In addition to a recurring role in ABC’s Don’t Trust The B**ch in Apt 23, Eric Andre is the star and mastermind behind the bizarre The Eric Andre Show on [adult swim] which fellow comedian Hannibal Buress co-stars. The show is a wild, cable access-style gathering of weird, and we get the impression Andre wouldn’t want it any other way. We caught up with him at Just For Laughs Chicago to talk about his show and things… well they got a bit weird judging by the photo.

We saw Hannibal last night, saw you open for Amy the night before

Cool, cool

You guys were rockin’ it strong

Thanks man… tryin’ to, yeah.

How did all that come to life? ‘Cause it seems like it came out of, respectively… left field

I was in the lab for years, man, I was deep underground. Rigorous training. Me and Jean- Claude Van Damme… just dippin’ our hands in glue, then dippin’ our hands in broken glass and fighting each other. I made a demo a few years ago, for the show. And it just took me forever to edit it and get it out there. Basically, for The Eric Andre Show I knew I wouldn’t be able to sell it just through a script, just through black and white ink, cause it’s just too visual and too crazy stream of consciousness kind of show, so me and a couple buddies rented out this abandoned bodega in Brooklyn and shot a little 7 minute demo of what the show could be, in this bodega. And then it took me… I had to teach myself Final Cut to edit it, and that took me like a year. Then we shopped it around to all the networks and [adult swim] loved it! They wanted to make a pilot, that was Thanksgiving 2010 I found this out. When I got back from the holidays they wanted to make it, but I started doing Apartment 23, so I had to wait until May of 2011 to make the pilot. Then Apartment 23 got picked up, so we had to shoot that, so it took ’til just now to shoot The Eric Andre Show.

Wow. Just about what? Two years then, really. From inception.

Yeah we shot the demo in summer of 2009 and we just wrapped the first season, so it took like 3 years to make it actually happen, yeah.

Very cool. I just admire that whole fact how you were able to get it together.

Thanks man.

I I read a little bit that you did it yourself so I just wanted to pick your brain a little bit. I had no idea you taught yourself the editing software and everything.

Yeah, I had to! Because I ran out of money shooting the thing. So I was like, “I can’t pay an editor.” Besides there was so much footage it was such a mess, I wouldn’t even have been able to communicate what I wanted to somebody else so I was just like, “I gotta teach myself how to do this.”

How’s it workin’ with Hannibal Buress on your side there?

Hannibal’s the best, man. He’s the reason we have a show, the show wouldn’t be the same without him, you know?

So we know we only have another minute with you. Since you mentioned that you are on Don’t Trust the B**ch in Apartment 23. Just need to know how is it working with Dawson himself, James Van Der Beek? Does he have any comedy skills?

Aww he’s the best man, he’s the funniest and it’s so awesome. I think he has the best job on the show cause he gets to play himself, like his bizarro version of himself. He’s totally got the comedy skills to pay the bills for sure! And he’s the nicest guy on the planet earth. Just a total sweetheart.

The Eric Andre Show airs on [adult swim] Sunday at 12:30am. Don’t Trust The B**ch in Apartment 23 will return to ABC this fall. Visit Eric’s website for more information.

Brian Elles is an actor, comedian, and writer currently living in Chicago. Brian peruses to find the truth in comedy through improvisation, sketch review, parodies, and stand-up. Follow him on his website or Twitter @EllesExperience.