Q&A: Alison Brie talks 'BoJack,' 'Community'

Patrick Ryan | USA TODAY

Say hello again to a foul-mouthed horse and his ghostwriter-turned-friend Diane.

When Netflix's BoJack Horseman returns Friday for a second season, the washed-up stallion sitcom star (voiced by Will Arnett) starts shooting a biopic of race horse Secretariat, but is quickly overcome by childhood demons and insecurities. "It's a true, adult animated show, not just because it's raunchy, but because it's dark and deep and dealing with these issues," says Alison Brie, who voices Diane and co-stars with Aaron Paul, Amy Sedaris and Paul F. Tompkins.

The actress, who's best known as the bookish Annie Edison on Community and Pete Campbell's wife, Trudy, on Mad Men, just wrapped shooting romantic comedy How to Be Single with Rebel Wilson and Dakota Johnson. The busy Brie stopped by San Diego Comic-Con last week to promote TV Land comedy Teachers, which she executive produces. She caught up with USA TODAY to chat BoJack, Spike TV's Lip Sync Battle and new film Sleeping with Other People, out Sept. 11.

Q. Compared to other animated projects you've been a part of (such as The Lego Movie and Animation Domination High-Def series), what's different about working on BoJack?

A. Well, they make it a point to do table reads for every episode like a live-action show. Most of the other animation I've worked on, I don't ever see the other actors. You just go in and work with the director or a writer, and you're in and out really quick. So this feels more like something we're all working on together, which is nice. Also, it's weird to say, because some things in the show are a little more crazy, but it does feel more grounded. Unlike a voice like Unikitty (in The Lego Movie), it basically is my own voice and the scenes that we're doing are sometimes very dramatic. So I feel like I pull more from my work on Mad Men or any other live-action thing I've done than animated.

Q. Congratulations on your Lip Sync Battle win (performing Salt-N-Pepa's Shoop and Jessie J's Bang Bang). How nervous were you (competing against Arnett)?

A. I was super nervous. It's nerve-racking because — obviously, we're not singing — but you don't get another chance to do it, so leading up to it, I practiced a lot. Well, Shoop I've known since I was a kid, so that one was easy. But I just had Bang Bang on repeat in my car every day. It was really funny, I would perform it for the Community cast at work. I'd test myself and they'd be like, 'Good.'

Q. You've appeared in a couple romantic comedies (Save the Date and The Five-Year Engagement), but what drew you to Sleeping with Other People's take on the genre?

A. Again, there was a lot of depth and darkness there. I love (director) Leslye Headland and the way she writes. (She) draws on personal experiences and writes the way people are today, so it didn't feel like some fantasy romantic comedy, of a dream scenario of what happens when you fall in love. It felt more like real-life love issues of today.

Q. Major studios have been making fewer romantic comedies. But with movies like this and (Amy Schumer's) Trainwreck, and TV series like Catastrophe and The Mindy Project, there seems to be a resurgence of sorts with these strong, unfiltered female voices. Is that what you think audiences are looking for in the genre?

A. People will always want to watch romantic comedies. But with big studio rom-coms, they just got too formulaic. It seemed like, 'We figured it out, here's how you do it!' and then they all filled a little cookie cutter. So it's interesting right now with some of these more indie romantic comedies. And Trainwreck's not an indie, but Amy Schumer has such a unique voice and she's so bold and unapologetic, and Leslye is the same way. I love romantic comedies. I'm glad they're having a resurgence right now and feeling fresher and more like today. I think the problem was just that the mold set for rom-coms became dated but they were still being made the same way. So it just took a minute to let some new voices in.

Q. The Season 6 finale of Community offered closure for members of the study group, including Annie, who accepted an internship with the FBI. If it turns out that was also the series finale, do you think it'd be a satisfying way to end the show?

A. I definitely do, it was nice to see. If we had ended last year after Season 5, I would've been disappointed. And I think (creator) Dan Harmon even made the finale that way, like, "This can't be the last one!" But this one definitely felt that way. I'm happy to see Annie mature and come to a place where she no longer needs the study group as much. It's like, "Aw, the kids are growing up." I thought it was a very sweet finale. I teared up a little bit while I watched it.

Q. Do you think a seventh season or a movie is likelier?

A. I don't know anything for sure, but I feel in my heart that a movie would be more likely than a seventh season at this point. To me, it makes sense because the hashtag is #SixSeasonsAndAMovie, and we've always (made) our show for the fans. They have clung to that hashtag and used it to help us out so many times, I feel like the hashtag should be seen through.

Q. Speaking of endings, Mad Men signed off in May. The last time we saw Trudy, she was jetting off with Pete to start a new life in Wichita. Do you think she's happy there?

A. Absolutely. Her final outfit in the final episode says it all, which is (that) Trudy's arrived. All she ever wanted was to have a great family and a successful husband. She did everything she could to foster his career and all Trudy's dreams are coming true. I loved it. I couldn't be happier with the endings for both characters, Annie and Trudy.

Q. There was some debate online after the finale about whether it was Don or Peggy who created the I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke ad. Do you have a theory?

A. I think it was Don. How would Peggy...? Don was there and seeing all that stuff live. I guess I probably think it was Don because I read only the (opinion) pieces about it being Don. I was like, "Oh, what are people saying?" I find those articles very insightful, I always learn about the show.