Exclusive: Joy Osmanski Talks About New Season Of Duncanville

 

FOX is getting the summer party started with the two-episode season premiere of Duncanville, which is part of its Summer Animation Domination lineup.  The show, which centers on a teenager’s comedic coming-of-age journey, saw solid reviews and suitable ratings during its first season.  As a result, we’re getting a second dose of Duncan’s adventures very soon, along with a season three order.  To celebrate the upcoming season two premiere, which airs on Sunday night, I had the opportunity to talk to one of the show’s actors Joy Osmanski, who voices Duncan’s adopted five-year-old sister Jing.  We discuss her experience with the show itself as well as her adorable character and her inspiration to pursue her acting career.

Marcus: So I just got started on watching the first season of Duncanville to prepare for its second season, and so far, I’m enjoying the moments that your character Jing provided in terms of dialogue and comedy.  How do you manage to make this character so cute and innocent?

Joy: Well, it really starts with the writing, first of all, and secondly, I would be lying if I didn’t say that I steal shamelessly from my children who are ages four and five.  So, I really am surrounded by a Jing-like voice every single day.  So it’s not hard for me to act and interpret, but they also have written so brilliantly, it’s so easy to do. She’s written so well.

Marcus: So what made you decide on taking part of the show in the first place?  Was it the concept, the character itself, or maybe even both?

Joy: Well, they offered me the job. That’s really why I decided to take part in it (laughs).  But I was absolutely drawn to it when I was given the opportunity to audition, and purely from the fact that I was a Jing like myself was adopted and you don’t see that represented very often and when you see it represented, very rarely as something that’s just factual, and I love that about the storyline in Duncanville and family.  It’s taken for granted.  She’s a member of the family, and it’s not a big deal and, you know, I love that, and then, of course, the people who are involved, when I saw that Amy was involved, she’s, you know, someone I admire hugely, and I was like “Yeah, I would like to be a part of that, please”, and Mike and Julie Scully, I was like “Uh, veterans from Simpsons?  Okay, yes, I would like to be involved in that.”  So yeah, it was really the coalition of so many amazing forces that I could not believe it when I was offered the chance to be a part of this show.  I really could not believe it.

Marcus: So based on what I saw in the show, it sounds like you were having a good time working with some incredible people on this show.  Was there a co-star you enjoyed working with the most?

Joy: Oh gosh.  I don’t know if I would say “the most”.  You know, because we do all of the recording in isolation.  You know, we’re by ourselves.  The times that we would really come together would be the table reads, and even in pandemic life, we would do that on Zoom.  I was a little cranky at first, but it came to be something I looked forward to so much every week, with just being on the show with…all of these people that I love.  I have gotten to know some of them more now and I just idolized more with Riki, who plays Kimberly.  I adore Yassir.  Betsy Sodaro is so wonderful.  You know, it’s a chance to really share in the process with some fantastic human beings, and that has been such a gift because you don’t always click with the people that you work with just like in any work environment, you know.  But…they assembled a group of people that are just…. All of the chemistry is really, really wonderful.

Marcus: Oh yeah, the chemistry really shows in the first season of Duncanville.

Joy: Yeah.  I agree.

Marcus: So, speaking of stars, the second season of Duncanville is bringing in plenty of guest appearances like Adam Scott, Aubrey Plaza, and Nick Offerman.  Without giving too much away, what can we, the viewers, expect from those stars in season two?

Joy: (laughs) Well, you’ll get to see it very early on because I believe it’s in the first episode and, they’re just hilarious.  The roles they get to play are so funny, and it makes me so happy that all of these Parks and Rec people are coming into our show because that is one of my favorite shows.  So you know, it makes sense that they would stop by and bless us with their talent.  No, I mean they’re all comedic geniuses so it’s suffice to say what they do will be very, very funny.

Marcus: What was it like to work on the show during the COVID-19 pandemic?  Was it different compared to your usual work schedule before the virus hit? 

Joy: I mean, other than moving our table reads to Zoom, that was really the main change.  I know some people opted to record their work from home.  I’ve done that, and I’ve also gone in to the studio and recorded.  For me, personally, that wasn’t a big deal.  I always felt really safe and all of the protocols and…uh, recording studio were very thorough and um…. You know, it’s such an isolated experience anyway.  You’re in a recording booth with four inches of glass as a window and a sound engineer on the other side, so you’re actually really…. You’re both really safe, and that’s just cool on what the setup is.  So um, yeah.  To be honest, we were so lucky like…working in animation was not as big of a shift as it can feel like in on-camera work, which I also experienced, and that was a little harder to adjust to, but the animation?  It handled it seamlessly.  It was really lovely.

Marcus: So it’s like not as different as the other companies working on animation during the pandemic?

Joy: I mean, I would only be able to speak to my experience, but I found that everyone handled the changes really well and just went with it, and we all still had a really really good time, and you know, that’s kind of what it is all about.  If you’re not having fun, what is the point?  So yeah, I felt like it.  Of all the ways to create, it was actually pretty adaptable to the pandemic. 

