Lauren Graham: Lorelai, Love, & Life Lessons

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Speaker 1 What is up, Daddy Gang? It is your founding father, Alex Cooper, with Call Her Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy.

Speaker 1 Lauren Graham, welcome to Call Her Daddy.

Speaker 2 Thank you so much.

Speaker 1 I am such a fan.

Speaker 1 This is so epic and so fun. And I think that my fans, the daddy gang, are going to freak out that we're in the same room.

Speaker 2 That's really, really nice of you to say thank you. I'm excited too.

Speaker 1 How are you doing today?

Speaker 2 Listen, I was running a little late. It's raining in California, which always freaks everybody out.
And,

Speaker 2 but I'm otherwise good.

Speaker 1 No, everyone acts like we have to like all stay home from work when it rains. It's like no one leave your house or none of us also can drive, apparently.

Speaker 2 No, everyone gets very stressed out and it's hard to, but it also looks really pretty and, you know, it makes the air feel healthier.

Speaker 1 True. Okay, you live in LA.
What is the most LA thing about you and the least LA thing about you?

Speaker 2 Well, I live in L.A. and New York.
I still have a place in New York that I've had for a long time. So I'm endlessly like asking that question.

Speaker 2 I think one extremely LA thing is to be really freaked out by like one inch of rain. Yep.
And it is a thing to like really have long conversations about what freeway you took and why.

Speaker 2 And

Speaker 2 And it's just very LA to be like, oh my gosh, it's 70 degrees. I'm freezing.
Like that has become like now. I go to the East Coast and I can't, I don't know how I ever lived there.

Speaker 1 I feel the same way. My parents recently have been like, Alex, shut the fuck up.
You literally grew up in Pennsylvania. You went to school in Boston.
You lived in New York. Yeah.
Why are you cold?

Speaker 1 It's like 60-something degrees. I'm like, I need a, I need like a parka.

Speaker 2 I think it changes your body to live here. I don't think it's our fault.
I think that you just do become more of a wimp.

Speaker 1 I agree, but like, we're so fortunate to have this weather. Like, I want to stay in it forever.
Yeah. And then the least LA thing about you.

Speaker 2 Um, I don't do yoga.

Speaker 2 I try, I've tried, I'll try again. I just can't.
People are like, oh my God, the yoga.

Speaker 2 I don't know why I'm making impressions of my friends, making them sound like ding-dongs, but like, yeah, I can't do it. I don't know.
I don't know. It's so slow.

Speaker 1 And it's too slow. I also can't do it.
I don't also do hikes as often as I probably should whenever it's like hiking. But yoga, I'm the same way.
I'm like, and hot yoga. Yeah.
Truly fuck off. Right.

Speaker 1 Okay. When you aren't working, what is your favorite way to spend an off day?

Speaker 2 Well, I

Speaker 2 really have enjoyed, because I worked for a big chunk of the year and I'm, I'm in kind of a newish house that I haven't like gotten, I haven't gotten to spend a lot of time there. I really love

Speaker 2 doing very little. And my favorite thing about my house is I put, cause the, I put the coffee machine where the bedrooms are on the bedroom level.

Speaker 2 So I get up, I get out of bed, I go boop to the coffee maker, I get back in bed, and I do like every New York Times puzzle. I'll read, I'll like, I just, the luxury of not having a 5 a.m.

Speaker 2 call time is just really a wonderful

Speaker 1 you saying that just made me realize like we're all doing it wrong. It's like, why is my coffee machine on a floor? We obviously you played historically like a character that was obsessed with coffee.

Speaker 1 What is your coffee order?

Speaker 2 It's well, it's gotten it's it's pretty it can be anything. First of all, I'll drink coffee from the gas station.
I don't care.

Speaker 2 And and also I'll have like really coffee with like a lot of you know footnotes on it. Like you and also, but the thing that I do around holiday time, so the coffee is just coffee.

Speaker 2 I like this vanilla creamer. And then I've started being this person, which is, I have whipped cream in a can and I put whipped cream on top of my coffee and cinnamon.

Speaker 2 It's the best thing you've ever had. And I, the whipped cream was just like for holidays.
I was like, certainly no one can just have whipped cream on their coffee. That's just decadent.

Speaker 2 And then I just kept it from Christmas. It's so good.

Speaker 1 No, every time my husband sees me, he's like, you're making a milkshake. That's not a coffee.
And I'm like, shut up. Watch yourself.
I'm having a nice morning. Yeah.
And he just drinks it black.

Speaker 1 And I'm like, you're insane. Okay, wait.

Speaker 2 So then was that like a huge part that you just like randomly brought to Lorelai like did you or did was that already written as the character it was all written it was all there the coffees I mean it's in the first episode right she goes and he's you know demands more coffee and he's like you've had enough no that was just there and um you know like it was one of the many kind of serendipitous aspects of that part and that time and that character is like we just shared a lot of traits.

Speaker 1 Okay, I'm going to move my coffee machine upstairs. I don't know how I'm doing it, it, but I'm doing it.

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Speaker 1 Before your acting career took off, you worked a lot of different jobs. Can you share some of your favorite ones?

Speaker 2 I mean, none of them. We were all.
They were all on the, you know, it's hard to do

Speaker 2 something in service of the thing you want to do, but you're not there yet.

Speaker 2 But I didn't, I didn't hate being a waitress. I

Speaker 2 liked the, I like anything where you're moving and the time goes by really quickly.

Speaker 2 I liked being an apprentice at Summerstock, even though like during the day we had to like clean the bathrooms and paint the fence and stuff, work the box office.

Speaker 2 But that was just like we were all kind of in it together. And it was like a fun community.

Speaker 2 I liked being a tutor. I was a tutor for the SATs and stuff.
Oh my God. Yeah.

Speaker 1 Wait, that's a flex. Wait, no, Lauren, that's like,

Speaker 2 whoa. It was a little bit, sure.
I mean, Really, the reason I got the job is because I had a car in New York City. And they were like, oh, we'll send her to Far Rockaway or whatever.

Speaker 2 But I like working with kids, and we weren't even that far apart in age. I was like right out of grad school, and I'm working with like high school kids.
So, so they were all kind of okay.

Speaker 2 I worked retail, I worked at Barney's. Oh, you did it all? Yeah.

Speaker 1 Um, okay, let's talk about Gilmore Girls.

Speaker 2 Okay,

Speaker 1 I'm the biggest fan. Like, I feel like

Speaker 1 I go back and forth. It depends.
Usually, time of year, I'm like, it just is end of September. It's about to be October.
Boom, hit it again.

Speaker 1 And I just saw that according to Netflix, people spent 500 million hours watching the show in 2023. Like, I'm like, oh, I'm 100 million of those hours.

