When Mission to Zyxx debuted in 2017, the podcasting house was very totally different. There have been fewer exhibits, and extra money was being spent as corporations rushed to determine methods to capitalize on the rising medium. At a time when many large 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 enchantment, 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 Ultimately they landed on The Younger Outdated Derf Chronicles; it’s set in the identical universe as Mission to Zyxx and options many voices from the unique, however it’s a really totally different type of (mini)collection, one which’s lampooning one thing way 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After I just lately sat down with Ford and Lind forward of The Younger Outdated Derf Chronicles’ debut at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, they instructed me that their new podcast is, partially, a response to the way in which that studios have turn out to be obsessive about increasing their established franchises with prequels. However The Younger Outdated Derf Chronicles can be the inventive crew’s manner of exhibiting followers how necessary their continued help has been.
This interview has been edited and condensed for readability.
Trying again, how has the Zyxx fandom developed, would you say, and the way has fan engagement impacted the present?
Alden Ford: Once we began in season 2, we began a Patreon to assist fund a number of the extra bold features 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 greater and crazier. That actually related us to our listeners in a manner that I don’t assume we actually would have anticipated in season 1 when it was only a present that was on the market and folks preferred it.
Seth Lind: One thing that stunned us was simply how deeply so most of the followers care in regards to the present. Once we got down to make it, we wished it to be humorous, we wished folks to love it, and we wished it to be fashionable. However we didn’t actually dare to hope that it will turn out to be so necessary and significant to folks. We heard from folks saying, “I used to be within the deepest despair of my life and this was the factor I’d sit up for,” or “My accomplice handed away and that is the very first thing that made me snigger.”
Proper across the time the present was ending, a bunch of followers made us this thick e-book 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 accountability 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 great place. If there was one thing that appeared prefer it was punching down, we’d lower it out, and whereas characters may very well 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 basically 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 while you’re a fan of one thing that doesn’t land the airplane or will get canceled too quickly. And so for us, as soon as we acquired a couple of seasons in we acquired 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 happy by it?” In fact, that’s an not possible job since you’re by no means going to do one thing that makes all people joyful. However I feel we ended it on our personal phrases, which is greater than numerous exhibits can say.
AF: There’s a pair totally different causes. The enjoyable motive is that everyone knows how a lot Star Wars there’s now. I’m not complaining, however I do assume it has turn out to be its personal type of cliché that no character, regardless of how foolish or tertiary, deserves their very own absolutely fledged miniseries the place you clarify each attainable side 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 motive 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” utterly 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 outdated” is a by-product nobody requested for. However I additionally bear 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 needs to be necessary.”
Particularly within the early seasons, Pleck — who’s the viewers surrogate — was type of a punching bag, and it was type of a joke that he was necessary. However Justin was like, “As foolish as this all is, this man truly needs to be somebody who finally ends up being vital and he has to have an arc to comply with.” I feel that basically 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 type of present. Not that we wished to reinvent the wheel or something, however we wished to make Derf distinctly totally different in substance and construction from the unique present. With the brand new present, it’s basically a first-person narrative the place just about every part is fairly being instructed from Derf’s perspective. And from an improv standpoint, we approached it manner 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 similar 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 apprehensive in regards to the propulsion of the plot or a strict three-act construction? It’s been manner tougher to make and manner tougher to edit and produce, however 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 assume 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 great and sustainable approach to maintain issues going. We’ve all talked about doing this new present, , seeing how listeners reply, after which reassessing our workload to see if doing extra sooner or later is smart with our lives now. If we proceed to make exhibits within the Zyxx world, it’s going to most likely be in methods like this the place we’ll provide you with one thing, we will produce 10 episodes, work for a 12 months to really 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 case you’re involved in seeing the Mission to Zyxx crew carry out and produce an episode dwell, tickets are nonetheless accessible for their upcoming live show at Caveat in New York City, which will even be livestreamed.