Quibi, a new streaming service that provides ‘quick bites’ of content, in 10 minutes or less, has just released the horror anthology series, ’50 States of Fright,’ produced by Sam Raimi.
Each episode in the series focuses on an urban legend from all different corners of the United States. Emily Hampshire, best known for her work on ‘Schitt’s Creek’ and ’12 Monkeys’ stars in ‘Scared Stiff,’ which revolves around a mysterious taxidermied creature in Oregon. The Knockturnal spoke with Emily over the phone about what’s been keeping her busy during quarantine, her role on the series, and, of course, the recent bittersweet series finale of ‘Schitt’s Creek.’
The Knockturnal: Hey Emily, thanks so much for chatting today. How are you doing in quarantine and how have you been staying busy?
Emily Hampshire: Well, I haven’t been out of my home for about a month now. The weird thing is though, I feel kind of guilty about this, that friends check in on me, and most of my friends, their check-in is like ‘I know I don’t have to check in on you, ‘cause you’ve been preparing for this all your life.’ I am definitely someone who likes staying home and being alone, however on week 3 I’ve started to look out my window and be like, ‘ah, I wanna get out of here.’ The good thing is I’ve been doing this virtual talk show to benefit the Actors Fund, which I always feel the need to say to people is not just for actors because I thought of course it was, but it’s for everyone in the entertainment industry from writers, to PA’s, to drag queens, to makeup artists, just everyone. So I’ve been doing this talk show called ‘Humpday with Hampshire’ every Wednesday and having guests on, who have mostly been my friends of mine so far, just interviewing them in their natural habitats and getting their advice on how to get through this time. So I’ve never felt more virtually busy!
The Knockturnal: I totally understand that and I feel the same way. So who have you had on the show so far?
Emily Hampshire: Well my first guest I wanted to make a really close friend ’cause I was nervous, so I had Annie Murphy from ‘Schitt’s Creek,’ who plays Alexis Rose, and then I had Adam Rippon who is a bronze-medal winning Olympic figure skater. He’s also though, one of the funniest people in the world and he has his own talk show. So I had him, and he was genius. I’ve had Bobby Berk from ‘Queer Eye’ and Sophia Bush, who is not just an actress, but an incredible activist. Yeah, it was so fun. It’s still on, you can see it on the Actors Fund YouTube channel, it’s all there with the link to donate.
The Knockturnal: I am definitely going to check it out, that sounds amazing. I’ve been watching all the late-night comedy hosts, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers who are all filming from their homes and it’s been really nice to watch them in such an intimate setting.
Emily Hampshire: Yes! I mean obviously, none of us want to be going through this but we are, and I can really see the silver lining in it, like it’s kind of cool, seeing people in their homes without the smoke and mirrors and makeup. It’s really been an interesting social experiment.
The Knockturnal: Moving on to the new Quibi series, ’50 States of Fright,’ I watched it last night with my sister and we were absolutely terrified, but we also loved it. We saw ‘The Golden Arm’ episode and then we saw part 1 of your episode, ‘Scared Stiff’ with the taxidermist.
Emily Hampshire: Oh my god (laughs). That’s good you know, I feel like we need to bring some other emotions into quarantine, other than boredom and stir craziness, so scared is good.
The Knockturnal: So what drew you to this role? It’s so different than your character Stevie in Schitt’s Creek.
Emily Hampshire: Oh, very. Well, first of all, Quibi was a whole new technology I had never heard about and an exciting new platform. And it’s kind of amazing that it’s launching during this time because it’s basically made for people who watch things on their phone, which is a lot of people, and so I think it’s just kind of the perfect time to launch something like this. My episode, “Scared Stiff,” is a taxidermy story but its also about a mythical creature called a Yeti, like an abominable snowman. If anybody followed me on Instagram, you would know that I have a seven-year-old abominable snowman son named Bumble, who some people say is a stuffed animal, but I disagree. And so I’ve been obsessed with him, and when the script came to me, I was like ‘oh my god.’ Actually my agent was like, ‘You have to do this, it’s about an abominable snowman like Bumble. He will be so excited.’ So anyway, the point is I knew I had to do this story. And then when I found out it’s Sam Raimi who is producing it, and who is a legend in the horror world, I was so excited to do this. My episode is a bit more darkly funny, and it was really fun to do.
