Joel McHale Talks 'Savory' Crime Scene Twist, His One Game Show Anxiety And... Pretty Much Everything Else!

At long last, the Crime Scene Kitchen is ready for more culinary mysteries to be solved.

The Fox cooking competition/guessing game — hosted by Joel McHale with Yolanda Gampp and Curtis Stone serving as judges — plated its first season of episodes back in June/July of 2021, but due to this, that and the other thing, Season 2 was kept on the backburner.

With the kitchen finally reopening tonight at 9/8c (leading out of Fox's Stars on Mars launch), TVLine hopped on the phone with the ubiquitous Joel McHale to talk about Crime Scene's new menu, his Stargirl run and... well, pretty much everything. (He busy!)

TVLINE | We were getting worried, man. After Stargirl ended and with so many game shows on break, you've been on "just" one show at a time, Animal Control.

Yeah, I was getting worried. I was like, "Oh, this isn't enough. This is ridiculous."

TVLINE | How long have these Crime Scene episodes been in the proverbial freezer? Who was president when you filmed them?

It was Warren G. Harding. Ironically, my grandfather met Warren G. Harding in Seattle on his way to Alaska. And then Warren G. Harding got pneumonia and died, like two months into office.

TVLINE | That was a nice anecdote.

So, we shot these a year ago in April. And because we shot late, I think that Fox at first wanted it to be for summer [2022], and then it didn't. So then they held it, and here we are. A year later. I know some of the folks on Stars on Mars (which leads into Crime Scene Kitchen Mondays at 8 pm), so hopefully it's a good pairing.

TVLINE | Did ya'll make any tweaks to the formula of the show, or is it pretty much the same?

We opened it up to savory food as well, which makes it somewhat more difficult, I think. All the contestants were like, "Oh, yeah, I watched [Season 1] and I totally could figure it out from home," and then that classic thing happened, where, "Well, when you're actually in there, in person, it's a whole different ballgame."

There's also a couple of dead bodies lying around the set, so that really gives it a real sense of crime.

TVLINE | During Crime Scene's judging segment, is there any flavor or fruit that Joel McHale is so not a fan of that when you have to taste it, we're getting some high quality acting from you?

Well, it hasn't happened yet, but mung bean. I'm not a huge fan of mung bean.

TVLINE | Wait, is that an actual thing?

And I'm usually not a fan of lemon bars because they're too sweet for me, which is saying a lot. As you said, I'm a paid performer, but I'm pretty honest, so it must read on my face. If I just said, "This is incredible" about every single thing, then it wouldn't matter.

I will say this: There is a dish that two of the bakers got completely wrong, but [judge] Curtis [Stone] was like, "You got it totally wrong, but you need to patent this recipe and go make a million dollars off of it because it's that good." Also, I think there was one point where every team was making something different.

TVLINE | But is there anything as sad in Season 2 as Season 1's soupy apple pie?

Oof, yeah, that thing. Well, I'll say we did not drink raw eggs this year, though I drink them in my free time. There are some heartbreaking choices made. Let's just say it's not always the greatest when your dessert is overly salted.

TVLINE | Is the dry ice reveal still as laborious and comically overwrought as ever?

The Confectionator 3000? I hope so!

TVLINE | Sometimes I'll check my watch while it's oh-so-slowly opening....

Do you like how many times we cut away to people's eyes? And then they're like, "Dun, dun, dun, dunnn."

We should do it where it's just dry ice. We should keep the door down and say, "Yes, [the mystery dessert] is a pile of dry ice. We hope you got that right." But I get it. They have to keep the tension going. But it would be funny if I was just like, "Well, it's chocolate chip cookies."

TVLINE | "The Nestle Toll House recipe, right off the bag."

"Enjoy Gordon Ramsay. See you later!"

TVLINE | Speaking of reality-competition tropes, do you think we're ever going to move away from, like, Gordon saying, "And the person who's going home is...," and then we cut to a Rolaids commercial? Or is that toothpaste never going back in the tube?

I think they're going to change it up where it's, "And the person...," and then it'll cut to the Rolaids, and then, "...going is...."

TVLINE | That s–t drives me crazy, man.

Yeah, it's wonderfully maddening.

TVLINE | Were you pleasantly surprised by the Animal Control renewal? Because it's hard out there these days for a live-action broadcast comedy to gain a foothold.

Yes, I was so happy. And believe me, I know it is hard to get ratings and it is hard to get audiences these days. But Fox believed in it, thank God, and they are behind it. I think the cast is dynamite, so I really was just thrilled. Because as you said, it's a rough time out there to get comedies renewed, so I hope people will tune in for Season 2 whenever we start shooting. I'm not sure when that'll be.

TVLINE | What's your best animal-related anecdote from Season 1 that won't get you in further trouble with PETA?