Speaker 1 How does it feel to know that this show is still just so loved?

Speaker 2 It feels really good. And, and also, it's hard to, it's hard to comprehend.
It's like,

Speaker 2 I feel really lucky. I feel like

Speaker 2 honored. And

Speaker 2 it's just kind of crazy. I don't, because where does it go from here? Like, how many generations, you know?

Speaker 1 I feel like though it will have, like, it has this lasting power because the themes are so relatable.

Speaker 2 Yeah.

Speaker 1 And the world that

Speaker 1 was built is so genuine and safe feeling, which I think like depending on what's going on in the world, like for me, like when I need a show that's going to make me feel good, I'm turning it on.

Speaker 1 And I think especially in the next couple of years, people will be like, replay, replay, go back to episode one. Like I, to me, that may be like everyone has a different experience with it.

Speaker 1 But like, why do you think it resonates with so many people?

Speaker 2 Everything you just said, I think it's a safe place to visit. And,

Speaker 2 you know, it's aspirational without being

Speaker 2 saccharin. I mean, this mother-daughter relationship's really fun and positive, but it has its bumps on the road.
But I do think it's the writing as well, which is kind of meets you.

Speaker 2 Sorry, meets you wherever you are. If you're a young person, you might miss some of the references and get some of the wit of it kind of as you get older.

Speaker 2 But I think there's a, it's almost to me, and this is what it was like performing it, it has a musicality to it.

Speaker 2 It's, it's almost theater in a way, I feel like, how densely packed the dialogue is, but how kind of it takes you along like a song does, you know?

Speaker 2 And so I think it's, it's something in your brain that like playing a song again, like you can kind of listen to it again.

Speaker 1 That's such an interesting way. Did it feel like that when you were It's like its own world, essentially, of what you guys have created.

Speaker 1 Can you explain the moment to me that you realized, holy shit, this show is a hit?

Speaker 2 There was no moment because it it was a very slow burn and continues to be. Like, like, you know, I remember driving, I guess my window was down or something.

Speaker 2 I was at a stoplight and like a more trucky driver guy was like, go more girls. And I was like,

Speaker 2 unlikely, sir. You're an unlikely, but I love it.
And so it, there, it was a really slow burn.

Speaker 1 That is the best where you're like, not the demographic I thought we were a hit for.

Speaker 2 You can't believe how many men are like, I know it's, you know, it's not for me or it's not designed for me. And I'm like, it is for you.
You should start a support group. Like, you know, there's a

Speaker 1 when you got the script initially, what was your first impression, like now in hindsight, of Lorelai? Like in that moment, do you remember?

Speaker 2 I was really struck by the sense of humor in

Speaker 2 the writing and that it was, because you have to remember, this was a, we now have

Speaker 2 many more dramedies than we did then. And I don't even know.

Speaker 2 And even when the show started picking up steam and getting submitted for things, there was always a discussion every time of do we submit it in comedy or do we submit it in drama?

Speaker 2 It doesn't really, it is its own kind of thing. And, but it's that tone that I love the most.
And it did not occur to me,

Speaker 2 although it occurred to many other people in my work life, that she was a mom.

Speaker 2 Like, that wasn't the thing that struck me that, because a lot of people then, I was 30, I turned 32 on the pilot, I think, or right before. And people were like, don't play a mom.

Speaker 2 That's the end of your career. Like, you should, you know, play whatever girlfriend, you know, until you can't do that anymore or whatever.
You know, that was more like play the.

Speaker 2 play the girlfriend. And I was like, oh, I don't think of this.

Speaker 2 Mom is not, mom can be so many things, you know, and I just really, I recognized the language, like, like it was somebody speaking to me. I was like, I know that person.

Speaker 1 Well, I love how you brought it to life, though, because even you saying that, you're right. I guess someone could read on a page and be like, Lorelai is a mom.

Speaker 1 But I'm like, the way that she had this youthfulness about her, not even saying, yes, like you're young as a woman at this point and still, but it's like the energy you were bringing and her independence and her own storylines were so

Speaker 1 she was an individual and she was a mother at the same time. And I think you brought that to life.

Speaker 1 And it was very inspiring as a woman to watch that character because her life didn't just revolve around Rory, even though it revolved around Rory.

Speaker 1 And it felt very refreshing to see a single mother who had her own life and her career and her struggles. Like it, I loved it.

Speaker 1 Like I loved watching two women of different ages work together to this like common goal of trying to find happiness with each other and individually.

Speaker 2 I loved it too. And I think the aspect, because you could have just stopped at the premise being, oh, she had her as a teenager, but it was also

Speaker 2 therefore allowed for them to have a more truly pure relationship, except for when, you know, somebody needed to to put their foot down. And we did it for each other in a way.

Speaker 2 And you buy it, I think, because that's the whole thing of the show. They're friends who are also mother and daughter.
They're mother and daughter who are also friends. And it's beautiful.
Yeah.

Speaker 1 In what ways did you relate to Lorelai? And like, how does that work in a script where you're slowly learning more about the character and you're learning about yourself?

Speaker 1 Like, what was the through line for you?

Speaker 2 I'm trying to think now. There was one in particular in the maybe first or second season where I was like, are they, are they just like stealing from my life? Like, and it was probably in,

Speaker 2 I mean, of course, there are so, besides, I was not a mom, but many parallels of like

Speaker 2 dating,

Speaker 2 um,

Speaker 2 career, you know, setbacks, dealing with parents. I mean, it's just all relatable.
Um,

Speaker 2 it is the wonderful evolution in television where the more the writer gets to know you. I mean, you're always playing.

Speaker 2 Hopefully, the best thing you can get in, especially a TV show that's going to go on, is you want to be the voice of the creator of the show. You want to be that character who,

Speaker 2 you know, is them speaking through you, kind of. That's where you get the most juicy kind of material.

Speaker 2 But also as they get to know you, they start writing for you even more. And that's really fun.

Speaker 1 Fun and scary, where you're like, wait, no, you just heard me gossiping over here. How is that in the script this week? Get away from me.
I've like sat with actors sometimes.

Speaker 1 We're like, I had to like stop talking about my personal life because it's in the script. And I'm like, no.

Speaker 2 You always hear that about like sex in the city and friends and stuff. Yeah, I felt that less on Parenthood, where which I loved that character and I loved that show too.

Speaker 2 But I would get frustrated on her behalf sometimes. I'd be like, what? Can't she not have a win? Like, what, I mean, she did have wins and

Speaker 2 had, you know, such a beautiful relationship to her. that family too.

Speaker 1 Sarah Braverman.

Speaker 2 Sarah Braverman. Come on, Sarah.

Speaker 1 No, Sarah needed more wins than Lorelai. Yes.
Right.

Speaker 2 Different. Different.

