Posted in: Fox, TV | Tagged: animation, director, eric Koenig, fox, Fox TV, housebroken, housebroken season 2, interview

HouseBroken Director Eric Koenig Discusses Season 2 Approach & More

FOX's HouseBroken Director Eric Koenig discusses the animated series, the rewards and challenges of directing, and much more!

Eric Koenig, director of FOX TV's HouseBroken, spoke with us about the rewards and challenges of directing an animated series. Featuring the voices of Lisa Kudrow, Will Forte, Clea DuVall, Nat Faxon, Sharon Horgan, Tony Hale, Sam Richardson, and Jason Mantzoukas, the animated comedy HouseBroken follows a group of neighborhood animals as they work through their issues, inside and outside their therapy group. I got to ask Koenig about his approach to directing the series and much more! HouseBroken airs on FOX on Sunday nights at 9:30 PM EST and is available to watch on FOX or Hulu after it airs.

What's been important for you to keep in mind when directing an episode of "HouseBroken"?

Jen Crittenden (Co-Creator & Showrunner), Gaby Allan (Co-Creator & Showrunner), and the whole writing staff are such amazing writers. As Showrunners, Jen & Gaby are very collaborative in the whole process of making an episode.  Working with them and the whole crew has been one of the best experiences of my professional life.

The scripts for this show are so amazing, so for my part, as a "director," I like to focus on the acting and visual storytelling of an episode.  I am a huge film fan.  I was one of those nerds who spent their 20s watching a dozen-or-more movies every weekend.  So for my part, my hope is to make the episodes as cinematic as possible.  Using the camera as a participant in the story-telling.  Are we introducing a new area? Then a beautiful wide shot helps.  Are we building suspense? Then a high shot or Dutch angle is fun. Our amazing Art Director, Hania Ansari, and Color Supervisor, Jessie Seely, both contribute to this as well.

I start a month before the storyboard crew begins and actually do a very rough version of the storyboards for the entire episode.  (We are talking scribbles and stick figures.) But this process is the best way for me to internalize the script and think of it as a whole.  For example, the episode "Who's Obsessed" (A LifeTime Original) is a suspense piece with nods to Hitchcock and J. Lee Thomson's "Cape Fear."  You want to build the tension, so the episode starts with more traditional camera work, but by the climax, we are using low angles, camera tracking, moody lighting, etc. Plus, Honey and Ruby's acting becomes more manic to add to the tension.

What's a character from the series whose development you've been the most excited about and why?

Chief is a silly, clumsy doofus who gets into trouble, but always because of his enormous heart!  I can relate!

Do you have an episode from this season that challenged you as a director? And why that episode in particular?

Every episode I had this year was, in one way or another, "challenging."  "Who's Obsessed?" and "Who's a Scaredy Cat?" were both suspense-filled.  There is an upcoming episode, "Who's a Winner?" that takes place on a sheep farm. There are hundreds of sheep in this episode, along with an action-packed climax and an incredibly touching and heartfelt b-story about Max the Pig.  But I think the most difficult was the episode "Who's Afraid of Boomsday Again?."  I don't want to spoil anything, but I'll just say this episode is hands-down one of the show's best; written by Jen and Gaby, it has some stunning art direction by Hania Ansari and Jessie Seely and amazing editing by Ryan Scott Wick and Christopher DeAngelis.

Is there anything about "HouseBroken" that has had you rearrange the way you think about directing animation or the steps taken in the process?

I started on the show in 2020, during the lockdown.  So, as a result, we've done the entire show remotely.  Previously, on the Simpsons, when directing, I was very hands-on.  I would move about the studio and sit down at various artists' desks to do drawings or look at their animations or backgrounds.  On "HouseBroken," I had to get used to communicating entirely through a screen. In the end, I have to say, I prefer working remotely.  There have been some great benefits.  We were able to use artists from all over the world.  I was able to answer questions immediately and not hold up the production.  And although we don't have a chance to chit-chat in the kitchen, I have great love and respect for all the talented crew, production staff, and cast on the show.

What's the process been like for you during the making of "HouseBroken" season two? Any favorite moments or fun facts audiences might not know about?

The editing sessions are always the highlights of every episode.  We watch through the storyboard animatic, scene by scene, to discuss and edit.  At times it can be triumphant when we've managed to land a joke, and other times frustrating when we struggle to improve something.  Jen and Gaby are incredibly open and excited to make the best shows possible.  I've been blessed to contribute a lot to the final product, but as a credit to Jen and Gaby, there have been many moments when a Production Assistant or Assistant Editor offered a solution, and they've used the idea.  It is a pleasure to be part of this incredible process.

Is there a specific pet or animal you'd love to see on a future episode of "HouseBroken"? If so, why that one in particular, and who'd be your choice for voicing them?

In Season 1, I managed to get my golden retriever "Charlie" in "Who's Afraid of Boomsday?" as a background beach dog.  Since then, I've put him in every episode I've directed.  If Jen or Gaby are listening, I think Harrison Ford would be a great voice for him!!

Side Note: Thank you for having been a part of the cinematic masterpiece that is "The Prince of Egypt."

Thanks so much!  I was just a little punk fresh out of school!  I got to animate some fun stuff in that movie, but my favorite was the Whale Shark in the Red Sea sequence!

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