Let's talk about the Sven Squad
I've been trying to pin down what works and doesn't work with the Sven Squad from my perspective as a Gen-X male. First, I'll say that I really love that MeTV has invested in Svengoolie and appreciate all the effort that goes into the show by the performers and whole crew. They are really good at what they do, clearly love doing it, and obviously millions of people respond positively, including me. I love Svengoolie. Now let's have a honest talk about the Sven Squad, where they are today and where they're headed:
Sven & Nosti:
We all came for the horror and stayed for Sven's good-natured, lovable neediness. Nothing more to say there. Long live Sven.
In terms of how the characters relate, Sven is the straight man and Nosti is the funny man. Bill and Sven play off of each other perfectly like a classic comedy pair, and Bill's physical comedy is hilarious from the first second you see him. "Silence!" I wish it could continue forever. It's gold.
Gwengoolie:
Contrast this with Gwengoolie. She is a currently a third wheel. The problem has two parts IMHO. First, Gwen has no useful backstory or character concept and seems to be conceived primarily as pinup-style eye candy. Gwen (Sarah) certainly has tremendous beauty as an asset, and nothing wrong with that.
Regardless, Gwen's beauty is pixel-thin. She has no real dramatic role to play, just like the Bride of Frankenstein on which she was modeled. This leads to the second problem: Sarah's forced schtick is so thick that she projects zero authenticity or warmth, and this shortcoming is only magnified by her character's frequent display of annoyance at the other characters driven by an unearned smug sense of superiority.
To me, Gwen's character concept has nothing to be authentic or superior about. She's a pinup come to life, which works just as well as you'd expect. I accept that for generations that grew up performing online as the default way of being, maybe Gwen is more appealing. But to me, an approach rooted in a flawless projected identity on Instagram doesn't fit the bill here.
Authenticity and warmth are exactly the appeal of Sven (and other horror hosts) in the first place. Even while playing the Nosti character, Bill delivers by performing authenticity as his character. He commits to the bit in a way that is completely transparent, which is impressive.
By contrast, Gwen has no character concept to fall back on and no inherent way to connect with other characters or the audience. She sets herself apart from everyone by frequently being annoyed at them. This might work if it channeled some part of the audience who feel the same sense of superiority or annoyance at the other characters. But for me it doesn't land. The point of a schlocky horror show is to enjoy the eye-rolling, so it makes no sense to have a character that diegetically doesn't. If the main character(s) acted outrageously, like a Ralph Kramden archetype, the annoyance would channel the audience. But throwing in some petulance just to give Gwen a semblance of personality doesn't work.
IMP:
And then there's IMP. Oh, IMP. I find the character concept weak and undefined, and there isn't really a niche for him in the current show among the other characters. While imps are generally expected to be tricksy and reflect the ancient trickster trope—and the character's name is literally Ignatius Malvolio Prankenstein—I don't really see that play out onscreen. He's not running pranks or outsmarting any other characters, and usually he just ends up just acting clueless like Nosti, but without Nosti's lovable low-IQ and cultural dislocation layers (yes, remarkably, Nosti has layers).
It's almost as if they've tried to set IMP up as the funny man playing off Gwen as the straight (wo)man. It hasn't really worked. Ironically, Gwen is good at showing annoyance, which in a two-person comedy act would be the straight man's domain (cf. Bud Abbott, Moe Howard) and the funny man's goal to elicit. The concept might work if (1) Gwen's annoyance was directed mainly at IMP, giving her and IMP a unique sister/younger brother dynamic and giving her room to show warmth to other characters; and (2) IMP was consistently funny, which he's not. And Gwen gives the impression of striving so hard to be part of Sven and Nosti's clique that it just leaves IMP out in the cold with no one to play off of.
The one redeeming quality of IMP is that Scott does a nice job of projecting warmth and approachability. He just has nowhere to use it. Unfortunately, Scott's over-the-top theater-kid schtick and voice work don't help and are not a replacement for an actual personality or purpose. I think if he toned it down, played it straighter with more implacability and "wink-wink" dry humor it would land better and give him a shot of finding a niche. Incidentally Gwen tries to play her humor dry, but her constant mugging for the camera undermines it.
Gwen has her looks to sell which marginally makes up for her schtick and off-putting judginess, Nosti has his goofy antics, Sven has his avuncular charm...but IMP's got nothing to sell now or later.
The Future:
I really want all the Sven Squad characters and performers to succeed. I have no qualifications for making the suggestions above or below, but let's talk about the inevitable shift when Sven finally hangs up his hat.
At that point, the Sven Squad needs to be working as a self-sustaining trio, and it's clear that the current setup is meant to give them time to find their groove and chemistry. I don't see that currently happening.
To work together, the Sven Squad needs a well-defined dynamic that collectively channels what people love about Sven. It is a classic dramatic mistake to take side characters and try to make them main characters (cf. The Lone Gunmen), which would be the situation if Sven exited today. Currently, no one can replace Sven's earnest and needy charm, or ability to connect through the fourth wall.
Nosti's character is a dilemma and ironically has been too successful. Bill absolutely has Rich's/Sven's qualities and arguably more dramatic talent, if not the same sensibilities. But as Nosti, Bill has to commit to the bit too much to act as a replacement for Sven. And he's too damn funny to lose as a character. Nosti must continue as he is, but he needs a straight man to play off of. That leaves Gwen or IMP to be the straight (wo)man.
At this time, Sarah can't be the the straight woman because Gwen's too busy mugging and distancing herself from the group to project any warmth. And IMP's role is just too undefined to matter at this point and is just a undifferentiated stub for a post-Sven reality.
If IMP keeps going this way he will become a third wheel that doesn't really fit when Sven is gone. His current character will overlap with Nosti's stupidity, and his good nature will conflict with Gwen's judginess and will only bring her character down more.
Note, IMHO it would be a huge mistake to put Gwen in a similar position as Moe Howard in the Three Stooges, where she would be pitted against Nosti and IMP. If the other characters on the show are flawed but lovable to the audience, then I don't believe a Moe Howard-like character will show up well, particularly if the character is also mugging and acting superior. Moe was an awful character, with his only saving grace that he was just as misguided as the other two. He was just the one-eyed man, whereas Gwen/Sarah are trying too hard to project perfection and superiority every moment to play that off. As a performer on this particular show, Sarah could do more to forget about the camera and connect with the people behind it.
To conclude, IMHO it seems to me that Gwen needs to give up the Instagram mugging, sense of superiority, and overwhelming schtick to connect with the audience. Nosti needs to get marginally smarter and have more agency so that he can do more than just land punchlines. And IMP needs to take over Gwen's sense of superiority and transmute it into more appealing puckishness and dry wit that Gwen and Nosti can play off of.