Speaker 1 Okay. What was it like the first time that you met Alexis a.k.
Rory Gilmore?

Speaker 2 Well,

Speaker 2 it was literally on our way to the table read because they had waited for me because I was on another show. So by the time they cast me, they were ready to go, ready to shoot.

Speaker 2 And we went to Canada and I met Alexis in the lobby of the, of the, of the hotel. And we just always really got along.

Speaker 1 Oh my gosh. I was really lucky.
That is kind of incredible and also hilarious of like this

Speaker 1 relationship that we all feel like we grew up with whether people wished they had that relationship with their mom or they find similarities or differences and it was like such a heartstring puller then it's like you're like oh we quickly met and then we got off to the races it worked what do you remember of like those first few scenes shooting with alexis because like did you feel the immediate chemistry were you guys trying to figure out your vibe together no i mean i i think we did just feel the immediate chemistry You know, we are very different energies.

Speaker 2 She is a shyer, quieter person, which is perfect because I think if you had two loud me's, you'd not have a good balance. And I just really liked her and I, she just had like a lot of natural ability.

Speaker 1 Okay, I'm going to ask you some rapid-fire Gilmore Girl questions. Stars Hollow is so iconic, obviously.
What was your favorite place there?

Speaker 2 Um,

Speaker 2 not

Speaker 2 the town hall because it was so hot in there always. And it was like 50 people.
Um, you know, Luke's was always fun. The scenes in there were always fun.
Um,

Speaker 2 it always just had a lot of like energy. I used to get phone calls from like my cousins who'd be like, how many times are you going around the gazebo?

Speaker 2 Like you've been like, we would just walk around the gazebo a million times. So, you know, you just get such a sense memory of all these places.

Speaker 2 My house was always fun and the kitchen was always, we had good scenes in the kitchen.

Speaker 2 It tended to be you know in the house where like we'd have some good watching tv sitting on the couch with giant cheese puffs in front of us so the best they were all they were all really cozy damn town hall i'm damn yeah um okay which castmate is most like their character in real life um kelly well no

Speaker 2 gosh

Speaker 2 everybody is and isn't you know um

Speaker 2 like

Speaker 2 kelly has that part of her okay but she's warm. She's, she's, you know, regal, but way warmer than Emily, who does, who had warmth in there.
Yes.

Speaker 1 Okay, what Lorelai line is most often quoted back to you?

Speaker 2 I mean, oi with the poodles already, I guess.

Speaker 1 That's good. That's good.
Okay, Lorelai has some amazing outfits. Did you ever use your own clothes from your own closet?

Speaker 2 I think I did.

Speaker 2 I think that that everybody loves an Irish Girl t-shirt that was my introduction to to instagram yeah guys i haven't even been on it a year yet really was really waiting to just make sure it was gonna stick um i think that was mine and occasionally

Speaker 2 but you know you're going to work at five in the morning and like so i wasn't i wasn't uh bringing in anything good also like my clothes are not her clothes were more fun than so my clothes are not fun so fun okay what storyline was a little hard for you to get behind there's a year when alexis and i are in a fight roy and Lorelei are in a fight for a long time.

Speaker 2 And we would talk about it, and Amy was like, you know, you can't do a show for this long and not have conflict. But it, I forget even what the conflict was, but it went on for a while.

Speaker 2 And that's the one that I would hear from people that they didn't, they didn't like that. I agree.
Yeah.

Speaker 1 Which of Rory's boyfriends do you think was the best fit for her in the long run?

Speaker 2 You know, you can't get me.

Speaker 2 I won't be gotten here or anywhere else. I'll never say they were all a good fit for her at the time because they were a learning experience.

Speaker 1 Oh my God, you're so

Speaker 1 that's the right answer. Oh, you're right.

Speaker 2 You're even the frogs. You know, you're

Speaker 1 the frogs.

Speaker 1 Okay, which of Lorelai's partners did you like the best?

Speaker 2 I mean, Luke is the right answer for sure.

Speaker 1 Yeah, Luke. Yep.

Speaker 1 Okay, you previously said you did not date Scott Patterson, obviously, who plays Luke in the show, but you did date a couple of the other guys on the set of Gilmore girls.

Speaker 1 I know you're not going to tell me. Can I ask though, was it anyone that Lorelai ever dated?

Speaker 2 Yes.

Speaker 2 And dating is a real big word for

Speaker 2 some of the experiences.

Speaker 2 But you know, you're there 14, 15 hours. Who else are you going to meet?

Speaker 1 No, are you kidding me? I love that for you.

Speaker 1 Okay. Quickly want to go through some memorable scenes.
Can you tell I'm a fan? I'm like, hold on. I hope I remember that.
I'm like, wait, just one more time. No, actually, it's good if you don't.

Speaker 1 Like, let's get through it. Okay.
I'm going to give you a moment. Tell me what you remember, any behind the scenes, how you felt, whatever it was.
Okay.

Speaker 1 When Lorelai and Rory get hit on by the same guy at Luke's Diner, first scene of the pilot.

Speaker 2 Well, that really was the scene that was the hook of the show. Weirdly, or

Speaker 2 I had never seen that scene before in anything. And I thought like, that's really creative.
That's a great way to introduce that these are, you know, people who are close in age. And

Speaker 2 I did sort of feel like that's the,

Speaker 2 I can still, I can remember it really well.

Speaker 2 You know, it was one of the first scenes, if not the first scene we shot at Luke's Diner. I don't know.
I felt like that that was a really fun, the kid playing the kid was really cute.

Speaker 2 And Alexis was like, are you my new daddy? Like, speaking of call her daddy.

Speaker 2 And I don't know. It was just really fun.
It was like the hook of the show.

Speaker 1 It was amazing. Okay, when Lorelai and Luke finally have their first kiss.

Speaker 2 When was that?

Speaker 1 You guys are like on the porch.

Speaker 1 i think it was this season four finale you guys are on the porch kiss that early season four you like pull away you're like what are you doing and he's like would you just shut up for a second and then he goes in that's so hot i know it was oh it was so hot i like re with like rewind rewind

Speaker 1 because like the build i love how you say that soon i'm like i was waiting that long day one day one okay when lorelai starts dating rory's teacher well i think we've learned both from lorelai and sarah braverman don't date your teacher's teacher's kid.

Speaker 1 I, when I was getting married,

Speaker 1 no, I forgot about that. I was like, Sarah and Lorelai both dated.
Doesn't work out. No, it does not.
Okay, when Rory slept with Dean after he got married. She did? Yeah.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1 No, no, I remember.

Speaker 2 I remember, I remember, I remember. Oh, I mean, there are these things where,

Speaker 2 yeah, that was bad.

Speaker 2 That was very out of character for her.

Speaker 1 It was, but sometimes we had to switch it up. Okay, when weekly dinners with Richard and Emily Emily were the price for Rory going to Chilton.

Speaker 2 I mean, it's tough because I don't want to wreck anything for anybody. I loved those scenes.

Speaker 2 They were a real bear to shoot because somebody's eating here and somebody's eating there, somebody's eating here. You got to move the camera all the way around.

Speaker 2 And so they would take a really long time and you'd sit in front of that like fake fancy food. And, you know, but we, we would just, that was also

Speaker 2 so key to the show.

Speaker 2 So, you know, so we, we loved them while they took a long time.

Speaker 1 I didn't even think about that as like when you're in production, like you're like, I'm, which I guess could then kind of, in a positive way, like add to your annoyance. Exactly.

Speaker 1 Shut up, mom. And you're like getting annoyed.

Speaker 2 Well, and it, and it does, it's, it's an interesting exercise in continuity because as, you know, the hours tick by,

Speaker 2 what are, what's your emotional level? Where did your elbow go?

Speaker 2 Like, so there was a kind of, you're right, like constraint in there or something that like you had to keep doing this the same exact way and yet keep it fresh.

Speaker 1 Which is kind of indicative of how you were actually supposed to be feeling while you're shooting that scene. So, okay, there we go.

Speaker 2 I used it in my work.

Speaker 1 Okay, you talked about how you did not realize that the season seven finally was the end of Gilmore Girls.

Speaker 1 And I cannot imagine emotionally just being like, see you guys tomorrow or see you guys next season. And then it ends.
Like, what was that last day like for you?

Speaker 2 It was really emotional.

Speaker 2 We had our wonderful director, Lee, Shalit Shemmel, who was like, guys, you know, I'm going to do a shot at the end that mimics the shot that is in the pilot that sort of pulls away from Luke's and we're like there in the diner.

Speaker 2 She's like, in case this is it. And the whole year had been really emotional.
We were very lost without as good as writers we had. We were kind of lost without Amy and Dan.

Speaker 2 The show just didn't feel the same. We couldn't even, it was like, would it, should we try to stay? Should we try to keep going? Like it, you know, it's not up to the actors.

Speaker 2 So there were many, many, many conversations and it just did feel like

Speaker 2 you want to be able to say goodbye to something and we didn't get to do that.

Speaker 1 Obviously, the show came back for a revival, but like when you did walk away, how did you feel knowing like, wow, the Gilmore Girls era of my life is over?

Speaker 2 Well, it didn't happen until a few weeks later. There were still conversations going on.
Who knows how that decision ultimately got made?

Speaker 2 But I was at a restaurant and the waiter came over and was like, your agent's on the phone, which was very dramatic and glamorous. I was like, oh, excuse me, my agent's on the phone.

Speaker 2 And I went and picked up the phone at the bar because I guess I don't know what was going on with cell phones then and or why he knew where I was or like why I don't know any of it but and he said it's over and I didn't know how to feel and I didn't know you know later different

Speaker 2 a couple different cast members said you know you didn't call me and I was like oh god I didn't wouldn't even have thought it was my job or my

Speaker 1 place to call anybody and tell them no and that's what I think is like nice though to hear because I think people would be like what do you mean you didn't know and you're like no I'm literally sitting there and I didn't know um so you guys come back for the revival What was it like playing Lorelai again?

Speaker 2 It just made me so happy. It's so,

Speaker 2 God, it just made me so happy. I, I,

Speaker 2 I was like on a little cloud the entire time.

Speaker 2 I, because it was such an opportunity that you don't get very often to do a not a do-over, but like get to return to something with people feeling enthusiastic and you know it's gonna

Speaker 2 be completed. You know, it's not a pilot.
Um, it was just an incredible opportunity, and

Speaker 2 I don't know, everything about it was just, it was the most probably fun I've had at work.

Speaker 1 The show ended on a bit of a cliffhanger.

Speaker 1 Do you, uh, the bigot? I was like, wait, what? How are we, wait, do you think that it could ever come back again?

Speaker 2 I think this is just my theory. I do not know.
I'm, this is how much I'm superstitious or in love with the show. is like, there are questions I could probably get an answer to that I have never asked.

Speaker 2 Like, I never asked because Amy said from the beginning she knew what the final four words of the show were. She knew from the beginning.
And she didn't get to do it in season seven.

Speaker 2 It had to wait until, like, she knew that was the, the, the, those are the final words. I never asked her.
I didn't even ask her when we were shooting that episode of the, of the show.

Speaker 2 I don't think I asked her until, because it wasn't in the script.

Speaker 1 Because it's what, mom, I'm pregnant?

Speaker 2 Mom, what I'm pregnant. And she didn't put it in the script because she didn't want it to leak.
So she just told us when we kind of got there.

Speaker 2 And

Speaker 2 so

Speaker 2 it did feel like a cliffhanger. I think it was.
I think maybe the thought was we would go into another season then.

Speaker 2 But I have never asked and I don't know.

Speaker 1 Why don't you ask?

Speaker 2 Because I don't know. Because I'm scared.
I don't know. I, because, because I guess I feel like if that didn't happen, was that like, I don't know.
Like, I don't want to know.

Speaker 2 I don't want to see behind the curtain of like, did they not feel like doing it? Did Netflix not feel like doing it? Did, did, were they waiting? What were they waiting on?

Speaker 2 There's just a little bit of movie magic that I would like to maintain. That's fair.
Yeah.

Speaker 1 Do you have your theories of who you think the father is? I do. Are you going to tell me?

Speaker 2 Well, there are two theories, and either one, I'll just speak as a producer type now,

Speaker 2 could send the story forward. It could be the Wookiee who she fools around with

Speaker 2 in that storyline. It could be Logan.

Speaker 2 And either way, it's juicy.

Speaker 1 Either way, it's juicy. Yeah.
That's fair.

Speaker 2 It could be some one night stand, which then, what does that do to her relationship to the guy she's maybe, you know, was going to go down that path? Or it could be

Speaker 1 could be him this is good tea um okay you obviously also starred in another one of my favorite shows parenthood i can't tell you how many times i have re-watched that show really oh my because that's what i was gonna wonder is is that a re-watch in the way it's not in the same way but i don't hear that as much the people re-watch it different i have to really want a show

Speaker 1 and i

Speaker 1 that I want to like dive into and like feel something. Yes.
Like I can't do that when I'm like stressed with work and I'm like, all I'm like, Gilmore girls.

Speaker 1 When I go through it like every few years, yeah. My mom and I will be like, Are you starting it again? I'm starting it again.
You're starting it. Oh, well, then I'm going to start it again.

Speaker 1 You playing episode one tonight? Okay, I'm playing. And we like live on opposite sides of the country.
So I'm like, go, go. And then we like gush over it and it's the best.

