Back to School: Clone High’s Forte & Sullivan Interview

Read Time:14 Minute, 51 Second

INTERVIEW
Clone High: Season 2

Guest(s): Will Forte & Nicole Sullivan
Where To Watch: the series is now available with all episodes on Max

In an era where nostalgia intertwines with the next wave of animation, the resurrection of iconic television series has become a beacon of excitement for fans, old and new. Among the pantheon of animated comebacks, one show, in particular, has sparked a unique blend of anticipation and reverence: CLONE HIGH. Over two decades since its original debut, this cult classic has been revived; now, in its second revival season, it delivers a signature blend of humor, heart, and historical hijinks to a new generation.

I had the extraordinary opportunity to sit down with two brilliant minds involved in this beloved series, Will Forte and Nicole Sullivan, who have returned to voice Abe Lincoln and Joan of Arc, respectively, to delve into the world of CLONE HIGH once more. As voices that have brought to life some of the show's most memorable characters, their insights offer a fascinating glimpse into the creative resurgence of this animated series.

In our conversation, Forte and Sullivan reflect on the show's enduring legacy, the evolution of their characters, and what fans can expect from the revival. Their passion for storytelling and character development shines through, illuminating the intricate process of bringing an animated world to life.

Join us as we explore the journey of CLONE HIGH from its initial cult status to its second (technically third season) through the eyes of two individuals who have been instrumental in shaping its course. This interview not only celebrates the past achievements of the series but also looks ahead to its promising future in the ever-evolving landscape of animation.

Thanks again to Will Forte, Nicole Sullivan, and HBO/Max for this fantastic opportunity!

INTERVIEW: (Questions – Q, WF – Will Forte, NS – Nicole Sullivan)

Q
The first question for both of you is, how did it feel to return to your Clone High characters after a significant time gap, and what aspects of your character were you most excited to revisit?

WF
Nicole, would you like to go first, or should I start?

NS
You go.

WF
Okay, I'll go. It was very exciting to… My dogs are very excited, too. It was very exciting to find out that they were doing more Clone Highs, because it was just a very special project to me. It was the first time that I had any kind of acting job. I was writing at that point. So back in the year, what, 1999 or 2000, and that was when we were putting together the original show, and it was just, everything was new and fun. And so I've always looked back very fondly on this experience. And not just that, but it's just a wonderful group of people. So to get to get that, a version of that group back together has just been a delightful process. And what I liked the most about returning to Abe was just the fact that there's such amazing writers. I never knew what they were gonna give me. And it's just fun every week because they're nuts, they're nut balls, and they just give you a bunch of fun stuff to do. And it's super weird, but somehow also not too weird for people. There are versions of weird that are off-putting to people, and somehow, they have this way to blend it. So you can still have these incredibly weird concepts and characters and jokes and episodes, but it's still palatable to most people. So that's what I enjoyed the most about, well, not just Abe, but just the whole show. It's just it's an odd, delightful smorgasbord of stuff.

Q
And Nicole, do you wanna chime in about this one? Do you need me to re-ask?

NS
No, no, I got it. Twenty years ago, when we started this show, I had no idea what was happening. With meeting this show, I was like, what's this? Wait, there's clones? I didn't process it. And about halfway through recording, I was like, I think these guys might be geniuses, because suddenly I saw what was going on, and I was like, I think they might really be hilarious. And then by the end of the season, I was like, oh, I think they're definitely hilarious and geniuses. And then, 20 years later, it turns out the world has realized that they're geniuses. And I, you know, Chris and Phil I'm talking about, and Bill Lawrence too.

WF
You just wanted to make it clear that you weren't talking about Will Forte.

NS
And definitely not Will, definitely not him. I think that I think that coming back to the show was very trippy, because I didn't anticipate it at all. And so when they said it's happening, I said, oh God, this is gonna be frigging amazing. Because, you know, now these guys and Will have all become like superstars. And when you're sort of in that world, you get more power in what you're writing. You get to write exactly what you want. And I knew if they got to write exactly what I wanted, what they want, all those guys, then it was gonna be brilliant. And it was and is. I think coming back to, I think coming back to Joan was awesome. I love Joan. She's eternally frustrated. And I knew even 20 years later that even if something looks like it's gonna go her way, it does not go her way. And that, to me, is so fun to play. And I love all the new characters that came and Joan getting to have like a best friend. It was really, really great. It was really, really great. We use that as my quote. It was really, really great.

Q
Considering the evolution of humor since Clone High first debuted, were there any challenges in adapting the show's comedic style to appeal to modern audiences while maintaining its original charm, especially with season two being that much closer in style to the original series?

WF
I if anything, I feel like the sense of humor and the tone of this show was maybe ahead of its time back when it came out. So it felt like it fit right in. You know, with funny stuff, it's timeless. I was watching, what is it? You know, some comedy stuff you look back on, you go, oh, I guess I had to be there. I had to be alive at the time. But then there's some stuff, or what's this, what is it? Bob and Ray the slow talkers of America. That was, it's just, that will hold up. They could play that back in the days of the cavemen, and people would laugh, and they will play that, you know, when we're all living on Mars, and people laugh. It's just, and I feel like this is the same thing. It's just that they are just funny, creating humor that just kind of fits right in with any time period.

NS
First of all, I'm not ever going to Mars. I just, I'd rather stay here and not; I'd rather like take my last, as the oxygen leaves, I'd rather just sleep here, and Mars is scary. I agree with Will. I think that the comedy was ahead of its time. I mean, there's stuff that I've done. I mean, I would say particularly Mad TV that if you look back at what we did, it's like, oh, we could never do that. That is so, we are past that stuff. And this was not that. This was the same comedy we're doing 20 years ago. They were, like Will said, they were ahead of their time. And they really pushed boundaries without making enemies. And I think that's hard to do sometimes and they managed to do it.

