From creator Steve Levitan (Modern Family), the Hulu original comedy series Reboot follows the stars of an early 2000s family sitcom, called Step Right Up, as they reunite for a reimagined reboot. Actors Reed (Keegan-Michael Key), Bree (Judy Greer), Clay (Johnny Knoxville), and Zack (Calum Worthy) must face their own dysfunction and unresolved issues, if they’re ever going to get their lives and careers back on track.

During this 1-on-1 interview with Collider, Key talked about how being a comedy creator himself raises the bar for the comedy projects he wants to get involved with, the appeal of this particular series, why he finds the concept of Reboot so brilliant, feeling it was crucial to at least show bits of the original show that they’re rebooting, the messy relationship between Reed and Bree, Reed’s secret love of all the drama, and being more discerning now when it comes to how far he’s willing to go for comedy.

Collider: Being not just a creator, but a comedy creator, yourself, does that set the bar higher for you, when you’re looking at possible comedy projects to get involved with?

KEEGAN-MICHAEL KEY: Yeah, it definitely does. There has to be something special. There has to be some kind of twist to it. The meta nature of the content is really what drew me to this project.

And I’m sure the series being created by Steve Levitan doesn’t hurt because everyone knows the track record he has.

KEY: Yes. The fact that guy has got 746 Emmys for doing comedy, and he asked me to do this show, definitely has something to do with it. I sat down with Steve, years ago, pre-pandemic, to talk about this project. When he asked to meet with me and explain this concept to me, I was ready to absorb any information he had to give me. And then, when he was finished, I was like, “I’m in! That sounds fantastic!” It had the twist that I was looking for. I’m a sucker for high-concept stuff. What made this, so special is that it was high concept in a very organic and natural way. That was the brilliance of it, for me.

And it’s hard to pull that off in a comedy because you do have such a limited time, and you’re trying to get all this stuff across. This show does that, and still keeps you wanting more.

KEY: Absolutely. To get all of that material in eight episodes, and to give the information needed for it to move forward, with a good degree of clarity, explaining the meta nature of it, was a task. Steve and the writing staff really got it. I think they really nailed it.

Within this series, we get to see glimpses of the show that you’re rebooting. We get to see some of Step Right Up, and it even has its own theme song. How fun was it to actually get to shoot some of that and not just have it described to you or have to talk about?

KEY: Yeah. I wish we could have done more of it and just had Shlock Fest 2022. That would selfishly be for my own enjoyment, but also for your enjoyment. I thought it was crucial that we had that. It was crucial that you get a sense of it, and it worked so well, the way they treated it, to make it look early 2000s, with the wardrobe and even the dialogue. There’s this wonderful vault of valuable information that we have with Steve. Steve wrote on Wings. Steve wrote on Frazier. And Paul Reiser is somebody who was firmly ensconced in that era of sitcoms. It was really lovely to kind of go back to that musty TV era. It was a blast.

I’m a total sucker for a cheesy TV show theme song, so I loved that.

KEY: Absolutely. You’ve gotta have them. It’s the best.

Does playing an actor on a TV series make you look at or reevaluate anything in your own life and career, or does it give you a space to work things out that you can get away with working out because people won’t know your specifically working out drama that you’ve had with them?

KEY: For me, it’s more the former. I’m playing somebody having moments in his life that can be a cautionary tale for me. I can read a script and go, “Oh, God, I don’t ever wanna do that. Am I doing that? God, I hope I’m not doing that.” It’s more that. It allows me to look in the mirror and make sure that I’m aware of being responsible for my behavior.

The relationship between Reed and Bree is a lot. How do you view their relationship? Are they perfect for each other? Are they all wrong for each other? Are you hoping that they never figure things out? How do you see that dynamic?

KEY: Right now, hopefully, it’ll take three or four more seasons to figure out. That would be nice. What happens in the sloppy mess that they are, it’s still the best of what the world will be for them. In the midst of all their crap, they’re still supposed to be together. That’s my personal feeling about it. Are they gonna be subject to a life of, on again and off again? Is that just what they’re here on the universe, this time around, for? They’re supposed to be together, but no matter what, it’s gonna be a shit storm.

That shit storm feels like the constant of the series.

KEY: Yeah. I think it’s nice that we have feathered in these lovely moments, where you see them trying to connect with each other, but they’re afraid of certain aspects of their history. I also think, without them talking about it, that they’re afraid of deeper things. Reed is never gonna change. He doesn’t have the courage to grow. He doesn’t have the courage to meet her halfway. And I think that Bree may be feeling similarly. What’s between them is the fear of the unknown and being informed by how horrible it was in the past.

Reed likes to come across as being above the drama. Do you feel like he secretly loves all of this drama and that he missed having it in his life?

KEY: Yes, I think so. I think that he missed having the drama. What’s interesting is that, if he had not taken himself so seriously before, and he still does, he might have actually had a little bit of fun. Now, he’s not gonna tell anybody that, but that’s definitely how he feels. I think you’ll see little glimpses of it. One place is when you see Clay explaining to him about what happened on Fuck Buddy Mountain, and he’s really invested in the drama of whether Timberly is trying to take advantage of Bree. He’s really invested in that. There are some times that he doesn’t even know it. He tries to pretend that he’s the paternal figure and that he’s there to keep everyone on track and keep the trains running, but in private, he relishes it. That’s a good question. That’s a good observation.

When you do a show that has some physical comedy to it, but Johnny Knoxville is also one of your co-stars, do you leave that up to him, or do you become competitive?

KEY: I am a very competitive person and I do like to do my own stunts, but that guy’s on another level. Johnny is on a whole other level, and he can have it. If you wanna get hit by cars, then go hit by cars. If you wanna go in the ring and get thrown 50 feet by a bull, then have at it. I’m cool. I’m good. If anything, I just feel bad for his stunt guy, who doesn’t get to do anything. I will leave that to Johnny.

He said it’s a very different experience for him, when other people are in charge of his well-being, because he doesn’t feel the same way about it.

KEY: Right.

You don’t have to name the project, but have you ever had an acting job, where they wanted you to do something just completely outlandish and crazy, in the name of comedy, but you were like, “No, I just don’t see myself doing this”?

KEY: I’m right at the right spot in my life where I would finally say no. I was gonna say 10 years ago, but even five years ago, I would’ve said, “I’ll do it. I’ll one hundred percent do it. Just have a bottle of Advil ready, at the side.” Now, I’m a little more discerning about what I’ll do. I’m a little more discerning now.

Reboot is available to stream at Hulu.