Let's save 'A.P. Bio,' the quirky TV comedy set in Ohio (and made by a Michigander)

Last year, we lost "Detroiters" on Comedy Central. Now we're saying goodbye to another fine sitcom set in the Midwest. 

"A.P. Bio," canceled last month by NBC, will air its final two episodes Thursday night. Yet numerous fans — and series star Patton Oswalt — are waging a #SaveAPBio campaign on social media.

And why not hatch a plan to spare it? The show itself hinges on the elaborate schemes of Jack Griffin, a Harvard professor who didn't get his dream job and thus must teach high school biology in his hometown of Toledo, Ohio.

In the first season, Jack (played with acerbic edge by Glenn Howerton of "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia") spent most of his class time forcing his students to help carry out plots against rivals. The second — and even better — season has expanded into an odd, yet ultimately redeeming, universe of quirky characters who are slowly making Jack a better person.

Can this series find new life, maybe on a streaming site like Hulu, where past episodes are available? We talked about the #SaveAPBio campaign with "A.P. Bio" creator (and former "Saturday Night Live" performer-writer) Mike O'Brien. The interview is edited for space, clarity and maximum references to his actual home state of Michigan. (Sorry, Ohio.)

QUESTION: How do you feel about the #SaveAPBio campaign?

ANSWER: Just overwhelmed and so thrilled about it all. People love working on the show, and we were really devastated when we heard the news that we were not going to be renewed. And then, to be able to have all of this online support, and nice things being said, and specific episodes being referenced, it just feels like, "Oh, people were watching."

Q: You told someone on Twitter recently that if you could have a crossover episode with any other show, it would be the now-canceled "Detroiters," so we're living in hope for that.

A: Me, too. I think that would be so fun. It's logical that someone in Toledo would hire them as an ad agency.

Q: Did you grow up in Toledo, which is near the border of Michigan? Do you feel very Ohio-like or do you have any ties to Detroit?

A: I actually grew up in Blissfield, Michigan, and went to Catholic schools in Toledo, so we would drive to Toledo every day for grocery shopping and everything. I went to the University of Michigan, went to Detroit every month or so to go to a concert or a Tiger game or whatnot. I'm more probably Michigan than Ohio, but I grew up in a small town, like 5 miles from the border, so you end up going back and forth a lot.

Q: What was the most direct inspiration from your own high school for "A.P. Bio."?

A: I guess maybe some of the students would be similar to myself or some friends who were quirkier. I went to St. John's, which was an all-boys school, so it was pretty different from Whitlock, the school in the show. And I also am 42, so I don't remember it. My first memories are, like, from 25 on. But it wasn't meant to be modeled after my high school experience. It was built around fictional stuff. And, actually, we always interview teachers and current students when we're beginning each season, and that inspires ideas. We'll get some real people to come in, and a lot of them will Skype in, friends of friends from Toledo.

Q: What did you study at the University of Michigan and what was your experience there like?

A: I started as an engineering major and then flunked out because I was on the rowing team and I had a comedy newspaper and I wasn't giving it much time. Then I was able to get back in on academic probation and changed my major to film and video. The comedy newspaper I started with my friends is probably the most applicable thing I did as an undergrad to my day-to-day life now 

Q: What was the name of it?

A: It was called the Anti-Daily. There was the Michigan Daily (student newspaper) and I couldn't get a job there. It was either four or eight pages. It came out once every two months or something. We got a little bit of funding for it, actually. People from the Daily were usually nice about it. It was really bad when I look back on it, but it was teaching me some comedy writing. 

Q: When "A.P Bio" started," did it blossom in ways you didn't expect?

A: The students became much bigger characters than I originally pictured. I kind of pictured it would be an adult comedy in a high school, about the adults only. Then, quickly, we were like, "We can make this 50-50, because the actors who play the students are so good." And Paula Pell (who plays the school secretary), everyone was loving (her) moments so much, we were like, "We need to bump her up to series regular." In the writers room, it was always fun to talk about what else would be in the school. The world of the school was infinite.

Q: The actors who play the students seem like the cast of "Freaks and Geeks," who went on to have these great careers. How did you find them and cast them so well?

A: I'm so excited to see in 10 years what roles they're doing. They were auditioned a ton, even the silent extras, the final six or seven that we filled in to make it a 15-person class. They turned out to be really good actors. A lot of them have a background in Disney or something, so there was a lot of me telling them, "We'd like it even more deadpan. ... More deadpan. ... More deadpan." They'd be like, "Really? You want me basically be doing nothing?" They're all so professional. They're all so drama-free.

Q: Glenn Howerton as Jack has the toughest role of all. He has to go so close to the border — and sometimes beyond — of being unlikable. Was that fun to explore? 

A: Yes, it definitely is. But In season two, a lot of the show is endearing, too. He doesn't like a lot of humans on Earth, but he actually really likes these 15 kids. These kids probably are being picked on a little bit and everything. They have this 45-minute period where he speaks very frankly. He speaks to them like they're adults. If they suggest something, he always thinks about it and is like, "That's a good idea." I maybe even like that part of it more than the jerky stuff, which is fun. It's fun to have him go off on a person or some pet peeve that we all have in real life and sic Jack on them because we can't do it in our actual lives.

Q: What can fans of "A.P. Bio" do after the final two episodes to support the show?

A: I think watching the episodes on Hulu, and if you've seen them all, maybe recommending it to a friend. It really works. If I get told by a hundred people to watch a show, then I finally cave and watch it. I'm going to finally watch "Fleabag" this week after a hundred friends were like, "How are you not watching it?" So if people believe that about "A.P. Bio" as well and tell a friend about it, that's the biggest thing they can do.

Contact Detroit Free Press pop culture critic Julie Hinds: 313-222-6427 or jhinds@freepress.com.

'A.P. Bio'

Series finale

8:30-9:30 p.m. Thu.

NBC