Felicia Day talks about Voyage to the Stars, Apocalypse Charlie, and more

Felicia Day is best known as Charlie Bradbury to Supernatural fans, but she’s done far more than one show. She’s in the upcoming podcast series Voyage to the Stars, and she talks about that and more in this exclusive interview with SPN Hunters.

Voyage to the Stars is the latest project for Felicia Day, who we all know best as Charlie Bradbury on Supernatural. Playing the scatterbrained scientist on a team of misfits in outer space, the team finds itself on the wrong side of a wormhole. Day shares more about the podcast series and her time as Apocalypse Charlie in this exclusive interview.

Before getting into the interview, I want to touch on the podcast. It’s a 30-minute, 17-episode series that will be released weekly. And yes, you will most definitely want to check it out if you can. Available on Stitcher, Apple, and other podcasting forms, it brings everything you could need in a parody sci-fi series.

Day shared all about her excitement for the podcast, why she loves this form of media, and whether she’d return to Supernatural if she got a chance in this exclusive.

SPN Hunters: I’m so excited to hear about this podcast that you’re doing!

Felicia Day: Yeah, it’s great. The podcast is called Voyage to the Stars. It’s a comedy, improvised podcast, about a group of misfit crew members who are traveling and trying to get back to Earth. It stars me, ….

I play a genius but very slutty, science officer; Colton Dunn plays a really confident, but under-qualified captain; Janet Varney plays an AI of a ship who doesn’t actually know as much as you’d think an AI should know; Steve Berg, who I starred on Dr. Horrible with, plays a sardonic, antisocial mechanic.

We have amazing guest stars along for the ride. We have good intentions but leave a lot of disaster in our wake.

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SPN Hunters: It sounds so fun. What made you do a podcast?

Day: What excites me about the world of podcast right now is that they’re where video was about three or four years ago. With video, you know it’s disappeared in a sense. Web video has been supplanted by all the television we have to watch now. Video is now vloggers and game streams now and I’m kind of disappointed because I love web series.

Podcasts are taking over that slot. If you’re a storyteller and can’t get your story made in the “traditional” way, podcasting really is the place to go right now.

What’s great about Voyager to the Stars is that it’s improvised. We know kind of where the story has to go. We’re given an outline for the episode and a loose, couple of things that will happen in the scene. After that, it’s all made up. Everything that comes out of our mouths is from our heads and that’s what’s so fun. We never know where things will go.

SPN Hunters: So, there’s no planning beforehand?

Day: No, none of that. We have to cut out a lot of giggles. We’re being surprised constantly, which is so much fun. I know that will be communicated to the listeners.

SPN Hunters: What is it about sci-fi and fantasy for you because you’ve done so much in this genre? Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Supernatural, The Magicians, and now Voyage to the Stars.

Day: I love escaping into new worlds and I love the idea that fandom creates families. We’re all in it together, escaping together, and that creates a community, especially in a world now where we have so much thrown at us. If you can find a great community around a show or piece of content, a book, a game you love, you feel like you connect with other people. It’s what I’ve always loved about fandom.

This podcast is an homage to our love for sci-fi and fantasy. All those involved I think are in the “geeky” camp. Ryan Copple, the creator, is a super geeky person. He’s been my friend for over a decade and this is the first time I’ve been in one of his creations. It’s wonderful to create and play with friends in a world you love and people are really going to love this.

SPN Hunters: Obviously, there’s a difference between podcasts and TV shows. There’s more with the imagination in podcasts. What would you say to those who are worried they can’t imagine it?

Day: I think if you look back in history, millions of people listened to radio shows together. Besides going to the movies, that’s what brought people together. I think, in this day and age, it doesn’t matter what format you enjoy a story, you can connect with other people.

When we’re all so busy, we can’t consume everything that we want. The great thing about audio format is you can do it when you want. You can do it when you’re walking, when you’re working on something else. I think people are going to love the spontaneous aspect of the show because of the improvisation aspect of it.

SPN Hunters: I get the feeling that it’s a sci-fi, improvised version of The Archers in the sense of a story people will navigate to.

Day: Oh, wow! Yeah, this isn’t spooky. It’s more of a parody. Nobody is very competent but everyone has a good heart.

SPN Hunters: Are there any plans to expand it from the podcast?

Day: I know Ryan is the strategic master and builds worlds. He’s worked for my company, Geek Defender, for many years building up shows. I know he and the team at Madison Wells Media who make the podcast are looking at creating comics around the characters and hopefully expanding in future seasons.

I think that’s what modern genre entertainment is nowadays. It’s not about the platform but the world itself, and that was important with this project.

SPN Hunters: True. Everything else you’ve been in has had this growth in the worlds. Buffy has the comics, Supernatural has books and other merchandise. There’s plenty of room for more growth.

Day: Yeah, definitely. I think this is why Marvel has taken over and Star Trek has 17 different spin-off series. It’s more about the world than how you’re doing it. You love the world as a viewer, and you love the characters.

SPN Hunters: Speaking of characters, I’ll be hated if I don’t ask this. Going to Supernatural, what’s it been like playing this Charlie instead of the version we all came to know and love first?

Day: Yeah, I was so lucky to be brought back in Season 13 and again in 14. It’s funny because it’s the same character until meeting Sam and Dean and the apocalypse happened. I always had the same character in mind when playing her, but what if Charlie never met Sam and Dean and these horrible traumatic things to her. She had to learn to be a fighter to survive.

She’s older and more mature, more jaded. There are a lot more layers to her because she’s had to fight to survive. Not that previous Charlie was a wimp but she hadn’t had quite as much recent trauma. It’s been an interesting line to play, as she tries to maintain who she is but has this layer of self-protection she’s had to put on to survive.

SPN Hunters: If you had the opportunity, would you come back for another episode with her?

Day: Oh yeah. I love the guys, I love the set. When I walked on the set after three years, I was crying because it was like going home. Whenever I have the opportunity to come back to the Supernatural universe, I’m signed up.

SPN Hunters: Lastly, I want to touch on social media. You’re so passionate about your views and beliefs. It can be daring to put yourself out there on this platform. Did you feel any nerves or pressure to be a voice for others?

Day: I know that if you have people who admire what you do, you have a responsibility to be a leader and set an example. I’m always conscious of trying to promote things I believe in, lift up other people, keep the tone of my online presence to be very positive. I try to advocate for things I believe in.

Sometimes, I’m a little too political but I’m always moved by things that are authentic to me. I really want to lift other people up because, really, it’s not about your voice. It’s about the voice you amplify so others can do that as well.

SPN Hunters: It can be scary because you can lose fans who don’t share the same view as you. Has that ever worried you?

Day: I was very careful for many years to remain quiet but there are some things that, especially since I had a baby, are not acceptable to me. I have to draw a line and I feel an obligation to amplify truth, especially online when there’s so much manufactured truth and people aren’t getting the facts or are hearing different opinions.

It’s my responsibility to amplify things like environmental and human rights issues, especially. I want a good place for my baby to love and I don’t want hate and the destruction of our planet to become the norm. People have become complacent with that.

We have to stand for something, don’t we?

SPN Hunters: Right. Nobody has to agree but be open to hearing another side.

Day: Yeah, I think we’re at a point where it’s hard to be empathetic of other views. WE’re in a polarized world right now. When we’re online, we isolate ourselves to agreement. The internet has been constructed to this “filter bubble,” where if you read about it, all the companies that service us, their business model is made up as an echo chamber of their own agreement.

Once it becomes hardwired in our brain and it’s hard to change that. Even if facts are in front of us, our brains are telling us the way we learned it initially is right. It’s a very complicated situation where the evolution of us as humans are being exploited by big companies.

I could go on about this but I think we need to be aware of deciding something without really educating ourselves.

SPN Hunters: And then we throw ourselves into fantasy worlds to forget.

Day: Yeah, it’s good to take a break but it’s important not to bury our heads.

Will you give the podcast a listen? What are you excited to hear from the series? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Voyage to the Stars premieres tomorrow on podcast sites. It’s released weekly wherever you get your podcasts or directly at VoyagetotheStars.net.