Speaker 1 How would you describe your relationship with that cast?

Speaker 2 Well, I mean,

Speaker 2 varied.

Speaker 2 Oh, right yeah yeah um and um

Speaker 2 but predominantly uh like just it was

Speaker 2 it was the most easy filming experience which

Speaker 2 you bond to some degree no matter what

Speaker 2 but when something's easy and and

Speaker 2 and you just have a lot of time to just sit around and chit-chat, like that's just so fun.

Speaker 2 How lucky were we that we got to, you know, make this show where it was a very different way of working, and it was a much looser kind of

Speaker 2 way of working. And they each have their merit and they each like belong to the kind of show it is.
And I just love, I just love everybody truly. And, and, you know, in particular,

Speaker 2 had the fortune of May and Miles being

Speaker 2 a child of mine adjacent, like there are incredible friendships that have that have lasted. And, you know,

Speaker 2 my friendship with Dax, I don't see him as much, but like, there's just some really wonderful people. Every scene was so much fun to do.

Speaker 2 It was just really fun.

Speaker 1 I was recently with Dax and Kristen, and I was like, Dax, can you just give me like 20 minutes? Just give me 20 minutes. And Kristen, I apologize.
We need to talk about parenthood.

Speaker 2 He's like, ask me anything. Let's go.

Speaker 1 I'm going one by one. I'm like, tell me this.
Tell me, because it's as a fan, that

Speaker 1 world that was built of that family and the chaos and the beauty and the pain and the fun, like you can't help but feel.

Speaker 1 one, parts of yourself and your own family in it. Yeah.
Or two, it really does kind of take you out of your own bullshit that you're dealing with.

Speaker 1 And you're like, oh, oh, this family is fucking insane. I love it.
Like, but you also want to be a part of it.

Speaker 2 And there was such pride, I'll say, amongst the cast. Everybody in their own family unit really had their own thing and their own kind of language, their own way they did things.

Speaker 2 And, and, you know, so it was easy when we would all get together to have these sort of

Speaker 2 organic conflicts and, you know, ribbing and kind of fun. And like, it's a really good group.

Speaker 1 Okay, I know this is a little broad, but if you have anything that comes to mind, like looking back at your time on that show, is there any memory or story or moment you can share with us that really sticks with you to this day when you like think back at that time of your life?

Speaker 2 I mean,

Speaker 2 there is just a strange thing Mae Whitman and I have, which is like

Speaker 2 it's like we

Speaker 2 are speaking some twin language. And there were many, many scenes with her, almost to the degree that I was like, this must stop.
We cannot continue. I'd have a tiny little maybe tear in my eye.

Speaker 2 She'd be like, nope, nope, don't do it. Don't do it.
And like, you know, I think of like when we're singing, playing guitar and stuff.

Speaker 2 And like, you know, she improvised a line one day where she said, she said, you're my hero.

Speaker 2 And I'm pretty sure she just like came up with that. And like, it's just a weirdo kind of connection that, you know, we're having right now.
Oh my God, literally, we're both about to start crying.

Speaker 1 If you're listening to this, we both have tears in our eyes. Oh my god.
I was wondering, like, how much

Speaker 1 in Parenthood and in Gilmore Girls are you kind of improvising certain things?

Speaker 2 Gilmore Girls never. Okay.
And Parenthood sometimes. And, you know,

Speaker 2 but, and both just have their merit.

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Speaker 1 In your early career, the press would criticize you for being single and not dating.

Speaker 1 How did those comments back then affect you? Oh, God.

Speaker 2 I mean,

Speaker 2 always

Speaker 2 feels weird to be asked. And many times I was lying because it's such a strange

Speaker 2 thing to talk about, which I still mainly don't talk about, like something that

Speaker 2 you don't know what's going to happen. I think some people are built for it.
Some people don't find it personally vulnerable.

Speaker 2 And it was also, I have to say, it, it wasn't my focus at the time. So it felt strange.
Like I'm a working person and I'm, I'm in a career and like,

Speaker 2 I don't know, this was odd.

Speaker 1 Would you consider yourself a very private person or would you just consider the career that you're in too public?

Speaker 2 Yeah.

Speaker 1 Yeah.

Speaker 2 I think a little bit of both. I also think I have led in some ways,

Speaker 2 you know, an unconventional, like

Speaker 2 certain,

Speaker 2 there is an age at which most a lot of people do the same thing there is an age at which a lot of people get married there's an age at which a lot of people have kids and then there are there are people who just are not on that timing and so

Speaker 2 i don't know whether to be the spokesperson for that or like apologetic about that or like i don't know no i could see that being annoying because what i

Speaker 1 what I appreciate about what I do for a living is I get to sit down with like mostly incredible women. I mostly interview women.
And

Speaker 1 something that I talked about recently with, I forget who I was just talking about this with, which was like timelines and how we all have something in our head growing up of like, this is my story.

Speaker 1 Like I, and I was always the person that was like, I'm never getting married. I'm never getting married.

Speaker 1 When I met my now husband, who I just recently got married to, I literally said to him, we will never get married. And he was like, okay, like chill.
And I was like, it's, you can't change my mind.

Speaker 1 I just want to be really upfront about it.

Speaker 2 And what changed your mind?

Speaker 1 I think

Speaker 1 because I recognized that when I knew he earnestly meant it, that he would be with me for the rest of his life without us signing a legal document, without me having a physical ring on my finger, all of that.

Speaker 1 And it was months and months of him never bringing it up.

Speaker 1 And he would even, he would even say, like, my partner, like this, that I saw the level of respect that he had for what I had initially wanted.

Speaker 1 And then I went into therapy and reevaluated why was I so

Speaker 1 intent on not wanting to get married. And I would consider myself a very like strong, independent woman who I've always been career-driven.

Speaker 1 Like I'm going to go for this until the end and I'm going to still be working then until someone rips me out of the chair.

Speaker 1 And I was always worried that, especially as a woman, it would threaten a man. And I didn't think I could do both.
And when I started to have a partner that allowed me to do that, I was like, fuck.

Speaker 2 I think it's interesting because I did not have a timeline.

Speaker 2 And until like the, the, I, I, I just didn't have a timeline.

Speaker 2 I, I think a little bit growing up the way I did with my mom, not that mothers give this necessarily to people, but now I'm like obsessed with timeline in a, in a way that I think is really positive because I'm now at an age where I want to be planning what else I would like in my life.

Speaker 2 I want to be thinking really actively about that. I think I was mainly in relationships where it didn't really occur to me to say, this is what I would like.
This is not what I would not like.

Speaker 2 I thought that happened just organically and it doesn't always. And, and, like, like, I love all the matchmaking shows, um,

Speaker 2 hard, hard left. Um,

Speaker 2 And I love them because

Speaker 2 there's like, it's, you know, we're all working within a system, right?

