[Interview] Annie Murphy on ‘Praise Petey’ and its Literal Cult Of Personality

Praise Petey is a radical animated series that would have been impossible a decade ago and is a testament to just how far television has come. The animated series plays on the standard “fish out of water” dynamic as its titular character leaves her fast-paced lifestyle for a quaint existence after her father passes on and leaves her with an unusual inheritance — a cult. Annie Murphy is sublime casting for Petey, who channels Schitt’s Creek’s Alexis Rose in this layered, flawed protagonist. Annie Murphy gets candid on the complicated journey for her unconventional character, the freedom that she’s found in voice acting, and why cults are “having a moment” right now.

This interview was conducted before the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Daniel Kurland: Petey kind of has a lot in common with your Schitt’s Creek character, Alexis Rose, as this privileged person who heads into a smaller, humbler lifestyle. Were you a little reluctant at all to be playing a character like that again or excited to get to deliver a new spin on that type of figure?

Annie Murphy: There’s certainly an overlap between those characters and I got to break out my vocal fry again, which I was very excited about. This script is so bizarre and so wildly inappropriate and hilarious. So much of this material would have never seen the light of day on Schitt’s Creek due to the restrictions of network television. So though there might be similarities between these two characters, Praise Petey just takes it so much farther and off the beaten path. That’s what makes it stand out and why it’s so unique. Anna came up with so much of who Petey is, but if there’s anything that I added it’s the idea that Petey talks in an accent whenever she’s uncomfortable; putting on a goofy voice. Everything else is from the beautiful brain of Anna Drezen.

Daniel Kurland: There’s been such a fascination with cults lately with all of the documentaries on TV on NXIVM and Waco, but also comedies like Kimmy Schmidt. Why do you think cults are having this moment right now?

Annie Murphy: I had already watched a whole bunch of cult-y documentaries, so I get it. I’m in it. I get the craze. I don’t know why this is all necessarily so timely or hitting its peak right now. I’m not sure about it, but it’s kind of a never-ending trough of things to make fun of. I get why Anna [Drezen] focused on cults as a subject because there’s just so much ripe material there.  

Daniel Kurland: There’s this really fascinating tug of war of extremes where Petey wants to be heard and prove she has good ideas, while she also believes she can help fix this toxic situation that might be impossible to repair. It’s an interesting path for the character. Are you worried that she might head down a dark path before she gets better? Or is that exciting to you on some level?

Annie Murphy: 100%. I think that Anna has written such a complicated character who, yes, is trying to make the lives of the people in the cult better. However, she’s also strangely attracted to being a leader of a cult. It’s this perfect twisted situation that’s beautifully set up. To be sure, there will be some straying from the path with Petey as she tries to figure it all out. Does she want to abolish this cult or lead it into the future?

Daniel Kurland: This is really such an ensemble show and the season effectively fleshes out the supporting cast, which is largely female-led, in really satisfying ways. What’s it been like to work with this cast and have their performances helped your take on Petey evolve over the course of the recording?

Annie Murphy: We did record most of the show during peak COVID times, but it’s so fortunate that we were able to do a table read for every episode. We’d get on Zoom and I still have not met anybody in person–which is such a weird thing–but at least we had the opportunity to get to know each other a little bit, hear it out loud, and figure out the character dynamics a little more. The level of talent and experience that so much of the cast had really made me feel like the new kid showing up to school and not knowing what to do. I was in very good company though!

Daniel Kurland: This is your first major role in an animated series, but it looks like you’ve steadily been doing more of it between doing voices in shows like Fairfax and American Dad. Has this been a fun transition that’s a little more freeing in certain ways?

Annie Murphy: I feel so lucky because I’ve wanted to do voice work for such a long time. Now I have a couple of really cool things under my belt. It’s so much different from film and TV acting in the sense that you can be as big and over the top as you want to be. And usually, that’s encouraged! You can also show up to work in sweatpants, which is an absolute dream!

Daniel Kurland: You have a strong history in comedy, but you’ve also started to progressively dip your toe in more heightened genre material. Is that something that you’d like to do more of in the future? 

Annie Murphy: Big time. I want to do it all. Actors are so lucky because they get to try on a whole bunch of different lives and experiences in a single lifetime. The more diverse of the roles and the more genres that I can check off, the better!

Daniel Kurland: I really love how the show examines what it takes to run and fix a society. Each episode tackles a different facet of community, like how to sustain an economy. Do you think this responsible mindset that fuels the series might hopefully influence audiences to make changes, too?

Annie Murphy: I, of course, hope that it could have that type of effect on people. We could all be so much kinder and gentler to each other. I’m glad that you saw that in the show because it’s a good step forward and means that we’re doing our jobs. I also think that the banning of human sacrifices is always a good thing and a positive message to instill. 

Daniel Kurland: We’ve got to fight it!

Annie Murphy: Yeah!

 

‘Praise Petey’ premieres July 21st on Freeform, with next-day airing on Hulu