Posted in: Audio Dramas, Star Trek, streaming, TV | Tagged: Andy Billups, paramount, Paul Scheer, star trek, star trek: Lower Decks

Star Trek: Lower Decks Star Paul Scheer on Billups; Updates Season 5

Paul Scheer (Night Court) spoke with Bleeding Cool about his upcoming memoir, his favorite Star Trek: Lower Decks moment & Season 5.

Paul Scheer is one of the most versatile comedic actors since emerging from the iconic troupe Upright Citizens Brigade in the 1990s. Regardless if it's live-action sitcoms, sketch comedy, films, or voiceover work, he's appeared in 30 Rock, Reno 911!, Piranha 3D, NTSF:SD:SUV, The League, Adventure Time, Fresh Off the Boat, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, and Big Mouth. While promoting his upcoming appearance in Night Court, Scheer spoke to Bleeding Cool about his upcoming memoir Joyful Recollections of Trauma, his podcast How Did This Get Made with Jason Mantzoukas and June Diane Raphael, and his role on Star Trek: Lower Decks as the U.S.S. Cerritos chief engineer Lt. Commander Andy Billups and what he can tease about season five he's currently recording at Paramount.

Paul Scheer on His Upcoming Memoir & Favorite Andy Billups Moment on Star Trek: Lower Decks

Bleeding Cool: Can you tell me about your upcoming memoir and its inspiration?

Scheer: I have a book that's available right now for preorder called 'Joyful Recollections of Trauma,' and it was based on the reaction that I got from telling these childhood stories on 'How Did This Get Made,' which is a podcast I do with Jason Mantzoukas and June Diane Raphael and one of the things that was so fun about finding that these stories were worth telling was seeing the reaction from June, Jason and the audience. I was blown away that my childhood story I had never given that much thought about, made everybody fit a little bit, sit up in their seat, and lean in a little bit.

I started to see blog posts and supercuts of these stories, and everyone was like, "You got to write a book." My hesitation with writing a book was I didn't know if a bunch of anecdotes would make one. I needed to do something a little bit different, deeper, and more meaningful. Unlike people who go off, sell books, and then after writing it, I sat down, started writing, and wanted to see what was coming out and then I felt happy with that. I brought it to an agent that I respect, and he gave me some brilliant thoughts, and the note that he gave goes even deeper. We then put together this pitch package. We were able to sell it to Harper Collins, and it was great that I came to them with about 100 pages of written materials. I felt good and felt like, "Oh my gosh, I can do this!" I'm not like, "Oh my God! No, what do I write? Or what is my style? What is my voice?"

I knew what that was, and the process has been fun for me because the instinct to write the book was, "Let me tell a bunch of funny stories about my childhood." The realization was, "No, but I have to make this something that is more than that," and the result is a book that is going to feel familiar and give everybody that has had it made what they want, but also something that will have a bit more longevity. It's dark and light. It only scratches the surface, but it was amazing for me to do. I would never have gotten the book that I have here now was a book that I was going to write when I first started writing it, and happy about that.

I challenged myself, and now the race is on because I must make sure that people preorder this book that's currently what in the publishing world is the most important thing, like getting people to buy it before it comes out. I am not out there making sure people know that if you preorder the book, I am giving people who preorder, if they say something special, they will get something mailed to them. I can't talk about this yet, because it is not fully done, but I appreciate people going out there and supporting me, so I want to do something special for them.

Do you have a favorite Andy Billups moment on Star Trek: Lower Decks? Is there anything you could say we can look forward to in season five?

Oh my gosh, yes! I love Billups and doing 'Lower Decks.' Where I get confused is where we are because, with animation, you're so all over the place. My favorite Billups moment is going into his history and how he is this virgin [in season two's "Where Pleasant Fountains Lie"], and this is the issue that he had with his mom, which was played by my wife [Raphael], I loved getting a chance to get that backstory of this character. As we are recording new episodes now, the show is so confident in what it does and how it presents that they're taking some fun swings. I recorded the first batch of episodes a couple of weeks ago, and I was dying [from laughter]. It's exactly what you want. The show gets better every single season.

Joyful Recollections of Trauma is tentatively scheduled to be released on May 21st from Harper Collins. You can preorder here. All four seasons of Star Trek: Lower Decks are available to stream on Paramount+. Night Court airs Tuesdays on NBC and streams on Peacock the following Wednesday. You can check out How Did This Get Made? here.

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