The Knockturnal: And are you normally a fan of horror stories?
Emily Hampshire: Well the truth is, the only thing I watch, and I need to broaden my horizons, but the only thing I watch is ‘Forensic Files’ and murder documentaries. But what I do love is, there was this show called ‘Tales from the Crypt’ and it was a anthology series, like this one, and there was this crypt keeper, this skeleton guy, who would introduce the story and it was a dark comedy type of humor. When I was filming ‘Scared Stiff’, playing the taxidermist who kind of speaks to the camera, I always felt that I was the crypt keeper of this kind of crazy story. So that was really fun.
The Knockturnal: So how long did it take you guys to film the episode, and what was it like?
Emily Hampshire: Gosh I can’t even remember where I filmed it, that’s terrible! I have quarantine brain right now and time in my head is completely messed up (laughs). But yeah I remember that it was cold and it was winter. We filmed it a while ago in Canada, I believe somewhere near Vancouver. I only shot two days on it and they did a whole week. It’s funny because the Quibi episodes are all under 10 minutes, but they shoot them so beautifully with such good quality, and they really spend time on it. So yeah, it wasn’t like a low-budget quick shoot.
The Knockturnal: Definitely, you could tell from watching it. The scenery, sets, and costumes are incredible. Before we run out of time, I have to ask you, how do you feel about Schitt’s Creek coming to an end?
Emily Hampshire: It’s bittersweet in the way that I think we are all so grateful to have been a part of something so special to us, but in its last season, it turned out to be so special to America and to the world. And I think it came at the perfect time, this type of show that I don’t think we have seen before. It’s a kind comedy, it has such heart and it doesn’t sacrifice its humor for its goodness. So I think it’s really been an amazing journey for me and I’m sad that it ended, but now that I know how it ends, I know it was the right thing for Dan Levy to do. He didn’t end it because he didn’t like doing it. We all genuinely like each other which is rare, but I think if he kept it going, he would be telling a different story and he told the right story. And I can promise you and everyone who watches it that he does right by all the fans and all the characters. I’m very excited for everyone to see it tonight because I know a lot of people are scared and sad that it’s ending, but I think they will all be very satisfied.
The Knockturnal: You’ve been playing this part for so long. How do you move on from your character?
Emily Hampshire: Well, the truth is, we ended this a long time ago. It’s been almost a year now since we ended it. However, what we’ve been lucky with is that there was the tour, so we got to wean off the show. It wasn’t ripping the bandage off like it’s done, we’re never going to see each other again. But yeah, it feels like it’s still going, especially because it’s just airing now, and then it’s going to roll out onto Netflix. So at least we have this whole roll-out process, but I’m definitely in denial still. So I’m doing well.
The Knockturnal: Can you tell me about some of your upcoming projects?
Emily Hampshire: Well, the whole series of ’50 States of Fright’ launches on April 13, and then my episode is out on April 20 and 21st. And then I was on my way to shoot a new series called ‘Chapelwaite’ and it was actually going be another kind of horror-thing, based on a short story of Stephen King’s, with Adrien Brody set in the 1850s. I was going from Stevie plaid to corsets which is fun, but of course it got postponed so I’m just waiting for that to come back. And in the meantime, I’m staying busy with my ‘Humpday with Hampshire’ show.
The Knockturnal: Well I’m definitely going to start watching that, it sounds so fun and I have lots of time to fill. This has been so great, thank you, Emily!
Emily Hampshire: Thank you, thank you! And stay safe and healthy in quarantine.
New Episodes of ’50 States of Fright’ are released Mondays through Fridays on Quibi. You can watch the trailer below:
