Interestingly, my first actual filming was via Zoom (yes – on my LAPTOP via webcam). This was WAY BEFORE Zoom became “a thing,” and here I was, pink lipstick on, chewing gum, and sporting a “muted 80s look,” sitting in front of my computer, and I went, “Well – Zoom records.” I clicked record and improv’d. The name “Shannon O’Brian” was literally “off the cuff” as I was riffing (it rhymed) and completely unplanned. I posted a little clip of this Zoom recording on my Instagram (or Facebook?) page, and suddenly people were reacting positively. Hollywood people. “I LOVE Shannon!,” “OMG, that’s so funny!” So, ok—Let’s see what we can do with this.
And I kept going.
What is the origin of the series itself? What made you want to commit to film?
The Shannon O’Brian Chronicles has SEVERAL Series and Miniseries: there’s the “Just Ask Shannon” (where fans ask Shannon for advice), “Sing-a-Song” (Shannon Sing-a-Longs), and others. The most RECENT Series has been the UMBRELLA series “Shannon All-American”, which covers “USA” related themes, and there are MULTIPLE “subseries” under that category (like “STATE NICKNAMES” and “The PRESENT ELECTIONS”). The “ELECTIONS’ RACE” is Part 2 of a 3-part “Shannon All-American” Special Sub-Series.
My brother inspired both the “Shannon All-American” UMBRELLA series and all subseries (including “The Elections’ Race “). In May 2024, he asked, “What if Shannon covered the (USA) elections?” and we started rolling. Just imagining her and “who she is” trying to understand politics was HIGHlarious.
“The Shannon O’Brian Chronicles turns current events into comedy gold through innocent misinterpretations.”
At the time, I wasn’t really looking into Shannon covering “current events,” so the suggestion created endless possibilities of Shannon covering anything from “American Football” to “State Nicknames” and, of course, American politics. The beauty of it is that she could really dive into world events as well, but the American elections have kind of been at the forefront for the time being (for obvious reasons).
Living in such a politically divisive time, what was your approach to Shannon’s political segments?
So, if you can imagine a kid around 4-6 years old, not knowing ANYTHING about politics: what a “PRESIDENT Election” is, or who “KAMALA” or “VANCE” are, trying to “comment” about them – ya get Shannon, thinking there’s some kind of voting on the best Christmas Present between either “toy vans” or some kind of fancy “camera” (“CAM-ah-rA”).
The “ELECTIONS’ RACE” follows this same concept where Shannon thinks an elephant and donkey are running a race against each other.
Kids hear things through innocent ears, and some words or names don’t register in the context of “adult world things” (like politics), so they may “morph” what you’re saying into something that makes sense to THEM. Moreover, they don’t take sides. They are on everyone’s side, and they’re on their OWN side. Shannon is very much the same way.
The characters that might give context to where Shannon “comes from” are Will Ferrell’s Buddy from Elf (the innocence of a Christmas Elf whose entire existence is to work on toys for Santa Claus in a never-ending Christmas) and Ernest P. Warrell (by Jim Varney) from the 1990s, who was about as clueless and silly in life as if nothing was in his head except air. Shannon bears some similarities to these characters.
