LEGO Masters exclusive: Jamie Berard teases Will Arnett dad jokes and biggest LEGO challenges to date

Hidden Remote’s favorite FOX competition show is back! LEGO Masters season 4 premieres tonight and we couldn’t be more excited. As always, host Will Arnett and judges Jamie Berard and Amy Corbett are bringing fans bigger and more challenging LEGO creations.

LEGO Masters has the power of doing what many reality TV shows don’t — a limitless target audience. The FOX competition series is for the young and old, LEGO kids, LEGO adults, it’s fun for mom and dad, and kids of all ages. This isn’t something you can say for too many shows these days. And that’s part of the reason we tune in.

Will Arnett is the perfect host. Not only is he the voice of LEGO Batman in the LEGO Movie franchise, but Will can make any situation so much fun. He’s the perfect cheerleader, jokester, and sympathetic when he needs to be. And if Jamie is to be believed (and really, when has Jamie ever let us down?), we are in for some of Will’s best dad jokes.

Earlier this week, we caught up with LEGO Masters judge Jamie Berard, a LEGO Creator Expert who oversees LEGO Architecture lines, who shared what’s to come in season 4.

Please note this interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

LEGO Masters season 4 exclusive

Hidden Remote: The last couple of seasons of LEGO Masters have come out during trying times, I would say. First COVID, and I know that brought a lot of joy to us. I think that’s the year that my family discovered the series on FOX. First I thought, oh my kid and my husband will enjoy it. But no, it really draws the whole family together.

And this next season, I know you guys are not affected directly with the strikes, but audiences weren’t sure what shows they were going to get this season. So I know that, knowing LEGO Masters was on the way gave us something to look forward to. 

Jamie Berard: Oh, it’s a real treat! We’re so grateful that the show keeps coming back and as you mentioned, how many people that it connects with! It’s just the most wonderful surprise for us, bringing together you know, teens, adults, men, women, it just seems like it’s cross generational. And as you mentioned, when it’s a particularly challenging time where you just want that escape, you just want to be able to enjoy a fun show that has a lot of creativity and really unexpected twists. It’s just a great combination for a time when people are just looking for something to enjoy.

Hidden Remote: I like that you said that it’s like an escape, because, in “the COVID season,” we didn’t see any masks. There was also no mention of it. I liked that because it truly felt like an escape. You don’t want to tune in to TV to the same thing you’re dealing with in the real world if it’s not a pleasant experience.

Jamie Berard: Yeah. And we were so privileged to be in that space because, honestly, once we got on set, they did so much work to protect us and make sure that it was a safe space that I have to admit, it was like a dream. It was almost like this island that we went to where, you know, with magical lights, cameras, and bricks everywhere. You could just really enjoy yourself. And I’m so happy that we got to share that moment with the world because I think it’s where everybody’s headspace wanted to go.

Hidden Remote: I see you guys [Jamie and Amy] get so emotional during eliminations, but we only see a snippet of you guys with the teams, so I’m sure you all spend a lot more time together than what is seen.

Jamie Berard: It’s really special because, in general, the LEGO fan community is a close knit group of people. It’s people who are very passionate about sharing their creativity with each other. But to share it with the world? It puts them in a very vulnerable space, like they have to kind of trust that you know, it’s okay to make a mistake. It’s an emotional roller coaster. Every team that goes home, we feel it. It’s like a loss of friends, you know, leaving a party where you’re just like oh, just stay a little bit longer! But I think what’s great is that you just want them to leave with those great memories and hopefully walk away just shocked at what they were able to accomplish.

Hidden Remote: And thankfully we still have Will Arnett and his dad jokes to cheer us up! On a scale of 1 to 10, how good are the dad jokes this season?

Jamie Berard: It depends if you talk to Amy or me [laughs]. I think they’re an 11! Amy has a different threshold of what’s good comedy, and that’s where it’s a healthy mix. I think Will, in particular, loves those challenges of just trying to wring out the humor in any situation.

I have to say, there are so many moments just for fun. He does things that he knows we can’t use on camera, but just make the camera crew start laughing and everybody in the cast. Those are the days that he leaves like high five even if it doesn’t make another show it just makes it an environment that everybody wants to go back to.

Hidden Remote: I love that! As far as the the challenges go, I keep thinking there’s no way you guys can top them, but I’m proven wrong every time. Which ones can we look forward to this time?

Jamie Berard: We try to create the most absurd challenges you could ever imagine. And this season is no different. I mean, as an entry point we have this this boat challenge where people get to build a model that actually has to float on a lake and be driven around while introducing themselves and their personality to the world.

We have a cat challenge where we have these wonderful kittens that want to be adopted, and you need to make a play space for them, a little place that they have to engage with. And when you want to talk about kitten psychology, it is so fun to see how far some of these teams go to try to bring playfulness to their kitten. We have a car races, we have volcanoes, RC cars. It’s real chaos in the studio, but so much fun!

Hidden Remote:That’s amazing. Yeah, I did see the ones with the cats. And I remember we had dogs last season. I imagine, with cats, they’re a little harder to please because cats are not like…they’re just very different from dogs. 

Jamie Berard: It was a real wild card, because like you said, dogs to some extent are pleasers, like they want to be there and be close and cuddle and you know, they really want to overachieve! And cats, they just go with whatever their imagination takes them. So try to come up with a model that keeps their attention and makes them want to engage with it. It’s absolutely wonderful to see it. If nothing else, you just see kittens everywhere. Each of us got a kitten. And each of us wanted to just hold on to that kitten and keep it forever.

Hidden Remote: Yeah, I can imagine if they don’t like it, the cat will let you know! Now, do the teams ever asked to keep any of the Legos? Like even their mini LEGO figures?

Jamie Berard: Yeah! They do get to walk away with their mini figures. But otherwise, there are 5 million LEGO bricks in that studio.

Hidden Remote: Which LEGO set would you say has taken you the longest to build?

Jamie Berard: Oh boy. I did just finish building the Titanic, which is massive. And I am soon looking forward to building the Eiffel Tower, which is four and a half feet tall and about 10,000 LEGO bricks. So I’d say as far as home models that you can buy and build a home, those are probably two of the more ambitious ones that I’ve tried to tackle.

LEGO Masters season 4 premieres Thursday, Sept. 28, only on FOX. If you miss the episode or just can’t tune in at that time, stream it the next day on Hulu.