Exclusive Interview: Rell Battle, Claudia O’Doherty, and Scott MacArthur Talk Killing It Season 1

Rell Battle, Claudia O’Doherty, and Scott MacArthur are three of the stars of the must-see new series Killing It.

The laugh-out-loud comedy follows Craig Foster (Craig Robinson), a Miami bank security guard, who enters a state-sponsored snake-hunting contest to achieve his American dream of becoming a successful entrepreneur.

Rell shines as Isaiah, Craig’s older brother, who is always coming up with get-rich schemes. Claudia stars as Jillian, Craig’s hilarious partner in crime in the competition. Scott plays Brock, an over-the-top snake hunter.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with the cast about Season 1 of Killing It.

PC: Rell, I wanted to start with you. Your character Isaiah and his brother Craig are chasing the American dream, but doing so in very different ways, which creates a lot of hilarious moments where they’re clashing about their approach. What was it like collaborating with Craig [Robinson] as you brought this dynamic to life?
Rell: Collaborating with Craig was great. He’s known as one of the nicest guys in Hollywood. We all know he’s a big teddy bear. We’ve all seen his films. He really is that guy. He’s the most down-to-earth guy you can think of. Luckily, I had a previous relationship with him as a stand-up comic, so we already knew each other pretty decently enough. We were able to bring that same energy to the screen. We play off of each other, and we were allowed to improv. It made it feel more like an actual big brother, little brother relationship. Having that prior relationship helps on camera as well.

PC: Claudia, you’ve said in previous interviews that you were able to infuse elements of your comedy festival shows into this character. What was your process like bringing Jillian to life and also tackling those outrageous situations that she finds herself in over the course of the first season?
Claudia: I kind of don’t have a process. I’ve done comedy festival shows for years, and I’ve figured out how I can be the funniest—usually that’s either by being a mean or friendly idiot. Jillian is more of the friendly idiot side. I don’t think she’s dumb. She’s incredibly resourceful, but sometimes she makes crazy choices. There was no real process, but I probably had been slowly preparing for this kind of role for years.

PC: Scott, Brock is quite the character and has really embraced this influencer life. What should audiences know about him? What was that preparation like stepping into his shoes?
Scott: What I hope audiences get the most from with Brock is that whether you’re 15 years old or 42 years old, the internet has a place for you. We all can find our very specific, unique, dark, bizarre corner of the internet because it’s infinitely angled. There are corners to be had.

PC: This is a question for the entire cast. There are so many scenes that will have audiences on the floor. Is there one in particular that you’re really excited for fans to see?
Scott: There is a scene in a miniature golf area. There are a lot of scenes I’m excited about, but that one stands out to me because it takes the show to a whole other level of what our world of characters are willing to do to win this snake contest.

Rell: For me, I like watching Scott. Scott’s character is so hardcore, and he’s so committed to it. I was a fan of Scott on The Mick, another show back in the day. Scott’s character is so intense, over the top, and direct. Anytime he’s talking with Craig, he’s this crazy guy who’s so passionate about not just snake hunting but the filming of snake hunting for social media. It’s super hilarious to me. Every little bit of the show that I’ve seen, I always find myself going back to a lot of Scott’s scenes. I think his character is really going to resonate with people.

Scott: That’s very kind of you, Rell.

Make sure to follow Claudia (Twitter/Instagram), Scott (Twitter/Instagram), and Rell (Twitter/Instagram). Watch the first season of Killing It on Peacock today.