Assuming Danny Pudi is the person we think he is based on his characters and not a secret frat boy whose hobbies include cornhole and smashing Coors Light cans against his forehead, he’s an odd choice to play a cop. A quirky security guard at a miniature carousel museum? Sure. The superintendent of an apartment building whose laundry room doubles as an interdimensional portal? Sounds fun. But a gun-carrying, donut-chomping, license-to-kill cop? That seems odd.
Regardless, NBC has cast him as Toby, “an affable but down on his luck young police officer,” in its upcoming sitcom Strange Calls. Patrick Brammall will co-star alongside Pudi, reprising his role from the Australian series that inspired NBC’s version. Strange Calls focuses on Toby’s adventures after being transferred to a small town, “where—with the help of a peculiar, elderly night watchman—he starts to realize the town has a bizarre supernatural underbelly.”
Oh, so there’s going to be monsters and aliens and stuff. That explains it. Carry on.