1 00:00:01,866 --> 00:00:04,933 JUDY WOODRUFF: Tonight's Brief But Spectacular features comedian Nick Kroll. 2 00:00:04,933 --> 00:00:09,933 He mined the hilarious and mortifying experiences of adolescence to create the animated Netflix 3 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:13,100 series "Big Mouth." 4 00:00:13,100 --> 00:00:16,700 Although it is a period of life some of us would prefer to forget, Kroll says it has 5 00:00:16,700 --> 00:00:18,666 been healthy to revisit his past. 6 00:00:18,666 --> 00:00:22,833 NICK KROLL, Comedian: "Big Mouth" is my animated TV show on Netflix. 7 00:00:22,833 --> 00:00:27,500 It is about my journey through puberty with my best friend, Andrew Goldberg. 8 00:00:27,500 --> 00:00:29,500 It's based on our childhoods. 9 00:00:29,500 --> 00:00:33,633 Andrew became a writer for "Family Guy," and I became a comedian, and then we came back 10 00:00:33,633 --> 00:00:37,866 together 30 years after we met to create this show. 11 00:00:37,866 --> 00:00:40,866 We knew from the beginning that we wanted this to be animated. 12 00:00:40,866 --> 00:00:44,500 We felt like we wanted adults to voice the kids. 13 00:00:44,500 --> 00:00:48,766 I think I voice over 30 characters on the show. 14 00:00:48,766 --> 00:00:50,200 There is the voice of Nick. 15 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:51,566 This is Nick's voice. 16 00:00:51,566 --> 00:00:54,433 There is the Hormone Monster, who is Maurice. 17 00:00:54,433 --> 00:00:55,733 There's Coach Steve. 18 00:00:55,733 --> 00:00:57,500 Hey, what's up everybody? 19 00:00:57,500 --> 00:00:58,833 I'm Coach Steve. 20 00:00:58,833 --> 00:01:01,133 There is the Jansen twins. 21 00:01:01,133 --> 00:01:02,133 They are two twins. 22 00:01:02,133 --> 00:01:03,600 There's a little Ladybug. 23 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:07,966 And Ladybug will tell you what's what on a daily daily. 24 00:01:07,966 --> 00:01:10,033 And I don't know. 25 00:01:10,033 --> 00:01:13,100 There's like 25 more voices. 26 00:01:13,100 --> 00:01:18,100 The tone of the show is very dirty, but I think it is equally weighted with an incredible 27 00:01:22,633 --> 00:01:24,433 warmth and sincerity. 28 00:01:24,433 --> 00:01:26,800 ACTRESS: You're actually kind of fun. 29 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:27,800 ACTOR: You think so? 30 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:29,266 ACTRESS: Absolutely. 31 00:01:29,266 --> 00:01:30,300 ACTOR: Should we like, I don't know, take a picture? 32 00:01:30,300 --> 00:01:31,466 ACTRESS: Yes, go for it. 33 00:01:31,466 --> 00:01:33,600 You're very photogenic from that angle. 34 00:01:33,600 --> 00:01:34,600 Not that one. 35 00:01:34,600 --> 00:01:35,600 Yes. 36 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:36,866 ACTOR: This one? 37 00:01:36,866 --> 00:01:37,600 ACTRESS: Yes, a little to the right, and go. 38 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:38,600 Hunk alert. 39 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:40,666 ACTOR: What's that? 40 00:01:40,666 --> 00:01:41,866 ACTRESS: That's like an Amber Alert, but also there is a kid missing in a red Mazda. 41 00:01:41,866 --> 00:01:43,833 ACTOR: Oh, no. 42 00:01:43,833 --> 00:01:47,100 NICK KROLL: Being a late bloomer meant that I just physically matured a lot later than 43 00:01:47,100 --> 00:01:48,533 most of my friends. 44 00:01:48,533 --> 00:01:52,233 I didn't hit 5 feet until into high school. 45 00:01:52,233 --> 00:01:55,100 Andrew was the earliest bloomer. 46 00:01:55,100 --> 00:01:59,166 It didn't take much to realize that Andrew was hitting puberty, because he could grow 47 00:01:59,166 --> 00:02:02,200 a mustache and beard in sixth grade. 48 00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:07,200 Whether you were a late bloomer or an early developer, you felt alone, and you felt like 49 00:02:10,533 --> 00:02:12,633 you were different. 50 00:02:12,633 --> 00:02:17,066 Season two of "Big Mouth," we introduced a character called the Shame Wizard. 51 00:02:18,266 --> 00:02:20,300 ACTOR: Surely you knew I was coming? 52 00:02:20,300 --> 00:02:24,200 NICK KROLL: And in writing the show, we realized how much shame played into adolescence and 53 00:02:26,500 --> 00:02:27,700 puberty itself. 54 00:02:27,700 --> 00:02:29,966 ACTRESS: I wish I didn't have to wear a bra. 55 00:02:29,966 --> 00:02:31,200 What is that, an undershirt? 56 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:33,100 NICK KROLL: Your body is changing. 57 00:02:33,100 --> 00:02:38,000 You're having these different kinds of urges, sexual urges, emotional swings. 58 00:02:39,466 --> 00:02:43,100 What comes with those emotional swings is the feeling of shame. 59 00:02:43,100 --> 00:02:47,633 I was lucky in my family that we did talk about sex, and we had these books called "What's 60 00:02:47,633 --> 00:02:49,733 Happening to Me?" 61 00:02:49,733 --> 00:02:54,100 The most gratifying thing about making the show has been hearing from kids and parents 62 00:02:56,100 --> 00:03:00,666 and teachers saying that they have watched the show, and it has given them a platform 63 00:03:00,666 --> 00:03:05,633 and a vocabulary to talk about what's happening to them. 64 00:03:07,066 --> 00:03:10,800 The show at its core is about making people feel not so alone. 65 00:03:12,800 --> 00:03:16,866 As I have made this show, the experience has been incredibly therapeutic in helping me 66 00:03:18,933 --> 00:03:22,066 understand who I was and how what I was going through has affected the man that I have become. 67 00:03:24,833 --> 00:03:29,833 My name is Nick Kroll, and this is my Brief But Spectacular take on characters of different 68 00:03:30,566 --> 00:03:32,500 ages brought to life. 69 00:03:32,500 --> 00:03:37,033 JUDY WOODRUFF: And you can watch additional Brief But Spectacular episodes on our Web 70 00:03:37,033 --> 00:03:40,666 site, PBS.org/NewsHour/Brief.