you clarify each attainable facet of their backstory.
You’re not hype for a Glup Shitto collection?
AF: [Laughs] I imply, sure, I’m trying ahead to the Salacious B. Crumb trilogy and the present chronicling Max Rebo’s rise to stardom. However yeah, we thought that if we have been going to do one thing else within the Zyxx universe, it’d be enjoyable to do precisely the issues Star Wars would do — one thing like an Obi-Wan, or a Mandalorian, or a Boba Fett collection. Parodying the style and the tropes round it felt very true to us typically. However the different cause is that Justin [Tyler] is a man all of us love and he’s a fan favourite.
SL: Derf is the closest factor to being the Obi-Wan of this universe, and simply having the ability to name him “Younger Outdated Derf” fully offered me on the concept of doing a present about him. As a result of, like, that’s so silly, and “the story of Derf when he was barely much less previous” is a derivative nobody requested for. However I additionally keep in mind Justin very early on within the first couple episodes, he gave Alden some suggestions in regards to the present, saying that, like, “Pleck must be essential.”
Particularly within the early seasons, Pleck — who’s the viewers surrogate — was sort of a punching bag, and it was sort of a joke that he was essential. However Justin was like, “As foolish as this all is, this man really must be somebody who finally ends up being important and he has to have an arc to observe.” I feel that actually helped the present discover its voice, and is an enormous a part of what helped us final so many seasons.
Did Andor inform your method to crafting The Younger Outdated Derf Chronicles?
AF: One of many challenges we gave ourselves is making a brand new sort of present. Not that we wished to reinvent the wheel or something, however we wished to make Derf distinctly completely different in substance and construction from the unique present. With the brand new present, it’s primarily a first-person narrative the place just about every thing is fairly being instructed from Derf’s perspective. And from an improv standpoint, we approached it method much less from the standard Zyxx format the place we begin on the ship, we get a mission, after which we’re on the planet of the week.
With Derf, we thought, what if we handled it extra identical to a “fuck round” the place we’re simply having enjoyable with Derf in these new settings with much more walk-ons, digressions, and longer scenes the place weirder stuff occurs and we’re not as anxious in regards to the propulsion of the plot or a strict three-act construction? It’s been method tougher to make and method tougher to edit and produce, nevertheless it’s actually fulfilling for us particularly as a result of we’re not simply palette-swapping Mission to Zyxx. I don’t know if Andor was making an attempt to try this by mixing up the construction and the model, however I do suppose that’s been the important thing for getting us creatively enthusiastic about making this factor.
Would you be open to extra Zyxx past The Younger Outdated Derf Chronicles?
AF: Completely. I feel doing this present as a restricted collection has actually felt like a very good and sustainable strategy to maintain issues going. We’ve all talked about doing this new present, you recognize, seeing how listeners reply, after which reassessing our workload to see if doing extra sooner or later is sensible with our lives now. If we proceed to make exhibits within the Zyxx world, it should most likely be in methods like this the place we’ll give you one thing, we will produce 10 episodes, work for a 12 months to truly make the factor, after which regroup to see what the subsequent factor is.
The Younger Outdated Derf Chronicles doesn’t but have a agency launch date. However in the event you’re thinking about seeing the Mission to Zyxx crew carry out and produce an episode reside, tickets are nonetheless accessible for their upcoming live show at Caveat in New York City, which can even be livestreamed.