KAILUA-KONA — Rob Huebel isn’t a doctor, but he does play one on TV.
“I think the world of ‘Childrens Hospital’ is such a fun world because it’s really fun to play stupid people,” Huebel said. “I love playing dumb people.”
The prolific actor was on the Big Island this week, in the midst of a press tour for his new television show, “Medical Police,” to premiere on Netflix on Jan. 10. “Medical Police” is a spin-off show of the comedy “Childrens Hospital,” which aired on Adult Swim for seven seasons.
When he wasn’t busy exploring the west side of the island with his wife and child, Huebel was busy promoting his new show, which he joked “will change people’s lives.”
In both “Medical Police” and “Childrens Hospital,” Huebel plays Dr. Owen Maestro. “Childrens Hospital” is a spoof of television shows in the medical drama category and centers on the staff of a children’s hospital in Brazil.
In “Medical Police,” two American doctors discover a deadly virus in Brazil and are recruited as government agents in a race to find a cure and uncover a dark conspiracy.
“These doctors are very selfish and not the smartest people in the world so it’s fun to jump back into those characters and play unapologetically dumb people that are trying to save the world,” Huebel said. “It’s a good recipe for comedy, to put dumb people in charge of saving the world.”
Huebel said that the show is a bit different for a comedy show in order to engage the Netflix audience, who are used to binge-watching an entire season of a show.
“In order to have them sit down and watch for 10 episodes at once, you have to make it really exciting or it has to end on a cliffhanger,” Huebel said. “This show, even though it’s a comedy show, it has a lot of action and we’re trying to solve this big mystery. We’re trying to save the world from this virus outbreak so every episode ends on a big cliffhanger. It’s super fun.”
Playing ridiculous characters in ridiculous plots is Huebel’s specialty.
“I’m just addicted to the feeling you get when you’re laughing,” Huebel said. “Whatever chemical in your body is released when you’re laughing, I’m addicted to that.”
Huebel has been in Hawaii before, to film roles such as the character Mark Mitchell in the movie “The Descendants,” and to film an episode of the television show “Hawaii Five-0.”
While most of his body of work leans toward comedy, Huebel said “The Descendants” is his favorite drama he has been a part of so far in his career. Some of that he credits to the hospitality of the people in Hawaii, which keeps him coming back to the islands.
“Everyone’s always dying to shoot in Hawaii, so I think if we do another season of ‘Medical Police,’ we’ll just base it in Hawaii so we can all come out here for half a year,” Huebel said.