The holidays are coming to Nevada with RENO 911!: It’s A Wonderful Heist. The latest outing of the fan-favorite police squadron sees the group tasked with solving a robbery threat for a valuable silver nugget situated at their local mall, only for hijinks to ensue in the process.
Thomas Lennon and Kerri Kenney-Silver return to lead the cast of RENO 911!: It’s A Wonderful Heist alongside franchise vets Ian Roberts, Niecy Nash, Cedric Yarbrough, Wendi McClendon-Covey, Carlos Alazraqui, Mary Birdsong, and Joe Lo Truglio. Joined by new and familiar faces, including the return of Nick Swardson’s Terry, the holiday special is a fun treat with more of the outrageous humor fans have come to know and love.
Related: Reno 911!: 10 Best Episodes, According To IMDb
In honor of the special’s premiere, Screen Rant spoke exclusively with stars Birdsong, Alazraqui, Yarbrough, and Roberts to discuss RENO 911!: It’s A Wonderful Heist, the joys of working with each other and new guest stars, their thoughts on the future, and more.
Birdsong, Alazraqui, Yarbrough & Roberts on RENO 911!: It’s A Wonderful Heist
Screen Rant: I love RENO 911!, it’s always great getting to chat with you all for this, and It’s a Wonderful Heist is no different. What were your reactions when you heard the concept for this holiday heist special?
Mary Birdsong: I was over the moon thrilled, I think it’s a nice balance from the Lifetime Hallmark, feel-good, hot-cocoa-and-marshmallows Christmas movie. We’re just going to be a correcting device for that, and make it real dark, but then real good! We started getting uplifting at the end, right guys?
Carlos Alazraqui: Yeah, especially our pageant, our Christmas pageant is, I think you can’t get more uplifting than “[unintelligible singing].” [Laughs] It’s wonderful.
Mary Birdsong: The deputies put on a big Christmas pageant at a local mall, and the mall was actually in service while we were shooting. So, there are a lot of disturbed kids out there who thought they were going to see Santa. [Laughs] But yeah, it’s really fun to see us all in biblical attire.
Ian Roberts: I got to fulfill a showbiz milestone of dressing up like a horse, it’s kind of like one of those things, like getting to shoot a gun, you’ve seen it a million times. Well, I got to do it, I got to wear a horse costume, so that was exciting.
Mary Birdsong: I loved seeing a nude scene, and a horse scene.
Cedric Yarbrough: You don’t really see people in horse costumes in real life, only on TV, and you really got to do it. It’s always so cool that people still want to see us, and so getting the call that we’re going to do this again, play cops and robbers with my friends, is really cool. It’s such a really ridiculous job that we get to have, and the fact that the world still embraces us is crazy.
Carlos Alazraqui: We’re kind of like Barnum and Bailey, right? We’re a circus, right? “We’re gonna go see the circus, again, and they’re still doing it!” [Chuckles]
Mary Birdsong: I call us the cockroach of comedy. We are survivors.
Ian, I love how invested Declan gets with this ransom job throughout the special. How much improv did you do for his backstory of wanting to get into this corkboard of ideas?
Ian Roberts: It was fun, it was in there that I was going to do that, but then they said I could come up with how it was gonna go, so I came up with just all the different conspiracy things, all those unsolved kind of mysteries trope type of things. I think we had Bigfoot up there, anything like that, he had a basic misunderstanding of what those boards are supposed to do. So there was always going to be a board, but yeah —
Carlos Alazraqui: Lots of yarns!
Ian Roberts: His idea was that he thought that it was trying to connect really important crimes to crap little crimes was the basic concept, which was fun.
Cedric, I love the way you play off that. What was it like for you getting to be a part of that scene alongside Ian, where you’re having to play the straight man, almost, to his overeager dive into this investigation?
Cedric Yarbrough: Playing with Ian is always super fun, Ian’s one of the fastest, most brilliant improvisers on the planet, so I’m just trying to hold on with just looks. And I’m trying to just play off of him, but letting Ian go where he’s extremely enthusiastic, and playing the opposite of that. [Chuckles] It’s just fun stuff.
I love that for the special, we get to see some recurring characters. We got Terry back, we’ve got T.T. back. What were all of your reactions when you heard that they were going to be major players or players in the special after being missing for a while?
Carlos Alazraqui: I love T.T., I just marveled about how physically fit Niecy Nash is. [Chuckles] Like, running through this bounce house, I’m like, “She can go!” And I’m just there like, “[Wheezing],” and she’s like, “[Grunting triumphantly].” It’s like, “What is she eating, plutonium?” It’s amazing, super excited for T.T. to come back, because she always cracks me up.
Mary Birdsong: And Jackie, the pickle-throwing hooker is always a holiday, feel-good favorite, like Tiny Tim. I think she’s our Tiny Tim in this.
Cedric Yarbrough: She’s a real cockroach of comedy, like, I think she’s really a cockroach.
I think she died, at one point.
Cedric Yarbrough: Definitely.
Mary Birdsong: Guess who else died and came back? [Points to the group]
Ian Roberts: Nice. [Chuckles]
Mary Birdsong: He’s the reason for the season.
Carlos Alazraqui: Yeah, Terry, of course, is back, in a very pivotal role of Ghost of Christmas Present, I guess? But yeah, it’s good to see Terry back, Nick Swardson, everybody was clamoring for Terry, and he came back.
Mary Birdsong: I think it was Tom Lennon, just we were doing another interview, and he was saying how remarkable it is that as long as we’ve been doing the show, and as long as Terry has been coming on the show, Nick in roller skates, roller skating, it’s remarkable that he is not one bit better at roller skating. Like 20 years gone, he has not improved, and he’s like, “How do you do that? How do you roller skate for 20 years and be just as bad at it?” [Laughs]
Cedric Yarbrough: You know what, we’ve never really talked about this. We’re gonna put this on Screen Rant —by the way, Grant, do you have to have a name that rhymes with Screen Rant to work at Screen Rant?
You don’t, it’s just a wonderful coincidence!
Cedric Yarbrough: You don’t, okay. [Laughs] So, a little RENO factoid, guess who was the first rollerskating prostitute on the show? [Points to self] I was the first. His name was Chrisylis. [Chuckles]
Mary Birdsong: Of course. Not chrysalis, Chrisylis.
Carlos Alazraqui: Weren’t you, like, all adorned in gold and stuff?
Cedric Yarbrough: Yeah, and I had the booty shorts, they were jean shorts. Maybe I’ll put that online one of these days.
Carlos Alazraqui: That was San Pedro, right?
Cedric Yarbrough: Yeah, when we did the pilot.
Mary Birdsong: He has to come back, I mean, I’m not doing another episode or another special.
Carlos Alazraqui: “I’m his boyfriend, Chrisylis.
Cedric Yarbrough: He was cut for a reason, so.
Carlos Alazraqui: “Don’t take Chrisylis if you’re experiencing faintness.”
Jr.’s missing for this special. Was that just timing, or it was there a story purpose for where he’s at?
Ian Roberts: Maybe he died. [Laughs]
Mary Birdsong: Jr.’s spending some quality family time, he’s been really stressed out about all the little Jr. juniors, and the little lady.
Carlos Alazraqui: I think his brother’s coming to town, they had to do something with Mama. Them NASCAR brothers of his, “We got to take you away from work for a while.”
Cedric Yarbrough: You know, Grant, there’s a lot of us on this damn show. So it’s scheduling, it’s all kinds of stuff, it’s crazy that all of us were there.
Mary Birdsong: It really was a Christmas miracle.
Ian Roberts: Sometimes to accommodate people, we’ll shoot something one side, and then later, the person shows up. They’ll film it at a different time, because people are busy.
Mary Birdsong: Yeah, we do the best we can with everybody’s schedules, and it’s hard when one of us can’t be there for all of it, or whatever, but we’re all a family, and it’s a really f—-d-up family, but it’s a family. [Laughs]
I mean, to be fair, every family’s got a little bit of that, somewhere in the line.
Cedric Yarbrough: My brother didn’t show up for Thanksgiving, but he’s still around.
Mary Birdsong: He came to my Thanksgiving, which was weird.
Cedric Yarbrough: What the hell!
Carlos Alazraqui: “Mary makes the best stuffing.”
Mary Birdsong: Oh my gosh, we had so much fun! He’s great at Monopoly, just saying.
Cedric Yarbrough: He is, he is.
Cedric, you might have to make a phone call after this. Can we look forward to more in the future? Last I spoke with you all, I kept hearing that you have episodes that haven’t aired yet.
Ian Roberts: Is there stuff still out there? I don’t know.
Cedric Yarbrough: There are still more episodes that are going to be airing on Comedy Central that we shot for Roku originally. If you haven’t seen those, then those will be new episodes, and they will be coming, but yes, there is definitely possibilities of us doing more films, and more holiday specials, and hopefully, if people still want us, I think we still really like working with each other a lot. Absolutely, there’s a lot of stupid comedies still to be had with us.
