Phoebe Robinson was willing to go the distance for her art in the making of new comedy series “Everything’s Trash,” premiering Wednesday night on Freeform, and that included getting into a very specific headspace to interact properly with a very, very, very large owl.
“You just be very calm. That’s the thing — they were like, ‘Just be very calm because animals can sense anxiety and all those like angsty emotions, so just be chill,’” Robinson told TheWrap of how she prepped to interact with the wide-eyed winged creature for an upcoming episode (no spoilers on how the character of Phoebe lands in a situation involving the owl).
“The handler was great. … I was like, ‘Oh, this is pretty cool.’ And I started talking to it and I was like, ‘You know, I think I might want to hold an eagle next,’ and everyone’s like, ‘Calm down, bitch. You do not want to hold an eagle!’ But it was really fun,” the “2 Dope Queens” alum added.
In her new comedy, Robinson plays Phoebe, a popular 30-something podcaster who is working on adulting. Her life is intertwined with her friends, her work colleagues and her married older brother, Jaden (Jordan Carlos), who seems put together (if a bit old before his time) and is running for office in Brooklyn, but isn’t perfect.
“I think one of the things that Jonathan [Groff, showrunner] and I really set out with this show was that we wanted to show that all different kinds of adulthood are valid,” Robinson explained. “And so you have the brother character who’s married, has a kid, has an apartment. And you have Phoebe, having this burgeoning podcast career, but still trying to sort of put the pieces together financially in other ways, and [we] wanted to show that every path is valid and worthy, and that sort of you don’t ever complete adulthood — you’re always still having to figure things out. You’re always being thrown different curveballs.”
So whether it’s having a total dating fail (or two) in the same week, hiding overdue bills in a shoebox to pretend they don’t exist, or breaking the glass in an apartment building door that turns out not to be your own, showing that adulting is an ongoing — and normal — struggle is one of the comedy show’s aims.
“We would have to celebrate that and be like, ‘Yeah, your 30s? You still don’t have to have it figured out. Guess what? You’re never going to have it completely figured out. And that’s OK,” she continued. “Just acknowledge the ways in which you need to work on things.”
Development for “Everything’s Trash” started pre-pandemic in 2019, after Robinson began working with ABC Signature. That led her to “black-ish” executive producer Groff, and the two began collaborating on show ideas for her, taking inspiration from Robinson’s book “Everything’s Trash.”
“I talked about the Women’s March; I talked about my money issues, like all these things that you’re thinking about in your early 30s. And we just were like, ‘OK, let’s try and build a show around this,’” Robinson said. “And that was 2019. And now it’s July 11, 2022. We’re here. So took a took a minute, but I’m really excited. I think the show’s funny and has a lot of heart.”
Groff serves as the showrunner of “Everything’s Trash,” and Robinson said the two were on the same page from the beginning.
“I love working with him. We just clicked from the day that we met, and we have similar comedic sensibilities. We also aren’t afraid to be vulnerable,” she said.
“I feel like we just really respect each other and listen to each other and want the show to just reflect the best parts of this collaboration,” she continued. “And so it really is a dream come true. My best working relationship that I’ve ever had. And yeah, he’s just a dream. Everyone needs a Groff, that’s what I say.”
“Everything’s Trash” premieres Wednesday, July 13 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on Freeform with a second episode at 10:30. New episodes will air Wednesdays at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT.