Rider alumnus stars in TBS sitcom ‘Clipped’

When Cheers alumnus George Wendt returns to TV tonight for his first regular series role in 20 years, he’ll appear alongside Rider alumnus Matt Cook ’06. Wendt and Cook are part of the ensemble cast of Clipped, a new TBS sitcom that centers on the friendships inside a Boston barbershop.

Cook plays Mo, a goofball hopelessly enamored with Joy (Lauren Lapkus) and the sweet best friend and foil of the barbershop’s harsh owner (Ryan Pinkston). Cook says he thinks of Mo as “the human labrador” — happy and sweet, and if not very bright, very loyal and kind. “I relate to him on a lot of levels, especially the loyalty and lovesickness, both of which are very fun to play,” Cook says.

Clipped was created by Will & Grace executive producers David Kohan and Max Mutchnick and also stars Ashley Tisdale (High School Musical) and Reginald Veljohnson (Family Matters).

Reviewing the show in The Hollywood Reporter, Whitney Matheson said, “Much of Clipped’s charm lies in distinctive performances by Lapkus and Cook. Just as Wendt and Tisdale will attract their own admirers, so will these two comedians.”

Cook is thrilled to be working alongside Wendt. “He's the coolest dude around and super funny,” Cook says. “George has a great laugh, and any time I can get him to chuckle I wear it like a badge of honor. He's so nice and looks out for all of us and has more incredible stories than anyone I've ever known. He's everything I hoped he would be and I'm thrilled to be working with him.”

Cook has been following his own advice for students — “Do what you love and work your butt off doing it” — since graduating. He moved to Los Angeles with his longtime girlfriend and fellow Rider theater alum Katierose Donohue. Now a member of the Groundlings Main Company, L.A.’s improvisational and sketch comedy troupe famous for cultivating SNL stars like Will Ferrell, Kristen Wiig and Phil Hartman, Cook has appeared on several TV shows, including True Blood, The Comeback and Curb Your Enthusiasm, as well as on stage.

In August, Cook is heading to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland to perform a stage show called Fairy Tale Theatre 18 & Over. The show features actors and puppets and uses fairy tales to teach life lessons to adults through comedy. “It’s one of the smartest and funniest productions I've ever been a part of,” Cook says.

At Rider, Cook took part in many student theater productions. During his senior year, he played Truffaldino, the Servant, in The Servant Of Two Masters — one of his favorite roles at Rider, which allowed for many jokes and broad use of physical comedy. “There was a lot of room for improvisation because that's how the script was built and historically how that style is performed,” he says. “So as a cast we were always trying to surprise each other and make the show better and better. And I got to be in it with some of my best friends. We had a ball.”

Cook cites three professors — Miriam Mills, Dr. Patrick James Chmel and Dr. Richard Homan — as having a particular impact on his education and career. “I learned so much from them individually in every class they taught and every show they directed that I was lucky enough to be a part of,” he says.

Of all the work he did at Rider, he’s most grateful to have been able to produce and direct his own sketch and improv shows. “It was a ‘trial by fire’ and a crucial part of my education and the development of my own artistic voice — and a lot of fun,” he says.

Clipped premieres on TBS on Tuesday, June 16, at 10 p.m.