‘Moonbeam City’: Rob Lowe Dazzles as the Voice of a Cheeky ’80s Detective

Gregory E. Miller September 15, 2015

Rob Lowe and the 1980s: together again. Comedy Central’s newest offering is Moonbeam City, an animated series that lampoons all the bombastic, larger-than-life cop shows of that bright, pastel-colored era. At the center of the action is Dazzle Novak (Lowe), an idiotic—though handsome—detective who’s obsessed with sex and should never be trusted with a gun. (In one scene, he tries to stop a fire by shooting at it.) Elizabeth Banks voices Dazzle’s unimpressed, shoulder pad-clad police chief (aptly named Pizzaz), and Will Forte is Rad Cunningham, a coworker at the squad and the “sort of d–khead Karate Kid villain,” according to creator Scott Gairdner.

“I wanted to do a show that celebrated this sleek, neon ’80s vibe and that paid tribute to the awesome designs, awesome fashion and awesome synth music,” Gairdner says. “I think the recipe of super-stupid comedy rendered very beautifully is a really compelling combination.”

And for Lowe diehards, there’s a special treat. “As a big fan of Rob Lowe’s [infamous] 1989 Oscar performance with Snow White, I knew we would have failed the first season if we didn’t get Rob to sing,” Gairdner says. “And I will say, Rob has come a long way as a singer since then. We actually had to tell him to make it worse.”