Q
Right. For both of you, Clone High mixes satire and teenage drama. Can you share insights into how this combination impacts your performance in the show's storytelling? Especially as the years have come and gone, what processes do you and the writers use to still connect to that teen feeling?

WF
I mean, I feel like the older I get, you hear it from everybody who gets old. You don't feel you physically feel old, but mentally, you just feel like you're still right out of college. You learn some lessons. Certainly, you hopefully make better decisions in your life, but like inside your head, you kind of forget you're this old man with a gray beard. And so it's pretty easy to slide back into that teenage feeling. I certainly couldn't. I don't know all the lingo, but that's the writer's job, and they do a great job of it. But yeah, did that make sense?

NS
I give it an eight out of 10, Will. I don't know if I can get an eight. I think I have two teenagers, and watching them navigate the world is, obviously as a mother, very frustrating and scary, but if I step outside myself as a comedian, it's frigging hilarious. And that, I think, is what the guys capture so well. I shouldn't say the guys; there's female writers, too. That is what the group captures so well is they really, it's sort of universal, this teen angst and the trading of relationships and I'm in love with this one, this one's, that's part of the story is all the love stories and that makes me laugh really hard. Also, the stuff in the classrooms is, I don't know how they channel that kid again. I mean, they remember specific things about being in school that I forget until I do a script. I'm like, oh right, the kid who always did that. So I think they do an amazing job of it. And as far as Joan goes, I mean, again, teen angst is eternal, and I still feel it every day. I have teen angst when I go to the grocery store. So that is not hard for me to tap into.

WF
And Nicole makes a good point that we a lot of times when heaping praise on the show, we use the term the guys, but it's just because Chris and Phil started the whole thing, so it's hard not to refer to them. But yeah, it's a wonderful team of a bunch of very diverse people. So it's, yeah.

Q
And the revival introduces new historical figures. How did these additions change the show's dynamics, and what was it like working with the new voice actors, both from the new characters and the ones that were replaced?

NS
I'm gonna start because I think the addition of the new characters is, all of them are so brilliant, so specific, so needed for the comedy of that episode. I can't believe the things they came up with, the characters they came up with. And so the new characters to me blew me away. And obviously, you can't; it's like bringing in a guest star in a sitcom. Like they're fantastic, and they show up, and it's amazing. And as far as the new voices, I mean, I can't obviously praise them enough. They're just very talented people. That's sort of the lamest compliment ever, but they're very talented.

NF
Yeah, one of the things that has always been exciting about this show to me is just you; the possibilities are endless. That you can bring in any, any cloned historical figure and there's just always new territory. And these guys, it's just really fun. So there's this; the show is anchored by all these wonderful characters, some of them from the original show and then some new characters, but then there's just all these fun hits that come in. It's always very surprising when you get a new script, and you'll see new people, and it just makes the scripts to come.

NS
I think that's one of the best things I could say about a show, especially a voiceover show when you get a script and you're so excited to see who's there, who's showing up today. That's the, and I, every time I would get a script, I'd be like, oh gosh, who's showing up? And that's exciting, that's, I don't have enough adjectives in my vocabulary, turns out. That's exciting, that's great. I don't know; I'm gonna work on that.

WF
I go with amazing and awesome all the time, and I get a, sometimes I throw in a wonderful and fantastic.

NS
When you say awesome, it's so beautifully Will Forte that it like, that's almost your catchphrase. It's really, it's solid.

WF
And your catchphrase is solid, so thank you for that.

NS
Done, those are our catchphrases.

Q
And one last question: if you could choose another historical figure to be cloned and added to the Clone High universe, who would it be and why?

WF
I mean, you know, this is a show where questions get answered. We, you know, these historical figures, no, I don't know, I don't know what I'm saying. It's hard to think of; they've done such a good job of pulling in so many great people that you would want pulled in, and then some you just didn't even think about. I mean, the thing that leapt to me was I would love; I brought up cavemen before. I would love a couple of cavemen.

NS
That's good, that's a good pitch, I like it.

WF
Maybe they've even, you know, my memory is so bad that it's also possible that they have had some cavemen in there. Although cavemen are just, maybe, the Geico cavemen.

NS
I mean, we could get sponsorship.

WF
It seems like the historical figures are all people whose names we know. Cavemen describes a whole group of people. So the Geico caveman, although he's still living, so that would be, that is-

NS
Would it step on the premise a teeny bit, yeah.

WF
Concern. But by the way, I mean, you know, this cloning is also an ethical concern. That reminds me of my, so I got two young kids; I'm an old man dad. And people said, you know, they have that one toy that is their favorite. And our friends said you gotta get extras of that toy because you were in for the biggest meltdown if you ever lose it. So I found this little stuffed bunny on the internet, Baba, and I got three extras, and I hit them up on a top shelf just in case the coyotes ever came for Baba. And she found the staff. Now, all of them are in rotation. But that's the good thing is, there are some of them she almost doesn't care about Baba anymore.

NS
I love that Baba got a family all of a sudden.

WF
Yeah.

NS
Like all of a sudden she's like, she didn't question like, oh, dad bought it to back up. She's like, oh, brothers and sisters and cousins and-

WF
Yeah. Original Baba has its arms ripped off and missing an eye. It's been a tough go for original Baba.

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