After a nearly two-year hiatus, the Adult Swim animated series The Venture Bros hits the airwaves on Sunday night with its season 5 premiere. The cult favorite show is an affectionate, if occasionally grim, parody of Saturday-morning pop culture, from the central Johnny Quest pastiche to its takes on G.I. Joe, Marvel Comics and even David Bowie's glam-rock career as viewed through the lens of arch-villainy. With four seasons already under its belt, the animated show has also grown more complex and emotionally resonant, shifting from nostalgia-based comedy into a work of comedy (and, at times, drama) in its own right. Wired sat down with Venture Bros creators Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer (official Hollywood power couple name: Jackhammer) to talk about the evolution of the show, the complex relationship dynamics of its polyamorous villains, and the t-shirt club they run for their online fans.

Wired: How significantly has the scope of the show changed since the beginning? It's gone from kind of a cult show to having a really huge, visible fan base, and I know the size of the staff has increased substantially. How has that changed things for you?

Doc Hammer: Not at all.

Jackson Publick: It's let us do five seasons!

Doc Hammer: It still seems like we have a cult fan base, [but] it's a big cult fan base. It's a unique kind of a show. We are a cult show that millions of people can watch.

Wired: Last season, the tone of the show became if not darker, then a lot more serious. Can we expect that shift to continue?

Doc Hammer: You know, I didn't notice it. I guess retrospectively I can imagine that it has, just because we have gotten so deep up our own assholes that we now have rich characters with rich pasts, so everything can get a little bit darker. But I think the writing is in the same spirit, the same tone and color that we've always had.

Jackson Publick: I guess that's the only terrain left to us: to actually get serious once in a while, or let it get emotional without it being a Very Special Episode or sappy.

Doc Hammer: Yeah, without it getting maudlin. It's nice having these characters actually get to be substantial, to resonate beyond punchlines.

Wired: One of the major changes since the first season is that Dean and Hank—the Venture brothers—are no longer functionally immortal. Did that affect the way you approached them?

Doc Hammer: Hank is immortal regardless. I mean, he does not comprehend fear, and I'm not sure he has a bad day. So, you're writing for the same exact person. Yes, they cannot be rejuvenated, so therefore we have to change how much danger they get into. Since the Halloween special, Hank still has no idea that he's any kind of a clone. And Dean had problems even before he found out that. So, we can write Hank pretty much identically. He's a force of nature.

Jackson Publick: We haven't put them in any more or less danger since we killed them the last time. It's just that if they die, they'll be dead now, like everybody.

Wired: Last season, you established that the Monarch and Dr. Mrs. The Monarch have an open relationship. What are the specific terms of that arrangement?

Doc Hammer: It has been established that Dr. Mrs. The Monarch–who I'll now call Dr. Girlfriend, because it confuses me to use the other name–can sleep with anybody she wants, with the exception of Phantom Limb.

Jackson Publick: I think Monarch has to be there.

Doc Hammer: Yeah–Monarch has to be there.

Jackson Publick: I don't think they can just go off with anyone they want, but they try stuff out, and probably the Monarch doesn't like most of it.

Doc Hammer: Yeah. He is kind of uptight, and he really likes having sex with his wife. And if he can make it a more open, voyeuristic experience–I think he might.

Jackson Publick: Yeah. I think he's one of those guys who's, like, “Oh, I would looove a threesome with the wife and another girl,” and then as soon as he gets in that situation, he can't get it up. But he likes to watch, because he wants his wife to be desirable.

Wired: While I'm discussing the tawdry stuff, is there an official definition of a "Rusty Venture"?

Doc Hammer: No.

Jackson Publick: It's whatever you imagine it to be.

Wired: Is there any chance we're going to see Venture Bros developed into other media—spun off into comics, for example?

Jackson Publick: There's a good chance, but we're so involved in the show that I'm not even sure how that would work, or when, because it would be hard not to be involved with something like that.

Doc Hammer: To have it be Venture Bros, it would take a lot of our involvement, and we are making a show. And although we're off the air for two years between seasons, we're still working on the show. It's not like we have off-time.

Wired: If you could somehow magic up the time to do it, what's the first Venture Bros. spinoff you'd do?

Jackson Publick: You'll get different answers from both of us. I would say either OSI [The Office of Secret Intelligence] or Order of the Triad.

Doc Hammer: For a spinoff? I would say either the Guild [of Calamitous Intent] or the Triad, yeah.

Jackson Publick: I think any of them would have to stand on their own legs. They would have to be great for somebody who doesn't know anything about Venture Bros, and secretly extra rewarding for somebody who is a fan of Venture Bros.

Doc Hammer: Right. So, like, maybe Dean could host a What Not to Wear kind of show, where he helps people get into a speed suit. Talking about spinoffs is tough. We're really excited about starting season six, and it's a lot of work. We have so much to think about what we really have to do right now that it's not worth musing on that.

Dr. Venture faces down a dangerous orthopod. Image: Adult Swim

Wired: During a previous season, you bet each other that if either one of you made a Star Wars reference in the show, you had to get your junior high school haircut. Do you guys have another bet going into season 5, and, if so, what are the stakes?

Doc Hammer: Right now, all our bets are based on Shirt Club, which is this ridiculous thing we do where we sell shirts that are super specific to every episode, and we're making actual money bets on that—

Jackson Publick: –on whether or not anybody actually cares about particular shirts.

Wired: Were there any surprises the last time you had a Shirt Club?

Doc Hammer: Well, last time I was surprised that no one wanted a Billy [Quizboy] shirt.

Jackson Publick: I was not surprised.

Doc Hammer: I love Billy Quizboy, and I thought that a Quizboy shirt would be a big seller! A purple shirt that says Quizboy should be a thing that everybody wants, but it is not true.

Wired: Are we now going to see stacks of those shirts in the trailer where Billy and Pete White live?

Jackson Publick: Oh, God, right? That's probably a good idea, actually.

Doc Hammer: Yeah, Billy would have printed his own shirts that he thought there'd be a market for.

Doc Hammer (in the voice of Billy): I made Quizboy shirts!

Jackson Publick (in the voice of White): Billy, those are never gonna sell.

Doc Hammer (in the voice of Billy): They will sell! Everybody wants a Quizboy shirt!

Jackson Publick (in the voice of White): What is that, an eggplant ringer? Come on.

Doc Hammer (in the voice of Billy): I wear a ladies small.

Jackson Publick (in the voice of White): It's pink!

Doc Hammer (as Billy): It's eggplant!