Interview: Jon Bass on Playing a Dog, End Times, and the Overall Experience of ‘Miracle Workers’

When it first started, TBS’ Miracle Workers focused on two angels working to fulfill very specific prayers. In season two, its characters lived in the Dark Ages. In season three, they explored the Oregon Trail. Now, in season four, they’re facing End Times, fighting to survive in a highly parodied version of cinematic dystopia. The latest season presents actor Jon Bass with a particularly fun opportunity: to get to play Scraps, the loyal dog of would-be conqueror Freya Exaltada (Geraldine Viswanathan).

Awards Radar had the chance to speak with Bass about what kind of research he needed to do for this very challenging role:

“Absolutely zero. It just came naturally to me. I have a dog, so a lot of the research was done at home, on the couch, just starting at her beautiful face, and taking it in. And then also, my neighbor – my dog’s name in the show is Scraps – I was walking my dog, and I saw my neighbor and I was like, what’s your dog’s name, and she said, Scraps! And so I felt like I had a kindred spirit with my neighbor’s dog as well. We had the exact same name, and so it was very, very fun to let her know that I too was playing a dog named Scraps, which definitely freaked her out a little bit, but once I explained it enough and showed her an episode of Miracle Workers, she was like, oh, I get it. You’re weird still, but I get it.”

On whether he has a favorite from the four characters he’s played over the course of the show:

“Scraps. Without a doubt, without a doubt. Yeah, I’m going to go Scraps, a hundred percent. I love them all. It was super fun to play Todd, because he was such a douchebag, but there’s something, I would say very freeing about being in a sex skimp outfit for three months and getting to make your friends and coworkers laugh as much as possible.”

Watch the full conversation below.

Miracle Workers: End Times premieres Monday, July 10^th on TBS, with new episodes dropping weekly at 10pm.