Adult Swim teams Conyers native Jack McBrayer with Triumph the Insult Dog starting Feb. 20

And who took the bite? Atlanta's subversive Adult Swim network. Dubbed "The Jack and Triumph Show" and debuting at 11:30 p.m., Friday, February 20, the show is set up like an old-time three-camera sitcom, live audience and all. It features Jack as a former child actor in a "Lassie"-style show who goes broke and becomes a drug-addicted street walker under Triumph's tutelage.

In an amazing casting triumph, Oscar-nominated 85-year-old actress June Squibb ("Nebraska") plays Jack's animal rights loving sitcom mom June who takes them both in and straightens Jack's life out. She also dumps Triumph (a bad influence) thousands of miles north and telling Jack he just left. It takes Triumph 15 years to return to her home and he and Jack re-establish ties, much to June's disgust.

"I love June," McBrayer said in a phone interview Thursday. "God bless her. She's just the kindest lady in the world. I can't believe we got her to scream at a hillbilly and a puppet dog!"

Credit: Rodney Ho

Credit: Rodney Ho

Other cast picks are more kitschy. Playing self-deprecating versions of themselves are Michael Winslow of "Police Academy" fame and 'N Sync star and TV host Joey Fatone. (Triumph on Winslow: "Michael can recreate any sound in the world except for a casting director saying yes.")

Sample dialogue:

Jack's sitcom mom June: "You think I'd let you near Jack again. You're insane!

Triumph: "Why? He needs a masculine influence. Whatever you have growing over your lip doesn't count!"

June: "If you don't get out of here now, I'm going to yell rape!"

Triumph: "Why don't you yell 'Bigfoot!' It's slightly more believable."

"Perfect for Adult Swim's audience: stoned college kids and 13 year old boys," McBrayer said.

Jack isn't far off from Kenneth the intern on "30 Rock." He's sweet, pliable and goofy, an exact opposite of Triumph, who loves to hump and throw verbal grenades anywhere he can.

Smigel, McBrayer said, "is a creative genius and a sadistic SOB. Seriously, he's great. He has such a unique and hilarious creative vision. The rest of us are just along for the ride."

He describes the show as an "odd odd couple" (as opposed to the CBS sitcom "The Odd Couple" that debuted Thursday night.)

Spending so much time talking to a hand puppet took a bit of getting used to but McBrayer said he grew up on "Alf" so it wasn't too foreign.

"I did enjoy seeing the tricks we used," he said. "All the furniture was hollowed out so Robert could hide behind stuff. There were these trolleys and sliding things so he can get around."

He said he feels more pressure in one sense than when he was on "30 Rock" because in this case, his name is in lights. "I have never been asked to do this much press," he said. "Everybody wanted Tina or Alec. It's also true Adult Swim doesn't get the scrutiny of the broadcast networks. Here, we can do whatever we want!"

McBrayer was not a child star like his fictional character but even if he had been, he said he is so financially prudent, he'd be fine. "I am terrified to spend money," he said. "Of course, if you turned back the clock to a 15 year old Jack McBrayer and handed him a $10,000 check, he might have said, 'Goodie! Let's go to the water park!' "

He didn't really pursue acting until after college when he met up with the genius comics at Second City in Chicago. He saw they were making a living acting and he thought he could, too. "I have no regrets being a late bloomer, a well-formed person," he said.

Does sweet-natured McBrayer curse in real life? Not really. "If you can convey disappointment without a slew of swear words, I think people get the point. With that being said, I let them fly every now and then especially when I'm walking to work in freezing cold in Chicago or New York." (He was calling by the pool in Los Angeles.)

"But you would love to met my mom Betty McBrayer," he added. "Put a margarita in her and you'll blush!"

Credit: Rodney Ho

Credit: Rodney Ho

"Jack and Triumph Show"  is set in Los Angeles but shot in New York - fortunately in the fall and spring, not the winter. He actually likes Los Angeles. His neighbor? The singer

Moby

.

"He's a nice, quiet guy. He'll crack jokes. He's normal. I don't associate with douchebags - except Tina Fey," he cracked. "What a waste!"

Has McBrayer ever tried out for "Saturday Night Live'? Twice. And twice, they said no thanks. "They were not smelling what I was selling," he said.

TV preview

"The Jack and Triumph Show," 11:30 p.m., Fridays, Adult Swim

And in a case of synergy, Triumph pops up on "Inside the NBA" and roasts Charles Barkley quite nicely: "You turn 52 tomorrow. Your age will finally match your body fat percentage." And Shaq: "I'm sorry but Charlie Brown's teacher is easier to understand."

Triumph The Insult Comic Dog Visits TNT's Inside the NBA from Turner Sports on Vimeo.