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Jul 31, 2015 Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp By Christopher Roberts

All this week we have been posting interviews with various cast members (as well as the creators) of Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp, which started streaming on Netflix today. We interviewed David Wain, Lake Bell, Michael Showalter, Michael Ian Black, Joe Lo Truglio, Ken Marino, Marguerite Moreau, Randall Park, and Kevin Sussman. Our next print issue will also feature an in-depth three-page article on the show. Below you can find easy links to each interview, as well as to our review of the show. (All interviews were conducted by Austin Trunick.)

David Wain (plays Yaron and is the co-creator/director, also directed the films Role Models and Wanderlust)

Lake Bell (plays Donna, also directed and starred in In a World and is starring in the upcoming films Man Up and No Escape)

Michael Ian Black (plays McKinely, also stars in the TV shows Another Period and The Jim Gaffin Show and hosts the podcast How To Be Amazing)

Marguerite Moreau (plays Katie, also recently had an arc on Grey’s Anatomy)

Kevin Sussman (plays Steve, also stars on the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory)

Randall Park (plays Jeff, also stars on the ABC sitcom Fresh Off the Boat)

Ken Marino (plays Victor, also known for Party Down, Marry Me, Reaper, Veronica Mars, Childrens Hospital, and more)

Joe Lo Truglio (plays Neil, also stars on the FOX comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine)

Michael Showalter (plays Coop and is the co-creator, has also directed the upcoming film Hello, My Name Is Doris)

Read our review of Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp

For those uninitiated, here’s some background on Wet Hot American Summer. In 2001 a little movie called Wet Hot American Summer was released. It was a comedy about the last day of a Jewish summer camp in 1981. It got mixed reviews and faired poorly at the box office, but over time developed a strong cult following. It also happened to star a lot of people who would later go on to become much bigger stars, including Paul Rudd, Bradley Cooper, Elizabeth Banks, and Amy Poehler. All of the main original cast are back for an 8-episode prequel TV series, Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp, that’s streaming on Netflix starting today. Even though it’s been 14 years since the original movie and all the actors are much older (and were already too old to play teenagers in the first place), part of the joke is Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp is a prequel that still takes place in 1981, on the first day of summer camp.

The cast is stacked with stars and includes a mix of originals from the movie and fresh faces, including Paul Rudd, Bradley Cooper, Elizabeth Banks, Amy Poehler, Jon Hamm, Jason Schwartzman, Kristen Wiig, Chris Pine, John Slattery, Ken Marino, David Hyde Pierce, Janeane Garofalo, Molly Shannon, Christopher Meloni, Michael Showalter, Lake Bell, Marguerite Moreau, Josh Charles, Randall Park, Michael Ian Black, Zak Orth, A.D. Miles, Kevin Sussman, Joe Lo Truglio, Judah Friedlander, Richard Schiff, Paul Scheer, Jayma Mays, Rob Huebel, Kevin Sussman, Michaela Watkins, and others. Creators Michael Showalter and David Wain are also back to oversee the whole thing.

Below is a trailer, as well as another recent promo video for the show.