Oh, I wanted to adopt everything. My wife and I have three dogs and a bunny — we had two bunnies at one point, but one passed away, sadly — so she keeps thinking I'm going to adopt a pet and come home with like two cats. Because all the dogs and cats and a lot of the other animals are adoptable, and the Humane Society is on-set every day. There's a whippet that I fell in love with, and Gretchen the 7-year-old tarantula. Tarantulas seem to be pretty low maintenance

TVLINE | What happened with Card Sharks...? We're all done with that?

Hey, ask ABC. I loved doing that show and it was really fun. It's an age-old format, and the game is such a good game.

TVLINE | I loved that show as a kid and you were pretty faithful to it.

I love the old version where they're like, "And you get... a Dodge Aspen!" It wasn't even money, they would give you a sculpture, or a stereo system. I love that stuff so, yeah, ask ABC and see what happens.

TVLINE | You, Ken Jeong, Cheryl Hines... There's a group of regulars on today's quiz show circuit that at times seem to appear on any seven shows in a given week. Is there a studio in L.A. that's just a long hallway where you duck behind a door, do one show, and then go to the next door? Should there be a hallway like that?

I would hope so. I have tear-away clothes on all the time, so I put on, like, three outfits. I'll do Wayne Brady's [Let's Make a Deal], rip it off, and then do Anthony Anderson's To Tell the Truth, and then rip that outfit off, and then do Michael Strahan and Pyramid....

TVLINE | Have you actually ever taped two different game shows in one day?

I have done two episodes [of one show], but not two [different shows] in one day. Not yet. And now you've given me a new goal, man. I'm on it!

TVLINE | Obviously you're an old pro at this, but do you still get a bit nervous before you go on any one of these shows?

Oh, yeah, Pyramid, because it's a lot of reading. And I am super dyslexic. And with Password, I have to use all my brainpower because my brain doesn't spell. They all have wonderful pressure in them, but yeah, those two are particularly nerve-wracking.

TVLINE | How tricky was it doing press for the final season of Stargirl, given the big twist with your character [not spoiled here]?

Oh, my gosh..... Well, first of all, thank you [Stargirl creator] Geoff Johns. I had so much fun and I am very sad that that show ended, but Geoff knew that with the sale [of The CW] that it could not come back, so he ended it properly.

That show took me into their nice big happy family and I felt so loved there. And Brec Bassinger, she's a star, she'll be just fine. She's going to get another 12 shows if she wants, because her poise at that age is pretty remarkable. If I were her, I would probably lose my mind, she but handled it like a complete pro. But yeah, what Geoff had me do with that character [in the final season] was so exciting.... I got to wear that supersuit and do all sorts of stuff that I dreamt of as a kid.

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TVLINE | When you did your brief bits on The Bear, did you get a sense that the show was going to be an acclaimed hit?

Well, I'll say that [The Bear creator] Chris Storer is a modern-day raconteur genius. He was always in the mix as far as everyone was like, "This guy, he's going to do something." Like, he had scripts that I read that were just spectacular — not The Bear at that point, this was years ago. And then this came up, and with Chris, I will always put my money on him. He's one of those guys where, like Steph Curry, you're like, "He's going to get hot, you'll see, and then he'll drop it from anywhere." And now The Bear is this big show, and it couldn't have happened to a smarter, nicer, cooler guy.

TVLINE | Any chance for an encore from your character?

I won't tell....

TVLINE | Last topic, and it's a shocker: the Community movie. Did the [WGA] strike come at any worst possible time? Were ya'll starting to get some stuff done, or...?

Yeah, that was a bummer because we were getting very close [to starting filming in early June]. But at the same time, I am a thousand billion percent behind the writers and what they are [asking for]. There are so many different little things that have been pushed, which are bummers, but at the same time, writers need to be paid.

TVLINE | Absolutely.

So, yeah, [the movie]'s still going to happen. When this strike is over, we'll come back and we'll make it. And I'm sure Dan [Harmon] will put in 12 jokes addressing the fact that it took the Stations of the Cross to get this thing finally there. It'll get there, it'll just take a little while.

TVLINE | Before the strike, had you seen any draft of the script?

I will tell you.... [Stops himself] Yeah, I know what's going on, but you know I can't say anything.

TVLINE | Because Dan ruled out a lot of things.

Everybody dies. It's like the end of Hamlet. No, I'm making that up. But yes, from what I know about it it's great. It really is. It's going to be a barn burner.

TVLINE | Is there anything left on your to-do list?

In my life?

TVLINE | As an actor, an entertainment personality.

Oh, yeah, I'd like to jump a bus on-camera.

TVLINE | Is it moving or is it standing still?

Oh, no, that thing is moving. It'd be like in the movie 48 Hours. Or Fast and the Furious, I guess they did it in the first [movie].

But no, I just want to keep working, that's all I ask. I always think the Real Job Police are going to come take me away, so I live in a constant state of quiet — or very loud — desperation.