J. Smith-Cameron and Carl Tart Talk Peacock’s New Series ‘In The Know’ [Interview]

The new animated sitcom In The Know has landed on Peacock with six episodes of workplace comedy fun. It follows the ragtag group of stop-motion puppets behind the scenes of public radio’s third most popular interview program. 

I recently spoke with J. Smith-Cameron and Carl Tart, who voice Barb and Carl, respectively, about what it was like to be involved in the unique series. (You can watch the full interview below.)

Barb, the producer, and Carl, the sound engineer, are the two most capable people of the In The Know crew.  

“They’re both the sweet people in this office, kind of seeing each other for the first time. In an office of people who only see themselves, they see each other,” Tart said of the characters.

It’s just the beginning of this potential office romance, and Tart hopes they get the opportunity to explore it and see where it goes. 

Smith-Cameron described Barb as the “den mother of the group,” but also “let’s herself be made into a doormat by these creeps.” She added, “I’d like to think that one day, we’d see Barb be, like, ‘okay, that’s enough.'”

Watch the full interview with J. Smith-Cameron and Carl Tart:

Tart saw some of himself in his character of the same name. “Similar to me and this guy, is that we just mind our own business.”

“I feel like we have a lot of the same interests,” continued Tart. “I feel like we can be real friends.”

The guests interviewed on In The Know are live people playing themselves as opposed to the stop-motion animated puppets of the crew. With such an interesting concept, I asked the voice actors who their characters would like to see on the radio program.

Tart called Carl “a big ole nerd,” saying, “he’d probably like to have on some YouTuber that nobody knows but him, like Badlands Chuggs, who is my favorite YouTuber.”

Smith-Cameron expressed that the possibilities are endless, but decided that Barb would want someone she admires like Hillary Clinton or Nancy Pelosi.

The production encouraged improvisation as many involved came up through the Upright Citizens Brigade, including Tart. 

“Usually with animation, you gotta stick to what it is because it’s already being worked on, and you don’t have really any room to move,” explained Tart. “There’s freedom with this job. They wanted us to be as real as possible and build around what [we’re] doing, that was the biggest surprise for me.

Smith-Cameron described the three-pronged approach to bringing Barb to life.

“There’s the Barb in the script, then there’s the Barb in my head, and then there’s the puppet and puppeteers who made her. It’s some weird culmination of several different people and I think that’s kinda cool, and odd, and unique.”

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In The Know Season 1 is currently streaming on Peacock.

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