Dropout’s new series MP3 draws on the look and feel of 2000s music television, with a premise that evokes a parody of Total Request Live. The show features three comedic music videos each week and marks Dropout’s first scripted series in seven years, though its cast says improvisation remains central to the production.
The episodes follow former boy band member Dane Cartel, played by Jeremy Culhane, and his father, Thomas, a music-show director played by Paul F. Tompkins. Their on-set routine is disrupted when Thomas brings in two new co-hosts: Chia, played by Aparna Nancherla, and the upbeat Dr. Muse-Tina, played by Skye Townsend.
Tompkins said the show was filmed in a style that gives performers room to improvise around an episode outline. Creators Zach Reino and Jess McKenna provided the cast with the scenes and story beats to reach, while leaving space to play within them. He described the outline as a useful safety net for the improvisation.
Townsend said she had considerable input into Dr. Muse-Tina’s appearance. She developed a mood board for the character, including ideas for her teeth, eyebrows and hairstyle. The finished look features details such as baby bangs and bleached eyebrows, reflecting Townsend’s vision of someone whose confidence and enthusiasm show in an intentionally bold appearance.
Nancherla also drew on her own wardrobe when shaping Chia, whose workwear resembles clothing she wore in her Dropout stand-up special Hopeful Potato. She said the overlap between herself and the character helped her discover who Chia was during filming. Nancherla described Chia as fascinated by sound but also puzzled by it, fitting the character’s description of herself as a “noise professor.”
Tompkins said Thomas’s disheveled, club-goer look is meant to contrast with a character he sees as a sweet middle-aged father. One recurring father-son bit grew out of an early exchange with Culhane: when Dane asks for kisses, Thomas gives him a rapid series on the forehead as a way for the pair to reconnect after arguments.
The first three episodes of MP3 are streaming on Dropout. New episodes are scheduled every two weeks, with the season finale set for Dec. 2.
Sources: Mashable.