Interview with creators Will Carsola and Dave Stewart | By Michael Pementel
There has always been a charm to be found in the world of animation. Since the early days of black and white escapades featuring Mickey Mouse, cartoons have been there to make audiences laugh and brighten their days. But while many cartoons may be about sunshine and rainbows, there’s also plenty of room for shows that want to fill viewers’ days with violence and perversion.
“Originally, the show was inspired by the thought of the show ‘Lassie’ if the dog was a serial killer,” explain Will Carsola and Dave Stewart, co-creators of the Adult Swim cartoon “Mr. Pickles.” “The original idea was set in the 1950s, and the dog was more gross and disturbing-looking then, but when we set the world in present day, we were able to give the same classic characters a more modern twist. By drawing inspiration from Dave’s dog Edie—a blue heeler mix who has a permanent smile—we not only found it funnier to have a cuter dog doing horrific things, but it made it seem like [the character] Grandpa was even crazier for ever suggesting such a cute dog could be a murderer.”
First aired back in 2014, “Mr. Pickles” follows the demonic border collie through his many repulsive endeavors of torture and debauchery. Episodes are bound to make stomachs turn, like when Mr. Pickles commands a bunch of rats to crawl inside a guy’s mouth and his guts implode.
“Episode ideas don’t come from any one particular place,” Carsola and Stewart share. “Sometimes, they’re inspired by a movie one of us has just watched. Other times, it’s people from our childhood, places we’ve been, or just things that are happening currently in the world that we find our own way to make fun of. Inspiration comes from everywhere, really, but something [we] have always done that helps us in the writer’s room is what we call a ‘write-off,’ where we each write for 20 minutes without any judgement of how good our ideas will be. From there, we’ll read them out loud to the room, then pick some of the ideas that make us all laugh, then start building from there.”
With its third season set to premiere on Feb. 25 at midnight, “Mr. Pickles” will only amplify the dramatic vulgarity of its story.
“In the end of season two,” the creators state, “Grandpa realizes that Mr. Pickles’ leather-wearing man-pet Steve is and always has been Grandpa’s thought-to-be-dead wife, Agnes. In season three, we start by exploring what happens when Agnes comes back to the family. Other episodes will include a ‘COPS’-like show with Sheriff as the lead, an ‘80s-themed thriller about a pair of shoes, a Western-themed story about telemarketers, an episode about Tommy finally going to school, and lots more. We’ll dive in deeper to some of our town’s characters, all the while getting to see Mr. Pickles involved in even crazier situations.”
But first, fans of Mr. Pickles will be able to find him on the road, as Adult Swim and Riot Fest are co-sponsoring the Mr. Pickles Thrashtacular tour. The roughly two-week jaunt—which kicks off on Feb. 22 in Seattle and wraps up on March 10 in Atlanta—will feature Municipal Waste and Exodus. Both Carsola and Stewart are thrilled to be working with the bands and spreading the love Mr. Pickles has to share.
“Adult Swim pitched the idea to us to do a tour to promote season three,” the co-creators say, “and we immediately thought of Municipal Waste, who are our longtime friends from back home in Richmond, Virginia. From there, Adult Swim brought Exodus onto the bill, which we were all excited about.”
Carsola and Stewart add that the music has also hugely influences their ethics while creating the show. “The attitude of metal, punk, and hardcore kids is similar to the attitude we have when we make our show,” they note. “We do it for ourselves, because we love it, and luckily, we find a likeminded audience that loves it too.”
“Mr. Pickles” takes its vulgarity and fun to new levels of extreme, keeping viewers laughing until their guts turn inside out. When asked what fans should expect from season three, Carsola and Stewart can only offer the following:
“We could tell you, but then Mr. Pickles would have to rip your throat out of your butthole, have sex with it in front of your family—while eating a pickle—and then kill you… and then bring you back to life, use your body as a boogie board on an ocean of blood, and then kill you again.”
You can purchase tickets for the Mr. Pickles Thrashtacular here.
Mr. Pickles Thrash-tacular Tour Dates:
Feb 22 – Seattle, WA – Neumos
Feb 23 – Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre
Feb 25 – San Francisco, CA – The Regency Ballroom
Feb 26 – Anaheim, CA – House of Blues Anaheim
Feb 27 – San Diego, CA – House of Blues San Diego
Mar 01 – Salt Lake City, UT – Metro Music Hall
Mar 02 – Denver, CO – The Summit Music Hall
Mar 04 – Chicago, IL – Bottom Lounge
Mar 06 – Washington, D.C. – Rock and Roll Hotel DC
Mar 07 – New York, NY – Irving Plaza
Mar 08 – Philadephia, PA – Theatre of Living Arts
Mar 09 – Richmond, VA – The National
Mar 10 – Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade
