Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Turner & Hooch’s Lyndsy Fonseca, Reginald VelJohnson, and Jeremy Maguire

Audiences have fallen in love with Disney+’s Turner & Hooch.

The family dramedy follows an ambitious, buttoned-up US Marshal who inherits a big unruly dog. He soon realizes that the dog he didn’t want may be the partner he needs.

Three of the stars of the series, Lyndsy Fonseca, Reginald VelJohnson, and Jeremy Maguire, spoke to us about Turner & Hooch Season 1, their characters’ arcs, and their favorite Hooch moment.

PC: To start, could you each introduce us to your characters and what drew you to this project? Lyndsy, do you want to start?
Lyndsy: It was the honest depiction of a single mom—that was very intriguing—and also working with Josh [Peck] again after our long history of friendship and working together. I knew that our number one would be a good person and game for anything. Also, getting to be a part of a franchise that’s so beloved made me want to do it even more.

Reginald: I enjoyed being in the role again with these new people, which was refreshing and inspiring to me. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I had so much fun, I thought it was a vacation! It was really wonderful.

Jeremy: I had fun filming because it was so fun. Everyone was so welcoming, and the dogs were so obedient. [My character] Matthew was just like me. Matthew is fun and loving. He loves dogs.

PC: Lyndsy, your character has this beautiful arc throughout the first season where she’s coming to terms with her father’s passing and also honoring his legacy. How did you prepare to tackle that journey?
Lyndsy: It’s really tackling these scripts as they come. That’s the way TV works. You get a few days to prep because you’re shooting the last episode. What was really exciting was that I really found Laura through the investigation that unfolds in the first season.

Laura and Scott’s journeys are very parallel. He’s driven by his ambition. He have to be a good Marshal, and Hooch totally wrecks that whole vision. Then, Laura starts this investigation. I’m a single mom. I’m exhausted. I’m trying to just survive. I’ve got animals crawling off the walls. I don’t even have time to pick up all the toys and do all the laundry. Then, I’m all of a sudden trying to figure out what happened. My dad left all these boxes, and there are all these cases. There’s a mystery here. I have to do this. It’s a little gem and gift for me to experience through Laura.

PC: Jeremy, fans will recognize you for your breakout role in Modern Family. What did you learn on that set that you brought over to Turner & Hooch?
Jeremy: I brought all of myself to this role. On Modern Family, Joe was a very dull troublemaker. Matthew is the complete opposite—he’s a fun, energetic kid who loves sloppy joes and playing in the mud. The transition from that role to Matthew was really hard, but it made it easier because I’m like Matthew. I’m a dog lover. I love running and playing.

PC: Reginald, you spoke about this a little bit already. You were a part of the original Turner & Hooch. What has it meant to you to get to step back into David’s shoes and introduce this beloved franchise and character to a new generation?
Reginald: It’s such a unique experience. To work with a whole bunch of new characters that are in the same thing that you did years ago was really wonderful. They all handled themselves extremely well. I felt like I had to catch up because they were all so together. I enjoyed working with each and every one of them, especially Lyndsy and Jeremy. They’re really cool people. I’m so thankful to have been a part of the old cast, but I’m ecstatic to be a part of the new cast.

PC: What do you all hope audiences take away?
Reginald: I hope they love these dogs; they’re very special. The show is going to be a hit because of that. I know it.

Lyndsy: I know that families are going to be able to watch it together. The cool thing about the show that so many people are craving is a connection with their kids; it’s a show that they can watch together. As a parent, I can’t watch another episode of Peppa Pig. I want to see some action. I want to see great relationships and storylines. I want my kids to be genuinely excited about the dogs slobbering and watching Matthew’s volcano project get destroyed.

Jeremy: That was awesome.

Lyndsy: The whole family can watch it together. That’s the heart of the show.

Reginald: Amen. Is there an Emmy award for a dog? I think Hooch would win it.

Jeremy: Hooch would win it twenty-three times.

PC: Speaking of Hooch, do you have a favorite either on or off camera moment with Hooch?
Reginald: My favorite was watching Jeremy deal with the dogs and how he had to deal with them because the dogs were bigger than him. He had to maneuver himself to get to work with these dogs. It was wonderful watching him do that. It was wonderful watching those scenes with the dogs and Jeremy.

Jeremy: I liked working with all the animals off camera when we weren’t filming. I like stepping out of my mark and looking at the animals. It was really fun doing that, playing with them, and trying to hug them. Those were probably my favorite off camera moments. My favorite on camera moment was when he destroyed my science project. Literally, it looked like Hooch was a giant volcano monster. He ripped up the entire world.

Lyndsy: It’s not just Hooch, too. The great thing about Laura and Matthew’s world is all the other animals; we’ve got parrots, we’ve got the veterinarian office with all the other animals, and we have Blob the cat.
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Jeremy: I’ve literally only seen that cat walk twice. He just sits there. The world is about to fall in love with Blob as well. He’s really the breakthrough performer of the season.

Make sure to follow Lyndsy (Twitter/Instagram) and Jeremy (Twitter/Instagram). New episodes of Turner & Hooch drop every Wednesday on Disney+.