Speaker 2 Like, we're all learning the way a podcast works, the way a TV show works, or what we want to do next, or how you create a show, or all that kind of stuff.

Speaker 2 Everything has a system, including being a person on this planet, including being in a relationship, including being in a career and juggling that with like what else you want to do.

Speaker 2 And I don't know why, some fundamental, like

Speaker 2 being, I don't know it whether it was I just didn't think that you had to say those things out loud and I think like you're describing the process of the two of you kind of what you did in that in your relationship is you met over a shared value And you didn't have it at first, maybe, or you had a different thought about it.

Speaker 2 And then you grew and changed. And I'm sure he did too.
And that's relationship.

Speaker 2 And that's the one thing you cannot predict when you go in is are we going to grow and change and have values that keep aligning? And

Speaker 2 the only way you have that is by talking about it, being open about it, being honest about it. And,

Speaker 2 you know, I think it's why, again, hard left. Why so many housewife shows.
I love this.

Speaker 1 I love it.

Speaker 2 Why you see these things, you know, you're watching in sort of real-ish time or whatever degree we believe it's real.

Speaker 2 You can see things crumble when people did, people change, people change, and you don't know, and you don't know.

Speaker 1 No, that's such a good point of like, when people are so perplexed by like, well, how did it not work? And how, and it's like, oh,

Speaker 1 I think it makes complete sense every time something doesn't work because either one person's not growing with the other or they're both growing in complete opposite directions or they're the exact same and life happens and you can't stay the same if you're not like, you know what I mean?

Speaker 1 It's like a pretty sad feeling when things end. But in my opinion, when I look back at previous relationships I had, I was never asking the questions.

Speaker 1 And then this was the first relationship I actually was like, oh, I think I'm going to be honest with him and see if he can handle it.

Speaker 1 Because the men I had dated prior to him, I knew I could never say that

Speaker 1 because it wouldn't have worked for the men that I was dating. And I think I'd be curious to know from you, like,

Speaker 1 I struggled a lot of being a woman with a career and really loving my career and being confident in it.

Speaker 1 And I know a lot of women listening experience this, like men can be terrified and emasculated and feel like, how can I handle such like a competent, confident, competent woman?

Speaker 1 Like how, how has that impacted you?

Speaker 2 I just, I, I tended in the earlier days to,

Speaker 2 I

Speaker 2 dated

Speaker 2 maybe

Speaker 2 guys who were great, but who weren't as in their careers and I would feel apologetic about that more than I don't know so I would maybe tamp my thing down a little bit and not

Speaker 2 try to

Speaker 2 not compete but like not I didn't want them to feel bad kind of thing it is it's really tricky um

Speaker 2 but I will say you know like I think I was supportive to one of my sisters when, you know, she was dating her now husband. I was like, ask for this, sat and this.
And it's like the TV show thing.

Speaker 2 If we all knew how to do it perfectly, every relationship would be perfect because there's also giving something time to grow. And there's also, you know,

Speaker 2 not going in guns blazing like, this is what I want when you haven't established like a foundation yet.

Speaker 1 But that's so relatable, what you just said of like

Speaker 1 trying

Speaker 1 to not intimidate the person you're with. And I do feel, and I know this is like not every statement is just like 100%,

Speaker 1 but I

Speaker 1 bet it's rare that a man is like trying to dim his success to make the woman feel comfortable that she's maybe not as high up in her career of who they're together.

Speaker 1 But you sitting here, I've done it too, where like I'm having such success. And the guy that I'm dating, I'm like, oh my God, he's going to actually like.

Speaker 1 He's not going to be able to, you just feel it. You know their threshold and you have to dim yourself down.
And you don't come home and say, Holy shit, I had the best fucking day at work.

Speaker 1 Cause they're like standing there, like,

Speaker 1 whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Why are you shining so bright? And I'm over here feeling like a piece of shit.

Speaker 2 Which is another thing that I wouldn't have thought. Like, I don't feel that way.
In like, I'm happy for my friend's success and happy for my partner's success. And, and, but I get it.
I get it.

Speaker 2 If I get it, especially in your 20s and 30s and maybe even 40s, when like you're still trying to get to the thing you wanted to get.

Speaker 2 And it's hard when, you you know, you see somebody else shoot ahead and, and you, it's not that you don't want it for them. You want it for yourself.

Speaker 2 And now I just, I really want to have a good day at work. I'm like not.
I don't have the, whatever that drive was that I really, really, that

Speaker 2 put me in all those jobs. And I didn't care.
I was going to kill myself at work until I could get to an audition, until I could get something.

Speaker 2 Like, I think it's age appropriate not to have that as much anymore. I, I I got beyond my wildest dreams.
Isn't that incredible that I can say that?

Speaker 2 I just thought I was going to be like in a regional theater company in Washington, D.C., which still would be a dream. And I got this part that we're here talking about.

Speaker 2 Like, that is so moving to me that I just kind of want to just enjoy my days now, you know, of work. And now I'm, I'm more interested in the creative vision about

Speaker 2 something or like, you know, I

Speaker 2 want to direct my friend's book and turn it into a movie. Like it's just, I want to be in partnership that is in every way, that is

Speaker 2 fun.

Speaker 1 I think that's an incredible place to get to because I do think like that.

Speaker 1 In a lot of people, we all feel it where you're like, everyone's got that thing individually that you're like, if I get this,

Speaker 1 I know I worked so hard and I deserve it and I'm going to get it. And then once you get it, then you're like, okay, now what's next? And it's a beautiful thing to keep going.
And, but it's also,

Speaker 1 it's a lot because then once you get what you want, you got to move the needle. And do you ever feel like you're like,

Speaker 1 when you were in that kind of like race with yourself, did you ever feel like, shit, I need to

Speaker 1 not slow down, but did you ever feel like people were like, you did it, like you accomplished it?

Speaker 2 Like, no, I don't think anyone gives it, gives you that. I think you have to give it to yourself.
Like, I remember I was dating some actor and I was in a really busy time.

Speaker 2 It was maybe like second, third year of Gunwar Girls, where not only were the days really busy, but then weekends and doing talk shows or whatever else was going on at the time.

Speaker 2 And I was like, I just don't, I'm tired. I don't want to do it.
And, and, and his advice was interesting.

Speaker 2 And we were sort of peers. He was like, don't, you kind of have to ride this while it's happening.
You can't step off this train because it's hard to get back on. Like, go do the photo shoot.