Marcus: I see.  So Duncanville was my first time experiencing your vocal talents on television.  What inspired you to pursue your career in acting?

Joy: I was really bored.  I’ve had a lot of other lives before my acting career, and I was working as a graphic designer and it was creative, but really sedentary because I sat at a desk all day in front of a computer and I was kind of on my own.  I have my own business and…I just missed working on something creative with other people at the same time collaboratively, and…. So, I started doing community theater, just on a whim.  I didn’t know anything about it, and I thought, “Well, this sounds like fun.”  You know, I’ve done a little bit in college, but never seriously, I was mostly a dancer, and um…. I kind of just went from there.  In the way that life turns, it can take you someplace you don’t expect to go, and then…progress rather organically, and all of a sudden you’re like, “I guess this is what I’m doing now?” (Laughs).  It wasn’t anything I planned.  I just followed what interested me and then my plan was like, “Okay, I think I want to go to graduate school now for this”, and I was like, “I guess I have nothing to lose”.  Like if it doesn’t work out, that’s okay.  I guess, um…I was just lucky.  I came into it, you know, relatively late in my life, and…and by that point, I was just really open to whatever it had to offer.

Marcus: It’s very nice to hear from that.  So what was your experience in voice acting like compared to acting in front of the camera because you’ve been starring in some live-action roles in other projects before?

Joy: Yeah, um…. This is only my second animated experience and, um…. My first was for another show on FOX some years ago, and that was really my entry into it, and I was like, “This is so much fun”.  I loved the process of voicing a character and seeing it come to life, and…. Oh, once again, you know, the hundred people that are involved in making a show like this happen.  It is an incredibly long production process like, I think around six months per episode.  So, you know, you’re just one small part of the thing, and that’s magical to me.  I love when the creative work we do celebrates everyone else’s talents.  You know, like, I’m all about that.  It’s such a wonderfully collaborative process, and again, you know that feeling of what I was really looking for when I was missing something in my life.  So for me, the voice over work has been such a wonderful exploration of collaboration, and I find it endlessly, endlessly entertaining.

Marcus: Yeah, it’s like the big part of working on a project together.  You have to have co-stars that work wonderfully together to bring the show to life.

Joy: Yeah, it helps.  It just lifts you up.  You know what I mean?  It’s like playing tennis with someone who’s better than you.  You know what I mean?  It inspires you to be better and challenges you, and that’s the kind of people I want to work with.

Marcus: It’s always good to be challenged. So going back to Duncanville, if possible, what else can you share about your character Jing?

Joy: Well, I think in season two, you just get to see more of the family dynamic and more of Duncan’s…. You know, Duncan rules this world that he lives in, and (laughs) his rich fantasy life, and what he is creating in his mind that may or may not be what’s in reality.  I think, you know, you get to just see more of what happens to this family as they try to do simple things like just go on vacation.  But as any family knows who has gone on vacation, nothing is simple (laughs).  For this family, in particular, some crazy, wacky adventures are had.

Marcus: Aw man.  So there’s going to be more of the craziness that’s going to happen in season two?

Joy: Oh yeah.  I would say…yeah, more.  For sure.

Marcus: Should we expect more of Jing’s cuteness in the show’s second season?

Joy: Oh yeah.  She’s still very cute, yeah (laughs).  That’s her MO.

Marcus: I don’t want to, like, you know…. I want to be surprised on how much of an appearance she would make in season two.

Joy: Oh yeah, she’s very present.  She’s very present.  She’s a big part of the family and there’s some hilarious storylines.  I think one of the things that I loved in season two is that we get to see more of her relationship with Jack, Ty Burrell’s character, and they have a really funny episode together that I’m looking forward to.

Marcus: Oh, I’m looking forward to that too.  I’m sure it will be good.  So, outside of Duncanville, are there any upcoming projects you’re working on that we should know about at this point?

Joy: Well, you know, we just got greenlit for a third season as well for Stargirl, which is going to be really exciting.  We just wrapped season two at the end of March, and season two will start airing in August.  August 10th, so that is going to be something I’m really looking forward to.  And then, of course, starting to shoot season three is going to be great.  So yeah, it’s going to be a good summer.

Marcus: Yeah, it definitely sounds like you’re going to have a really good time this summer.

Joy: Yeah, I think so.

Marcus: Is there anything else that we should know about the upcoming season of Duncanville?  Without giving too much away, of course.

Joy: Right, um…I…I don’t…uh, let’s see.  I think you can look forward to seeing the ever-evolving relationship between Duncan and Mia and hope all of that can go from like, desperately awkward to perhaps more desperately awkward (laughs).  That is personally one of my favorite relationships in the show.  It’s watching him just like spin out around her.  Yeah I think…you know, we were so lucky to have another season to explore all the stories and where this family can go and…we have such a brilliant team of writers who just go there.  You know, they take it places.  I’m just in awe of them.  But they can…. Their brains are so creative and so weird, and that combination is so good for this show.

The special two-episode premiere of Duncanville airs Sunday, May 23 at 8:30 pm ET/PT before moving to its Monday time period for the rest of season two on FOX.  Catch up on Season One on FOXNOW and Hulu.