Mary Birdsong: I want a RENO 911! animated special, I want a RENO 911! game show. Why not?
Carlos Alazraqui: [In Southern accent] There’s still milk left in the teats of the RENO cow.
Ian, what are you looking forward to?
Ian Roberts: Oh, I was gonna say, RENO 911! octogenarians.
Carlos Alazraqui: I’m already there!
Ian Roberts: For me, it’s 30 years. [Chuckles]
Do you have any one holiday that you would love for the RENO crew to get to explore in a full-length special?
Mary Birdsong: I would like a RENO! 911: Administrative Assistant Day special I don’t think it gets nearly the attention it deserves.
Ian Roberts: Mother’s Day could be a good guest star episode with tons of famous cameos in there.
Carlos Alazraqui: We’d obviously botch up MLK Day.
Mary Birdsong: [Laughs]
Carlos Alazraqui: It would be horrible. Yes. It’d be very horrible. And very right up our alley.
Cedric Yarbrough: Yep. Yes, yes, that would be awful. [Chuckles]
Carlos Alazraqui: Black History Month in March, “well, we didn’t know, we were waiting for Jones and Williams to say something.”
Mary Birdsong: And Cedric, that special segment that we shot, I’m trying to remember, is that in the unaired episodes? When you were doing many —
Cedric Yarbrough: Oh, that was amazing, yes. We have a Juneteenth episode that I did.
I also love that Jim Jeffries joined for this RENO 911! special. What was it like getting to play off him for that wild scene that you have?
Carlos Alazraqui: He was wonderful, he just nailed it. He’s like, “[In an Australian accent] well, alright, what do you need me to do? Go here and say this? All right, let’s go.” He was his character, he was spectacular.
Cedric Yarbrough: Of course our series regulars are amazing, but we do have some just amazing, great guest stars that have seen the show, and get the tone of it, and get the comedy of it. Jim Jefferies came in already ready, Bobby Moynihan, too —
Carlos Alazraqui: Yeah, Bobby’s great.
Cedric Yarbrough: Such a funny guy that just had such a great, clear-cut point of view, and that helps with improvisation and the type of show that we do. Our guest stars come in so strong, that always helps. Who else did we have?
Carlos Alazraqui: We had Toby Huss, of course.
Cedric Yarbrough: Of course, he is just brilliant, Michael Ian Black always come out to play.
Mary Birdsong: Gary Anthony Williams.
Carlos Alazraqui: Your guest star from your show, Speechless, why am I blanking on his name? He played the goth guy.
Cedric Yarbrough: John Ross Bowie.
Carlos Alazraqui: Yes, John.
Mary Birdsong: Yeah, it’s definitely a big moving train of nonsense, so it’s hard to kind of jump in there and not get hurt and very physical. So, truly, it’s hard not to get hurt, and Jim was just game. I feel like that’s another plus of being in a show that’s been on the air over so many years, because so many of the guest stars are huge fans of the show, so to them, it’s almost like Make A Wish Foundation, they’re getting to live out this sort of fantasy of these characters they liked. I can’t ever think of any sort of duds that we’ve had, they’re just always really fun.
Cedric Yarbrough: So great, Gary Anthony Williams, like, come on.
Carlos Alazraqui: Marc Evan Jackson.
Cedric Yarbrough: Marc Evan Jackson, yeah. Hold ‘Em and Fold ‘Em, they were great. And we would be remiss to not mention Kenny Rogers, our guy.
Carlos Alazraqui: And Brad Williams, as well, playing Keith the elf. Yeah. He’s got a great sense of humor about — he’s basically like, “Guys do anything you want with me, make fun of my height, go for it. I love it.” He’s such a great sport, and he was so pushed around, Cedric dragging him on the floor, like [makes screeching sound]. [Laughs] Brad’s just like, “Yeah!”
About RENO 911!: It’s A Wonderful Heist
It’s Holiday Season in Reno, and Lieutenant Dangle wishes he’d never been born. With the help of a roller skating “Angel,” he learns how much better the lives of the other deputies would be if he never existed. Will he decide to live on anyway? There’s still Christmas criminals to catch!
Check out our previous RENO 911! interviews with:
- Thomas Lennon, Mary Birdsong, Cedric Yarbrough & Robert Ben Garant
- Kerri Kenney-Silver, Niecy Nash, Carlos Alazraqui & Ian Roberts
- Thomas Lennon, R. Ben Garant, and Kerri Kenney-Silver
- Kerri Kenney-Silver
Next: 5 Reasons Reno 911! Is A ClassicRENO 911!: It’s A Wonderful Heist is now streaming on Fubo.
