Funny, frightening, and downright addictive, CocoMilkTV's web series Paranormal Solutions Inc. (PSI) treated viewers to hilarious encounters with zombies, a ghost, the demonically possessed, and even Sasquatch in its first season. With all eight episodes (and plenty of bonus content) now available to view on CocoMilkTV's YouTube channel, we caught up with PSI co-creators/writers/actors David Milchard and Nicholas Carella in our latest Q&A feature to reflect on Season 1 and briefly discuss a potential second season.
Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for us, and congratulations on a hilarious and immensely entertaining first season of Paranormal Solutions Inc. Where did the idea for this show come from, and how long had it been in the works?
Nicholas Carella: David and I had just come off working together on the improvised film Afterparty in 2012, and we liked working together and were chewing on some ideas on what another project or collaboration might be. David had this idea about a workplace comedy about ghost hunters and I thought, as a big fan of Paranormal State, the idea had a lot of potential. And at first we thought about doing it mockumentary style or as a parody of that style of reality show, but after meeting once a week (for several weeks) at a local coffee shop and really spending time developing detailed backstories for our characters, a single camera sitcom was the way to go. We started with the premise of “what if everything existed?” We meant that sincerely, right now in our real lives, if you you found out fairies and goblins and aliens were actually real, how would you feel? And we took it from there.
David Milchard: The idea of making a paranormal comedy had been something I’d been thinking about for many years. Who doesn’t love Ghostbusters? I always thought the paranormal genre was ripe for comedy and once Nick and I started talking, I knew this would be a fun project!
The cast members across the board jell so well together and have great comedic timing. Going into this series, were you already familiar with the actors who make up the PSI team? What made them the right fit for their respective roles?
David Milchard: We knew our entire cast. Vancouver is a tight-knit acting community and in a lot of ways untapped. There’s lots of work up here, but often actors don’t always get the chance to show off their chops in the comedy world. Having already worked with or studied acting with or performed improv comedy with at the Vancouver TheatreSports League, our cast was ready for anything. It really makes a difference when the actors, writers, and directors know and trust each other. When you only have one chance for a shot, it’s comforting when you know the capabilities of an actor. Each actor brought their own ideas to their characters and since we all knew each other, Nick and I could write almost anything and think, for example, “Would Christina Sicoli (Madonna) be okay with saying that?... Yup. Would Daniel Bacon (Mark) be okay with having food regurgitated into his mouth?... Yup.”
Nicholas Carella: It’s a real treat to write for people you already know. As David said, there is so much talent in Vancouver and everyone seems to be down with the indie spirit of things. We never held auditions—we had the pick of the best.
PSI has a great mix of comedy and horror, featuring an awesome atmosphere reminiscent of The Office, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Todd & The Book of Pure Evil, to name a few shows. What type of a tone did you strive to have at the forefront of the show, and have you been influenced or inspired by other TV series and movies?
David Milchard: First of all, thank you. Very kind comparisons. I’ve always been a fan of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and for me, that was the driving force behind the show. And a touch of Scooby-Doo. Take a bunch of ignorant idiots and see if they can run a paranormal business. It was also important to maintain the reality of the paranormal encounters. If I saw a werewolf I’m pretty sure I’d pee myself and I’d be pretty scared of a leprechaun, too.
PSI has a fun “monster of the week” approach, but there are also interesting story arcs that span the entire series. How important was it for you to balance the monster mayhem with character development?
Nicholas Carella: This was a major point of discussion when we started developing the show. Not that we were ever necessarily in opposition during the discussions, but we definitely spent a lot of time trying to decide the format of the show. We decided that we wanted to create a show where if you picked it up mid-season, you wouldn’t be confused and you could jump right in and be up to speed. But, we also wanted there to be a payoff for folks who watched the show in order, week by week. So we definitely went with the self-contained episode approach, referencing elements from the larger storylines throughout. Releasing on the internet actually made that a lot easier, because we could literally put annotations in episodes to reveal something you might have missed.
In addition to eight Season 1 episodes, you also released an impressive number of supplemental videos for the series on CocoMilkTV’s YouTube channel. What was it like to be able to further explore the characters and world of PSI beyond the traditional TV format?
Nicholas Carella: This bonus content was so much fun, but at times, a total burden because there’s so much of it! We had always conceived the bonus content as an opportunity to expand the universe and revisit characters that would otherwise be a one-off performance. By titling things “bonus”, it also gives you license to deviate a bit from the style of the show and run with an inside joke or something you just thought might be cool. Like getting Matt Clarke to write the PBAAA theme song. I literally said “I’m thinking something kinda New Kids on the Block or the Magic Johnson HIV education video” and this is what we ended up with. We’re insane.
Looking back on your time filming Season 1, is there a particularly funny or favorite moment that stands out to you?
David Milchard: There were a lot of hilarious moments during the entire process. For myself, a lot of them came when Nick, Mich, and I were developing the series. So many silly, funny ideas were generated and most of them made their way into the show. We have plenty more ideas for episodes that should get made! As for the shoot, there were tons of great bloopers, but the moment that stands out the most for me was when our friend Andrew Vallance acted in Episode 5. He was so happy and so very funny!
What was one of the most challenging scenes to shoot in the first season?
Nicholas Carella: I would say that the seven-page exorcism that we wrote for Episode 2 was probably the most challenging. Note to any aspiring writers out there: writing a seven-page scene, with nine speaking characters (six of the series leads) that involves practical special effects, visual effects, stunts, and jokes... is just stupid. Add the fact that it was shot in ONE DAY. Double stupid. But Michelle Ouellet, who directed the episode, was a real trooper. She had all that to deal with and the episode turned out great.
Were there any story ideas or monsters that you had initially planned to feature in Season 1, but that were ultimately set aside in favor of a different direction?
Nicholas Carella: The Sasquatch episode was originally completely different. I had conceived of an episode that involved a secret utopian Sasquatch society, where there was a Sasquatch run grow-op and it involved a Sasquatch being put to death for being seen by humans—it was really out there. But David had some concerns that we were going a little far from the reality of the show.
You recently concluded a stellar first season on a cliffhanger that left the future of the PSI team in jeopardy. Will you be coming back for a second season, and can you tease what stories or monsters you would like to explore if given the opportunity to continue the series?
David Milchard: Let’s just say a haunted prison.
With all Season 1 episodes of PSI now available to watch online, what projects does CocoMilk TV have on deck that you can tease, and where can fans go to learn more about PSI and support the show?
David Milchard: The best place to keep up to date is CocoMilkTV. We plan to release a bunch of shows. We’re indie filmmakers, so we’re always coming up with ways to make stuff. We have a show called Santa Jesus coming out soon along with some others. Our hope with CocoMilkTV is to provide a place for YouTubers to watch narrative content on a consistent basis.
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To learn more about PSI and to watch the entire first season, visit: