Chris O’Dowd’s new series ‘like George Costanza trying to figure out TikTok’

Chris O’Dowd said he can relate to Dusty Hubbard, his character on his new Apple TV+ series “The Big Door Prize,” because he’s at a similar place in his life. 

“It did feel like a middle-aged story, and I was feeling very f–king middle aged,” the Irish-born O’Dowd, 43, told The Post. “It felt like this character had a more grown-up set of problems than what I usually deal with, which are usually either romantic or frivolous.” 

Premiering March 29, “The Big Door Prize” — a half-hour comedy with a light sci-fi bent — is based on a novel of the same name, adapted by David West Read (“Schitt’s Creek”).

The story follows the fictional small town of Deerfield, which is forever changed when a mysterious retro-looking machine appears and reveals each person’s “true potential” (in the form of printing it on a card). For instance, one man’s card reads “magician”; another person’s reads “superstar.”

If O’Dowd was able to encounter this machine in his life, “My feeling is that I would want to do it, but I wouldn’t want anybody to see the card,” he said.  “It’s too much expectation. I don’t want f–kers asking me if I want to be an astronaut next week. It’s like, ‘Come on, let me have a nap!’

“I do think I’d be worried about being told something I didn’t want to hear,” he said. “As an example, a few weeks ago, it was my wife’s birthday and we had a tarot card reading [at] a house party. And I didn’t do it. I was in the midst of this show, and I was like, ‘I don’t know if I’m feeling tethered enough right now to be told a piece of information I can’t handle.’ So, it depends on your mental state at the time.” 

“The Big Door Prize” machine sends all the citizens into a tizzy as they re-think their careers, relationships and life paths. The town’s residents include Dusty (O’Dowd) a teacher celebrating his 40th birthday. He’s married to his high school sweetheart, Cass (Gabrielle Dennis, “A Black Lady Sketch Show”), and the couple also has a teen daughter, Trina (Djouliet Amara) who is grieving a recent loss. 

“I had just turned 40 the year before I read [this script],” said O’Dowd. “I definitely found that milestone to be a milestone. I had passed a few milestones previously, and didn’t even notice. But I was like, ‘Oh no, sh–t, I’m old, and I feel it!’ I started wearing reading glasses, and I noticed, ‘Oh, I’ve needed these for a while!’ I think Dusty is like that, where he hasn’t necessarily admitted that he needs a lot of things that he’s not getting.

“Dusty has got a little bit of ‘George Costanza trying to figure out TikTok,’ and the befuddlement that may occur after that.”

O’Dowd (“Bridesmaids, “The IT Crowd,” “Girls”) is based in LA with his wife and kids. Although he’s worked across genres, he does have one that he prefers. 

“I like comedy. I think it’s the hardest, but I do think it’s the most rewarding,” he said. “I had this quite revelatory experience last August, where I was up at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and I had a lot of people come up to me and talk to me about my work. They’re all being terribly nice, but what stuck out to me was they said they had watched [my work] with their families, and all of the feedback was like, ‘We laugh and laughed.’

“And I’m like, ‘Wow, if you can bring a bit of that into somebody’s life, I can’t even remember what the drama was for.’”