‘Medical Police’ News: Composer Matt Novack on Scoring Netflix’s New Series

By: Dan Moore

“I’m just a doctor. I don’t even know what kind of doctor I am. I think I’m a brain surgeon.” That’s how Rob Huebel described the character of Dr. Owen Maestro, a character he’s portrayed through seven seasons of Adult Swim’s “Children’s Hospital” and now on Netflix’s “Medical Police.” This quote pretty much sums up the whole vibe of Netflix’s new comedy/action/thriller “Medical Police”. It may sound outlandish, but it actually works. Especially with sidekick Lola Spratt (Erin Hayes). The characters find themselves in the most intense situations that should be taken seriously until they start bantering back and forth. Leaving the viewer to never really know what to expect, in a good way. The show was created by Rob Corddry, David Wain, Krister Johnson, and Jonathan Stern. The show was scored by composer Matt Novack. Matt sat down with us to discuss his work on the new Netflix series, see what he had to say below.

Q: Can you talk about the “Medical Police” main title theme? How long did it take you to come up with this?

MATT NOVACK: It took a few weeks, I think, maybe close to a month by the time it was all said and done. I came up with a few different ideas and then worked closely with the showrunners (Rob Corddry, Krister Johnson, Jonathan Stern and David Wain) with refining it down, experimenting with different things along the way. We also started with the shorter “bumper” version that you hear in the majority of the episodes, but then decided to extend it to a full-on theme so it could play through the end credits of the first and final episodes.

Q: Was the main title the first thing you worked on for the show that helped establish the type of musical palate?


MN:
Definitely. Besides being the first thing I wrote for the show, we started early enough before proper scoring started, so during that time I was also making decisions on my palate as I wanted to make sure the score and main title all vibed together. Plus, it gave me a sense of what the producers were looking for tonally.

Q: What’s your favorite part of working on “Medical Police”?

MN: I really love the show. I had the same feeling working on Childrens, that even if I wasn’t working on it, it would still be one of my favorite shows to watch. And as corny as it sounds, the people. Everyone that works on these shows puts everything they have into it. I’ve known and worked with so many of them over the years and they’re all, without exception, an absolute delight to work with.

Q: I read that John Williams was a big influence on you, career-wise, as a child. Is this still the case? Did you see the latest “Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker”?

MN: Absolutely it’s still the case. He’s written so many masterpieces, including “Rise of Skywalker”, that I always devour his scores and there’s always something to learn. Plus, I loved his cameo!
One of my most cherished memories is when I graduated from USC in 2005, and Williams handed me my diploma along with the rest of the film scoring students during our ceremony. He was there receiving an honorary doctorate that year, but it was a complete surprise for us to find out he would be handing them to us. I’m sure he uttered similar words of encouragement to each of us, but the inspiration of the moment, I’ll never forget.

Q: Whenever you are stumped with a scene do you have a “go-to” instrument?

MN: I never get stumped! (Just kidding). That’s a great question, and the answer is, it depends. When I’m working on a hybrid-type score like “Medical Police”, I’ve found that by digging through my library of synth sounds really helps spark creativity. I’ll find a cool sound that intrigues me, which then usually leads to a melody or ideas of how to use it with the rest of the ensemble. I’m also a percussionist at heart, so a lot of times it really helps to get pacing and rhythm down before worrying about “notes.”

Q: You are a big sci-fi fan. Besides John Williams and “Star Wars”, do you have another favorite sci-fi film score?

MN: Without question, James Horner’s score to “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn”. Just an absolutely masterful score with brilliant action/adventure cues as well as touching emotional pieces that score the personal drama at the heart of the story. I tear up every time I hear the string cue at the end that scores Kirk running through the Enterprise to reach Spock before he dies. To me, it’s always felt like the musical equivalent of hearing a heartbreaking. So powerful.

Q: You scored the long-running “Children’s Hospital” for Adult Swim. That series would have theme/parody episodes that were completely different than the regular episodes. Did you have a favorite genre you got to score for one of those themed episodes?

MN: Well, of course, sci-fi, to keep with the recurring theme here. The finale of the series, the two-part episode “The Grid,” is by far my favorite score from the series, but I also loved doing the more mystery/intrigue scores like “Me, Owen” (season 6), or the Fugitive parody of “By the Throat” (season 7) it would be fantastic to work more in that genre too. One of the great things about doing those parody episodes is it allowed me to try my hand at, and learn so many different genres. It made me a more versatile composer.

Q: You scored the horror film, “Chapters of Horror” a few years ago. Would you like to score more horror projects?

MN: Oh absolutely. Growing up, I read a lot of Stephen King novels, and I really enjoyed Vincenzo Natali’s adaption of “In the Tall Grass,” so I gravitate to horror films that have a well-crafted, human story at the center and not just scares. I’ve found those kinds of films stick with me for a while afterward, maybe more than any other genre, so I’d love to work in that genre more.

Q: Scoring a horror film is a lot different ballgame than scoring a 30-minute comedy/thriller like “Medical Police”. What is one thing you learned scoring horror?

MN: Well, to clarify, “Chapters of Horror” was a collection of horror shorts so it wasn’t that much different! I think the important thing is to make sure to work with the filmmakers to understand what kind of atmosphere you want to create. In addition to the emotions of the story itself, the score can also be effective at making the audience feel unsettled, so it’s important to develop rules of how much or how little you want the score to accomplish that.

About Kristyn Clarke

I am a journalist and interviewer who is completely obsessed with music, TV, film and all other aspects of pop culture! I am currently the Director of Operations for PopCultureMadness.com and my work can also be found on MusicMayhemMagazine.com, TheRockRevival.com, and TryItToday.com! Have my B.S. in Television/Video Production from Wilmington University and have been working in online media for the past ten years and loving every moment of it!

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