When you break up, who gets to keep the cat? In Aubrey Plaza’s ‘Kevin,’ nobody does

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Joe Wengert, one of the creators of the new Prime Video series “Kevin,” explains that the show is deeply rooted in his and Aubrey Plaza’s own past relationship, drawing inspiration from its end almost twenty years ago. Wengert says they prioritized telling an emotionally honest story and really exploring what the characters were feeling inside. Dan Murphy, Plaza’s production partner, also served as a co-creator on the series.

Plaza explains that they wanted the show to feel authentic and rooted in the specific New York neighborhood where she and Wengert lived – Astoria, Queens. They also aimed to include elements of her personal passion for film and classic New York movies. As an example, there’s a rooftop scene that pays tribute to Al Pacino’s breakout role in “The Panic in Needle Park.”

That’s all accurate, but “Kevin” is primarily a humorous animated show featuring a talented voice cast. It’s about talking animals and their adventures, and they mostly live without human owners.

The series begins with Dan (Mike Mitchell) and Dana (Aubrey Plaza) splitting up, prompting their cat, Kevin (Jason Schwartzman), to leave home and strike out on his own.

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According to Aubrey Plaza, she and Joe had a shared, unusual desire to make a comedy about cats, and Joe already had a concept she really liked. When they split up, Kevin and another cat, Howard, simply stayed with Joe’s friend, Wengert. Sadly, Howard didn’t live very long, but Plaza hints that a cat named Howard will appear in the project as a memorial.

“Joe was then doing a lot of comedy about being a single guy with cats.”

Wengert, the show’s creator, says the recent split was deeply personal and something he wanted to address in the show. However, he realized a storyline about a heartbroken man simply visiting friends wouldn’t be very funny. He and the team found the current idea much more humorous, and it really resonated with them.

According to Wengert, the actual Kevin wasn’t an adventurous cat wishing for the outside world. She admits she always felt sorry for him, jokingly saying, “You could have had a life with Aubrey Plaza, but instead you’re stuck here with me in my apartment.”

Throughout the show, Kevin finds himself working at an animal rescue alongside a quirky cast of characters. He meets Cupcake, a confident and unconventional feral cat played by Whoopi Goldberg; Armando, a snobby and refined cat voiced by John Waters; Judy, a surprisingly optimistic cat with eye problems, brought to life by Aparna Nancherla; and Brandi, a loud and controlling dog (Amy Sedaris) who seems to be in charge of Seth (Gil Ozeri), the person who supposedly runs the shelter.

Schwartzman explains that the character’s self-reliance and reliance on gut feelings appealed to him because they represent experiences that make a life feel authentic. He briefly reflected on this while discussing what drew him to playing a worried, anxious cat.

Throughout their travels, the cats meet a variety of quirky animals, like a spider who’s had too much to drink and a deer who angrily confronts a driver after an accident. Aubrey Plaza, who provides the voices for many of these creatures – including the spider and Cupcake’s pitbull boyfriend – says the scene with the deer was particularly funny. She jokingly adds that she’s always dreamed of a romance with Whoopi Goldberg.

(Wengert voices a parrot named Paco, among others, and says there’s talk of adding a tortoise.)

The show features a number of guest stars, including Patti LuPone, who hilariously voices a horse named Patti Lupony. Other guest appearances include Addison Rae, Cary Elwes, Charles Melton, Nicole Byer, Jim O’Heir, Maria Bamford, Quinta Brunson, and Tig Notaro. Many of the actors involved, such as Jason Schwartzman, Busy Philipps, Patti LuPone, and Jim O’Heir, are personal friends with the show’s star, Aubrey Plaza.

Waters enjoys surprising people with his choices, and this project is a perfect example. He jokes that while his co-star, Armando, doesn’t care for people, Waters, as a human, isn’t much of a cat person either.

You know, as a big movie fan, I always love hearing how actors become their characters. Well, Mark Waters, who’s definitely a dog person, told me he really connected with Armando. He’s a Method actor, so he was joking about literally getting down on all fours to feel the part! He even said if he were a cat, that’s probably how he’d approach the role – totally getting into that feline mindset.

Interestingly, both Schwartzman and Plaza are pet owners. While Schwartzman had dogs, he used to volunteer at a cat shelter growing up in Los Angeles. And, surprisingly, Plaza now owns a dog herself! However, Plaza, known for her roles in shows like “Parks and Recreation,” jokes that she identifies more with cats, saying she has “cat-like tendencies.”

Plaza and Wengert also incorporated the actors’ sensibilities and personalities.

“We would change things on the fly based on the actor’s input,” Wengert says.

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According to Plaza, Waters is famous for being outrageous and enjoys following gossip, but he requested that the character Armando be less critical and insulting towards celebrities. Waters explained he was uncomfortable with those jokes, saying he’s built a 50-year career by being positive, focusing on celebrating things others dismiss rather than tearing them down.

Wengert explained that the request for a change actually helped them develop a more original and interesting character, and they were glad it was made.

He also mentioned he thought Goldberg might push back more, since they’d given her a lot of silly lines, but she hardly ever did—unless she had an even better, funnier idea to suggest.

Plaza recognized that Kevin’s anxious personality suited Schwartzman, but also believed he could add his own comedic flair through improvisation. She recalls, “He’s naturally funny when it comes to his own physicality.” She remembers one time he casually asked her to feel how heavy his leg was, and they ended up incorporating that moment into the character of Kevin.”

Schwartzman admits he doesn’t quite remember that specific moment, but confirms his leg does often feel heavy. He explains that his close friendship with Plaza made him comfortable sharing ideas while recording, and the process was very collaborative. Both he and the writers were constantly building on each other’s suggestions, leading to a constantly evolving final product.

I’ve noticed the writing team is full of people with backgrounds similar to Aubrey Plaza and Nick Wengert – they both came up through the Upright Citizens Brigade improv scene! Actually, Nick was even running the UCB school when they first connected, and he brought some writers he’d worked with on “Big Mouth” along with him. Aubrey explained that they just really get each other’s sense of humor, and I can definitely see that reflected in their work.

Plaza enjoys the limitless creativity of animation, saying it allows your imagination to run free. However, she admits she often takes on the role of the critical voice during writing sessions, even though it’s not typically her style. Wengert recalls a time when they brought in Schwartzman and the team brainstormed such unusual ideas, they were left wondering what was happening.

We’re creating this world, so we need boundaries, otherwise everything around us could suddenly come to life,” Plaza explains. “Whenever things got out of hand, I’d ask everyone to pull back a little.”

Wengert illustrates this by suggesting a talking pizza slice could appear briefly – fitting for a New York setting – but shouldn’t become a central, close companion to Kevin in the story.

If the show gets renewed for a second season—and the scripts are already finished—Aubrey Plaza says they’ll have more creative freedom and things will get even wilder.

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2026-04-20 13:32