The season finale packed a punch as the first scripted series on BTV. From eccentric characters, to nonsensical one-liners every week, Rusty Camel brought us laughter, light and a little bit of leisure. We sat down with the creator of the series, Andrew Young, who also served as a producer, to get his take on how it all went.
Young is the founder of Switchkill Productions, and head of the scripted department at BTV Digital Studios, where his company is used as a production partner. The former Kentucky native based Rusty Camel on job experiences from his past, making this a special project to him.
"Watching Rusty Camel come to life was like a dream come true. I’ve had (Rusty Camel) in the back of my mind for quite some time," Andrew told us. "I couldn’t be more proud of everyone involved."
When we asked what his favorite moment was, he couldn't pick between two. "Mick gets very upset in our 6th episode, when they bring in a teacher to direct a commercial. Mick storms out of the room and back to his trailer, which was really just the men’s bathroom. He just stuck a piece of paper on the door with his name written under a gold star." He broke for laughter then continued, "The nut-tap scene from our finale (Episode 8) is hilarious too. I got the idea for that one from my high school days. My young and dumb days. My buddies and I used to nut-tap each other all the time, just like you witnessed in the episode. Nobody ever saw it coming and boy was it hilarious back in the day."
"(Episode 8) we worked so hard on, which had it’s own hurdles." Young went on to mention they lost power on the rooftop during the filming of their company mixer, which loyal fans will know, was important to Young's Scooter Vance in the script. "Post-production is where we really shined at making this episode pop."
The cast was a defying factor in Rusty Camel. Daniel O'Reilly, Ed Galvez, Kayla Moore, Brandon Stewart, who also directed the series, Kathy Kaehler, Bubba Ganter and Bryan Espino brought it week after week with unhinged commentary that left the audience consistently uncomfortable.
While cheering on the characters' ridiculous escapades, you simultaneously hope they fail. Each of them harness unlikeable perspectives based on politics today and where comedy can sometimes steer from attacking groups of people, Rusty Camel makes certain no one is safe. "This show literally knows no bounds. I had no idea how much people would love the show until we started airing it," Young admitted. "We took a 2 month break in the middle of the season due to COVID-19 putting us behind our original post-production schedule. You wouldn’t believe the amount of people that contacted us and asked us questions about when the Camel was returning.
Like they were in some serious withdraw. Think Pennywise holding a bundle of red balloons with no kids in sight. That withdraw. I mean it was apparently bad." If we didn't know before, we now know why the writing for Rusty Camel was so punchy, as it appears to be in Young's DNA.
Young was one of the first executives hired at BTV. Brandon Stewart, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of BTV Studios said, "Andrew and I grew up 20 minutes apart. He's from Kentucky. I'm from Kentucky." Young is from a small town called, Eminence, Kentucky with a population of just under 3,000 people. "We never met there, but our paths crossed here in Los Angeles," Stewart admitted. "It was meant to happen. He's incredibly talented and a big reason for much of the success here at BTV."
Young told us he wanted to thank everyone for watching. "You really kept (Rusty Camel) going," he said. Though Young did hint at a possible season 2 down the road, BTV has put the show on hiatus. Stewart said, "We're looking at some cable channels and streaming conglomerates who are acquiring interest and we're hoping an offer comes through that we like."
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Young is in the works on his next big creation titled, "The House of Samhain." Not many details have been released. "We look to start production for that series at the top of 2021," Young said. "It's a limited horror series that is Halloween centered."