Billy and Boo History Story

Long before The Trouble with Billy became a scripted streaming series I began filming my real life with my dog, Boo — raw, handheld footage never intended to become a movie or a series, just documenting my life with my best friend, a pitbull named Boo. Little did I know my life would become a struggle, abandoned by family and "Hollywood" friends, which led to living in my car. Thank God for my only friend, Boo. It was Boo's companionship that gave me the will to live.

In the 90's I was star. Me and Boo, lived on the beach in Malibu – invited to all the big Hollywood parties. But within a few years, this "star" was living in his car!

I gave up my career as an actor to dedicate my time and money to animal activism. I had relocated to Texas to investigate and develop a docu-series about exotic animal abuse. Much of that abuse was occurring in Texas, and the project eventually became Animal Intervention which sold as a docu-series to National Geographic.

But while I was trying to take my animal activism to the next level, my personal life began unraveling. I spent almost 2 years in Texas living in hotels with Boo. I was shooting undercover footage of exotic animal abuse that eventually led to a sizzle reel that sold to NatGeo. I was done gathering footage so I made plans to return to California.

I had given up a career in acting and became a full time animal activist, including becoming a crew member of Sea Shepherd

I was short on cash. Used most of my savings to fund my activism. I was having a hard time finding an affordable place in LA that allowed pitbulls so I focused on Palm Springs, a few hours away from LA and I had a bunch of friends out there.

I had secured a condo in Palm Springs that welcomed both me and my pitbull, Boo. Then my cousin — newly separated from a volatile, wealthy soft-porn producer ex-husband — begged me to move into her Laurel Canyon home instead. She wanted protection. She wanted stability. She wanted Boo, a protective pitbull, to deter her ex husband stalker!

So I gave up the condo and moved in with my cousin.

Within months, her ex found a new girlfriend. The threat evaporated. And so did our welcome.

My cousin put me and Boo out.

At the time, Boo had been diagnosed with heart disease (a diagnosis I later learned was wrong). Her veterinary bills were overwhelming. I had bad credit. And Boo was a pitbull — a breed widely restricted in Los Angeles housing at the time.

Every rental application followed the same pattern: approval on paper, rejection in person. Landlords would see her and rescind the offer.

Suddenly, I was homeless in Los Angeles with a sick dog.

I traded in my Honda Civic for a 1998 Chevy Monte Carlo — not for style, but for survival. It had a large American engine that could idle for hours with the air conditioning blasting, which Boo needed in the California heat. Eventually, she was diagnosed with cancer. The newest chemotherapy protocol was roughly $1,200 a week. I had no pet insurance.

So we lived in the car and I spent my savings keeping her alive. I do not regret this decision and would do it again, gladly.

The footage I had once shot casually — of us navigating love, loss, humiliation, resilience — became something else entirely. It became the emotional DNA of The Trouble with Billy. Later in the series, Boo is portrayed by Twinkie, but the heart of the story is real.

The show is a dramedy. It’s funny. It’s absurd. It’s Hollywood satire.

But beneath it is a true story about loyalty, pride, ego, survival, and the lengths we go for the ones we love.

It’s about losing everything — and refusing to lose your sense of humor.

It’s about making lemonade out of lemons.

Recent Press Highlights

Recently, McNamara was profiled in Yahoo Entertainment when Copycat began trending on Netflix (Yahoo Entertainment article). He also made international headlines for rescuing animals during the Palisades Fire, covered by Entertainment Weekly and News.com.au.