Sarayu Blue Talks ‘Medical Police,’ ‘The Unicorn,’ and Diversity on Television [Exclusive Interview]

Sarayu Blue initially found her love of acting as a teenager doing high-school theater, and now she’s dominating our television screens with her comedic roles.

Best known for her leading role as Emet on the NBC comedy I Feel Bad, Blue can currently be seen on the CBS comedy The Unicorn, and then this Friday, you’ll be able to catch her on the Netflix comedy, Medical Police.

Medical Police comes from the team behind Childrens Hospital, and follows two American physicians (Erinn Hayes and Rob Huebel) stationed at a pediatric hospital in São Paulo, Brazil who unwittingly discover a civilization-threatening virus. They’re soon recruited as secret government agents and find themselves in a race against time to find a cure, all the while uncovering a dark conspiracy at the center of the outbreak.

Blue will star as Sloan McIntyre, a special agent who works for a covert division of the CDC and will be leading those two physicians actress the globe.

I recently spoke with Blue about her role on this very funny comedy series as well as her work on The Unicorn and I Feel Bad. 

Blue began by sharing why she was excited to be a part of Medical Police.

“I love Children’s Hospital. I love that whole world, and I’m such a fan of those actors, those producers, that kind of comedy excites me so much. It’s such a campy and wonderfully ridiculous world that any actor who enjoys comedy is usually excited to play in something like that. When they called with that, I really was over the moon,” Blue said.

“It’s so intelligently done. That kind of camp that’s also so intelligently done is the best kind. And Medical Police is so ridiculous in the best way. I can’t wait for it to come out.”

Blue also gave a few hints as to what we can expect from her character, Sloan. “She’s sort of the straight person role in a lot of ways, but the world is so over the top,” she explained. “Even the straight person role has so much comedic play.”

It wasn’t just the comedy that made this a fun role for Blue to play, though. “I got to do some fight scenes. I was so excited because I grew up training in martial arts and all that stuff and getting to play in that world was so cool.”

Since Medical Police comes from the same team as Children’s Hospital, many of the people working on this show already have a history together. Blue spoke a bit about what it was like to join that incredible group.

“I think what’s great about that world and that comedy world, in particular, is even though they have this history, it’s also that feeling of — we’re all in this together. We’re all just playing and seeing what happens, and no one’s better than anyone else. There are no divas, there are no egos,” she said.

“It’s great because they are such a welcoming bunch,” she added. “I immediately felt like part of the team and we were all playing together. It was just fantastic. I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

In addition to Medical Police, Blue can also currently be seen on The Unicorn as Anna, who’s developing a relationship with Walton Goggins’ character, Wade.

“That was another really fun one,” she said. “One of the things that’s always important to me as a woman of color in the industry is that we see women of color that are dimensional. And it was such a great character because I believe this woman on every level, which is so cool. I hate to say that that’s rare, but it is. It’s still shifting.”

“I had so much fun working with Michaela Watkins and Rob Corddry again,” Blue continued. “And Walton and I had amazing chemistry. But what was also really exciting was in the three-episode arc, you really got to delve into who this human was and what her relationship with [Wade] was. It was just such a refreshing role to get to play.”

Blue also recently starred on the NBC sitcom, I Feel Bad. Being an Indian-American woman to lead a network show was a significant experience for Blue, particularly because it’s still so rare.

“That experience was spectacular,” Blue shared. “I think what was so cool about Emet and about that show — and the reason, actually, I think a lot of women and men find it relatable — is because she was sort of this disaster of a human, which I think, on the inside, is how most of us feel. We all kind of feel like we’re just getting by by the skin of our teeth. I think that what was so great about that show and so unique.”

“It was the female perspective of being in that experience. It was not only the most fun I’ve ever had — I mean the physical comedy, the ridiculousness, that humanity — but it was also just a true honor to get to be a South Asian woman who was also just there telling all of our stories,” Blue continued.

The role of Emet also wasn’t originally written for an Indian-American woman. “When I read for it, I think I read for it fairly early on, and I’m sure they were looking at anyone and everyone. But when I actually tested for it, it was really between three white women and me, which is really a huge shift for NBC to take that — I hate to call that at risk, because in my heart I don’t believe it’s a risk. But I can see where it’s not been the mainstream mentality.”

Though the story was always universal, some changes needed to be made once Blue was cast. “They did have to make it more specific, [from] getting Indian parents to making it an interracial story. I mean, it was a pretty enormous thing to see happening in the industry.”

Be sure to catch Sarayu Blue on Medical Police, which premieres this Friday, January 10th on Netflix. 

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