Speaker 2 You don't feel like doing, you know, like, you, now, is that great advice? I don't know, but it, it, it was

Speaker 2 when something's going,

Speaker 2 you, that is an opportunity. It will come around again, probably,

Speaker 2 but

Speaker 2 it there it there are times when you're working harder than you want to. And then

Speaker 2 you, but it's like the relationship thing. You have to keep reevaluating.
Does this feel good? I have, my friend Jenny Han has this thing that I always forget what the third one is.

Speaker 2 It's basically like, am I doing this just for fun? Am I doing this as maybe an act of service or for, you know, as a some, somebody I want to help out? Is it worth it? And that can mean financially.

Speaker 2 That can mean it's going to help your career. That can mean, you know, but you don't have to just say yes

Speaker 2 endlessly, you know.

Speaker 1 When you're talking about like reevaluating things, like I agree. And I think that's great advice for people listening: of like, you always have to be like rechecking in with yourself.

Speaker 1 And if you are dating or you're in a relationship,

Speaker 1 what is something that you've realized that you're not willing to compromise on?

Speaker 2 I mean, so many things.

Speaker 2 It's, it, it is,

Speaker 2 first of all, I think in the beginning, something should be easy. It should not be,

Speaker 2 I don't know, they're going to call

Speaker 2 like any of that kind of gamesmanship.

Speaker 2 I think I have a great sense of how I connect to somebody

Speaker 2 physically, intellectually, humor. I really love a certain level of like

Speaker 2 back and forth banter. You know, I love like, I know that.
And I think the thing I know now better is also like, how are we going to live this life together?

Speaker 2 And it's interesting, all my friends my age,

Speaker 2 some are still married for a long time, some have been in the dating world.

Speaker 2 The people who are the happiest are doing what they want to do and being really clear upfront. Like, I, you know, I have a friend who's like, I don't really think I'm going to get married again.

Speaker 2 I'm, you know, I'm, and I, I just want to be having fun and out there. And so I just think, and that is a gift of age, if you let it be, which is you can just say what you would like.
And

Speaker 2 there's no amount of

Speaker 2 you can't love somebody into

Speaker 2 being who you want them to be or, you know, wanting the same things. And I think not to put women in a

Speaker 2 stereotype, but I think it's easy to be like, if I just dot dot dot, then he'll dot dot dot.

Speaker 2 And I

Speaker 2 don't think that works.

Speaker 1 It definitely doesn't.

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Speaker 1 We need your advice. People listening, we can use your wisdom.
I'm going to give you a scenario and you're going to tell me what advice you would give the person. Okay.

Speaker 1 What is your advice for someone who feels unfulfilled by their job and wants to make a change but is too nervous to start over?

Speaker 2 Well, is there something besides starting over that can give you fulfillment that is

Speaker 2 a project you have that is not dependent on outside validation? I really, as a writer, have gotten an incredible amount of satisfaction in just the practice of

Speaker 2 putting these books together.

Speaker 2 You get better the more you do something, no matter what, no matter what. Like you don't have to be, I just took up tennis this year.
I'm terrible, but. I practice and I get better.

Speaker 2 And that is such a basic thing that really, because of tennis, really became new to me. And the writing is that too.
I just get better with doing more. And so

Speaker 2 job, you're nine to five, or nobody works nine to five anymore, but

Speaker 2 your job is one piece of you. Can it, can it, can you give yourself something else so that, you know,

Speaker 2 I mean, it's hobbies, it's, you know, travel, it's reading, it's whatever else.

Speaker 1 It's great advice. What would you tell someone who is struggling to connect with their friends because they're all in different life phases?

Speaker 2 I really get that. It's, it, they, they will end.
Um, I, I

Speaker 2 talked, I've talked about it before when I finished Gilmore Girls and I was like, anybody, who's, who's up for dinner? No one.

Speaker 2 Everybody had children and while I was gone, like everybody was in a different life phase. That's what I mean.
I have often been out of that step.

Speaker 2 And I think one thing is you have to meet your friend where they are and like go over to the house and play with the toddler and like understand that you, you don't, you guys don't have the the same hours, but the kids eventually go to college.

Speaker 1 I know you're saying the kids eventually go to sleep. You're like, college.

Speaker 2 Those fuckers are gone now. Well, I have like all my, you know, when I get to go home, my high school girlfriends are like, their kids are gone now.

Speaker 2 And like, it's, it's almost like, it's one of the many, many things I loved about the Bridget Jones movie and books.

Speaker 2 But this most recent one is like, she's back in the dating scene because, you know, she, she, for happy and sad reasons can be. It's, it's always the same.
We're all, you know,

Speaker 2 it's like you keep meeting the same challenges

Speaker 2 in life.

Speaker 1 True. Okay, what would you say to someone who feels like they put all of their focus on their career and is now worried that they're falling behind in their dating life?

Speaker 2 I mean, there's really just no, the only falling behind is in your mind. You know, I used to, I skipped a grade when I was little and for a long time I was like, I have an extra year.

Speaker 2 There's no such thing. Like, I was like, I have an extra year before I'm the same age as people who are a year ahead of me.
Like, it, that's, there, there is only what you tell yourself.

Speaker 2 And, and, you know, if you've seen any Nancy Meyers movies, you know, that there's people come around at different ages, but it is hard when you're not with your peer group. Yeah.

Speaker 1 Can we talk about the essay that you wrote for Time magazine about aging? Yeah. And you talk about how you found the humor

Speaker 1 in aging as a woman, which I thought was such a unique, beautiful take that I loved reading.

Speaker 1 What inspired you to write a piece like that?

Speaker 2 I guess being asked about aging. Like, I'm, I,

Speaker 2 I was talking about this today with my, uh,

Speaker 2 with some people.

Speaker 2 You and I are having this experience. We are having this conversation.
We are different ages.

Speaker 2 Someday when you are my age and you are talking to someone who is now your age, you will not feel the

Speaker 2 as much. I think the younger person feels the difference more than the older person.
I am the same person.

Speaker 2 I think it's psychotic the number of years

Speaker 2 I have lived on this planet. I'm like, surely that's a miscount.
Surely that's wrong. It doesn't, it genuinely does not feel that way.
As opposed to when I was 30, I was like, I feel 30.

Speaker 2 Like, I've, I understood 40. This now is like,

Speaker 2 I just don't accept it. And, and that, that's funny.
And the stuff that, because mainly I'm just living the same life. There are some things where you go, oh,

Speaker 2 I fell and, you know, broke a thing and like the recovery took a little longer or whatever. So,

Speaker 2 but

Speaker 2 I am amazed at the people I know who, who are giving into a sense of

Speaker 2 sadness

Speaker 2 about

Speaker 2 getting older or not feeling the same way they did.

Speaker 2 I meet that by

Speaker 2 not in a brutal way, but like, I fight that. I fight the urge to be like, ugh, I just even don't even like when, you know,

Speaker 2 friends are like, oh, well, I'm so old. I can't remember that, you know, whatever.
Like, it's, I think it's just also, my mom passed at age 61. Like, I'm not that far away from that.

