WASHINGTON — You know her as Lois Griffin on TV’s “Family Guy.”
But comedian Alex Borstein is a woman of many voices, her latest a reunion with Seth MacFarlane in FOX’s new animated series “Bordertown,” which premiered in January and airs Episode 7 on April 3.
“It’s the brain child of one of the ‘Family Guy’ writers, Mark Hentemann, and then Seth MacFarlane was like, ‘This is great,’ and Seth jumped on and started producing it,” Borstein tells WTOP.
Set in the fictional border town of Mexifornia, we meet border patrolman Bud Buckwald (Hank Azaria), wife Janice (Borstein) and their three kids Sanford (Judah Friedlander), Becky (Borstein) and Gert (Missi Pyle). Living next door is neighbor Ernesto Gonzalez (Nicholas Gonzalez), who emigrated from Mexico to America 20 years ago and whose nephew J.C. (Juan Carlos) is now Becky’s fiancee.
“(Bud) is a bit of an Archie Bunker racist, terrified of the darkening of America. … He’s a bit of a bigot set in his ways, believes that Americans are only people who are here already. It doesn’t matter if his family back in the day were immigrants; whoever’s here now, that’s who’s American,” she says.
Ironically, the Ernesto character came to America two decades ago.
“He is a Mexican who emigrated and is kind of living the American dream in a much better way than the Buckwalds could. He’s got a gardening, landscaping business that is flourishing. He’s got a son that’s a college graduate. And that’s something that just drives Bud Buckwald crazy,” Borstein says.
Borstein’s wife Janice provides the Edith to Azaria’s Archie for an animated “All in the Family.”
“I play the wife who is gently trying to coax her husband toward seeing the light,” Borstein says.
If, however, you have more conservative political leanings, there are jokes in here for you, too, as Borstein also voices the family’s very liberal daughter Becky Buckwald with a stuck-up voice.
“She is very politically correct, can’t believe her father wants to build a border wall, and she’s engaged to J.C. Gonzalez, the Mexican next door. So it’s kind of bumping heads, and it can be extremely political at times, but what it is most of the time is extremely funny,” Borstein says.
There is no shortage of timely topics to roast, as every American can quote Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump’s campaign promise to “build a wall and make Mexico pay for it.”
“This show began five or six years ago when Mark and Seth really began developing this … So it’s funny and a little sad that these topics will always be hot button … but it’s also just kind of funny that it’s a huge topic now that it’s an election year, and that’s when we’re on the air … So it’s fortuitous in a way, but it’s also a little sad that these issues are seemingly never going to be truly resolved.”
These controversial topics undoubtedly carry the potential of being offensive, but comedians can’t afford to shy away, or else we might miss out on edgy gems like Mel Brooks’ “Blazing Saddles” (1974).
“How do we know we’re not pushing the envelope too far? We don’t. That’s what comedy is and that’s what makes it scary. Sometimes you’re walking a tight rope. You want to satirize and you want to shine a light on the racism to ridicule it, but sometimes people might misread that as just being racist, and you walk that line all the time. … The barometer is: Are we laughing at it in the room when we do a table read and the writers and the animators listen to it, are we laughing? That’s the key,” she says.
Either way, this isn’t MacFarlane’s first brush with the controversial, having turned “Family Guy” into a TV sensation that carried into live-action films like “Ted” and “A Million Ways to Die in the West.”
“When I first met Seth MacFarlane, he had kind of a George Clooney Caesar haircut and Coke-bottle glasses and a vision. His vision is now part of reality. It’s part of the language of America and beyond. It’s kind of amazing. He’s one of the smartest people I’ve ever known and probably ever will know. He’s a genius, not just comedically, but in all rights. Working with him raises the bar,” Borstein says.
It also doesn’t hurt to have Hank Azaria, a veteran of animated comedy who has voiced Moe the bartender on FOX’s “The Simpsons” for nearly three decades (1989-present). While Homer and Marge experienced some marital problems in the most recent season of “The Simpsons,” Azaria should take advice from Borstein’s 14-season TV marriage with Peter Griffin on “Family Guy.”
What’s the secret to Lois and Peter’s relationship?
“Well, he’s a moron. He constantly does the wrong thing, but he’s an incredible lover. And at the end of the day, he’s a good husband and a good father,” Borstein says in her best Lois voice.
Such flattery instantly sparks a debate. Who is the better couple: Lois & Peter or Bud & Janice?
“Bud is very sweet. He may be simple and have a small mind, but that leads to somebody being able to take direction very well,” Borstein says as Janice.
“Ah, but you know what? Peter Griffin has quite an imagination and that leads to fun. Never-ending fun. He’s fun in the bedroom. There’s always something crazy going on and I’ve gotta pull him down off the roof and what not,” Borstein says as Lois.
“Oh yes, but my husband has a job that’s very important. He helps keep America safe,” Janice quips.
“Well my husband keeps America drunk and with a wide waistband,” Lois retorts. “So take that.”
Time out! Everybody chill. Looks like we’ll need a neutral party to settle this feud.
Ladies and gents, our special guest referee: Ms. Swan from “MADtv” (1995-2009).
“I love all kinds of cartoons. I always have,” Borstein says in her Ms. Swan voice, before delivering her famous line. “I see Seth MacFarlane and I take him and I say, ‘You know, you look-a like-a man.'”
Listen to the full interview with Alex Borstein below:
