We knew we had a lot of different options. TVLINE | Rather than surround Beard with any number of players from the series-regular cast, here you are supported by more minor, albeit fan-favorite, characters, such as Crown & Anchor frequenters Baz, Jeremy and Paul (played by Adam Colborne, Bronson Webb and Kevin “KG” Garry). And I can’t believe that Jeff Tweedy did it, you know? I’ve never met the man, but I hope he someday finds out how touched I am that he did this. The song doesn’t tell us where we’re going, it only tells us that we’re going somewhere different. But there was some debate for a while, of like, “We have this acoustic version that is so f–king good, but it doesn’t actually tell you what the episode is going to be about,” you know? I mean, it ends, essentially, at a rave. It was invaluable In terms of setting the tone, to be able to tell the audience very, very clearly, early on, that this is not your usual episode there is something else happening here. TVLINE | How important was it to have this more melancholy version, in terms of setting a tone? Once we had Sam, it was, like, “Hey, Sam, you think you could pull out your Rolodex?” We got Tweedy because of him. He has that Wilco documentary, I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, which was one of his first big projects and a fantastic documentary that is close to my heart. TVLINE | The episode features an alternate rendition of Marcus Mumford’s theme song, performed by Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy.

The idea of making it look different from other episodes was always part of the package. is drawing from Martin Scorsese’s After Hours in a lot of different ways… Jason originally had said it should be shot on an iPhone, but what he really meant was it should be handheld and should feel intimate and up-close in a way that the show isn’t really. Were there any specific influences at play here? TVLINE | It’s quite the aesthetic departure for the show. We’re going to do a Christmas episode, and we’re going to do ‘Beard After Hours.'” In the end, Jason Sudeikis had the final say and he said, “All right. And second, could you do two more episodes in Season 2?” So we went back to the discard pile and everybody picked their favorites. They said, “First of all, you’re picked up for Season 2. We were starting to write the scripts as Season 1 was being released, and Apple was so enthusiastic. You whittle that down to what are the most important, and this was not in the final 10. In the end, you probably have 20 ideas that you like. And when you start the season writing process, you just pitch a bunch of different ideas. When we were putting the season together, it was originally going to be 10 episodes.

First, talk a bit about how the idea to follow Beard on this bizarro night out came to be. TVLINE | This episode is quite unique in a number of ways. He also discusses his one big regret about that unforgettable dance scene. Below, Hunt delves deep into Coach Beard’s psyche and reveals how the standalone adventure came to be.

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