Speaker 2 Like, I don't want to be living in

Speaker 2 in

Speaker 1 worry. No, I completely agree with what you're saying.
And I had a conversation recently with

Speaker 1 Ellen Pompeo and she and I were talking a little bit about how women, obviously, like we're the ones that it's like, oh, she's, she's getting older. And it's, and then you hit 30 and it's like,

Speaker 2 oh.

Speaker 2 Right. Oh.
And you're like, what?

Speaker 1 Like, I've never felt better. And from what I'm taking from every woman I keep talking to, is holy shit, 40s are the best.
Yeah. Oh my god.

Speaker 1 And if you had told me that in 20, I would have been like, wait, 40s old. And what? But it's like

Speaker 1 every person I'm talking to, it feels like women are just getting better with age.

Speaker 1 And it's what society is freaking women out about, of like how you look, because, of course, that's the only thing they think that we care about is our fucking looks. And it's like,

Speaker 1 what do you think is the best part of getting older?

Speaker 2 I

Speaker 2 wrote this in another essay, which is, um,

Speaker 2 I

Speaker 2 know what I want and I'm grateful for what I have.

Speaker 2 That is the best thing about it to me. And I, and the fun, you can make it fun if you plan what's next.
Like,

Speaker 2 as much as you can, you think about so that it doesn't, because I think the, you know,

Speaker 2 I, I went to the theater on Sunday here in Los Angeles, which is unusual. And

Speaker 2 90% of the audience was older, like way, much, much older, which you don't see in LA. And I just found it fascinating.
Like,

Speaker 2 like,

Speaker 2 what is that going to be like?

Speaker 2 I like to think about that. I like to plan for that.
I like to imagine what kind of, that's a stylish lady in her perhaps 70s. Like,

Speaker 2 how do I want to approach that so that I'm not scared by it? I'm not freaked out by it.

Speaker 2 And I'm not depressed because it truly is all the things people say of, like, you should be so lucky to be in all those places. And yeah, and the how you look thing is like, I don't know.

Speaker 1 It's so tired.

Speaker 2 Yeah.

Speaker 1 Like, it's, how do you think men and women handle

Speaker 1 aging differently?

Speaker 2 I've actually heard from,

Speaker 2 I think it's a vulnerable thing for guys too. And there is like

Speaker 2 popular opinion would say they have it easier. But I think it's, it's, if you identified as a beauty, either man or woman, as a younger person, I think it's

Speaker 2 the loss might be greater. Like my mom was

Speaker 2 a stunningly beautiful person who literally turned heads on the street. I did not grow up with that.
I'm not saying whatever.

Speaker 2 I just didn't have that identity. That was not my thing.
So it's not still not my thing. Like it's not, I don't feel the loss of like

Speaker 2 that

Speaker 2 being treated that way. And even in relationship, I never like met someone across a crowded room.
I was friends with them or I worked with them or I, it was organic.

Speaker 2 Like it was just, I, you know, would fall for the person and they would fall for me. And so.

Speaker 2 I think that makes it a little bit easier.

Speaker 1 Yeah. Why I wanted to bring this whole conversation though up about aging and the different generations is obviously because of your new show.

Speaker 1 I think there's this like huge conversation, obviously, about like Gen Z and it's like an interesting,

Speaker 1 it's interesting. Like even just like us talking about you even saying like we're a different age, like you take on the Z-suite.
Like what drew you to this role? Because this is different.

Speaker 2 I'm so, it's different. That's the, that was one of the main things.
I like, I liked that this, first of all, it's a comedy. I really, this is how I would like to

Speaker 2 spend my days now. I feel that I cannot touch the beauty that is Gilmore Girls.
I really love that dramedy parenthood space.

Speaker 2 I did start in half hour, and it was so fun to just do something that was a little more big

Speaker 2 and

Speaker 2 look at

Speaker 2 female bosses because it's a trope of a kind and like that was there.

Speaker 2 But I was also like, this is so relatable to anybody when the thing you have worked for is taken away, whether it was your fault or somebody else is coming up behind you or like,

Speaker 2 you know,

Speaker 2 or somebody's better at it. That is just evolution.
That's just being a human on this planet. Like.

Speaker 2 Nothing lasts forever. And, and so,

Speaker 2 and then I love the showrunner. You know, know, now again, like I said, it's putting all the pieces together.
I'm not just responding to the part. I'm responding to what's this experience going to be?

Speaker 2 Do I get to have a say in creative conversation? And like, and also that it was, you know, we're the first scripted programming for to be original scripted programming. And I was like, that's fun.

Speaker 2 And I just want to say, probably the kids know, but people still say to me, oh, I can't have another subscription. It's free.
You just download it.

Speaker 2 You, you know, know put your email in if you want to save stuff, but it's so easy, the interface, and it's, and it's, it's very, um,

Speaker 2 it doesn't cost you anything.

Speaker 1 Um, I love that you're talking also about the character of like being good at something, but then questioning if you're good at it, because if you're getting replaced or what's happening, like that's like, again, a conversation that one, I love the point of a woman being at the top because we still don't see that that often still.

Speaker 1 How crazy. And two, though, like being pushed out in a moment where you're probably also feeling like you're at your best.

Speaker 1 Like, right when I feel like you're starting to hit your stride is when they want to then replace the women with a younger woman, which is such a crazy fucking concept because you're like, wait, no, I just had to get, wait, how am I already not in the conversation?

Speaker 2 It's it endlessly, and it's not just women, it's we are, we are, not to be real

Speaker 2 esoteric, we, we will be replaced. Yeah, you and I will not be here forever.

Speaker 1 Bye.

Speaker 2 And that is, that's how it goes. And so that's true in work, in life.
I remember I did a pilot that didn't get picked up.

Speaker 2 And one of the younger cast was like, she was like, so is this going to get picked up? And I was like, oh, I have no idea, you know, and she's like, what do you mean? They don't tell you.

Speaker 2 And I'm like, no, they don't know. Nobody knows.
And nobody tells me. And she's like, so you could see her like things.

Speaker 2 She was like, so this just keeps happening over and over where like you do something and then you see if it goes and then, you know, you don't know how that's going to turn out. And I was like, yeah.

Speaker 2 Like you don't, you don't get to a place where it's just a slam dunk in life, in, you know, relationship and work.

Speaker 1 What do you hope people take away from the show?

Speaker 2 Honestly, I just hope they have a good time. I mean, I've seen, it, it is truly makes fun of everybody.
No one is woke or doing a great job. That's to me a fun comedy if everyone's silly.

Speaker 2 And I think there's something there that we haven't, you know, that that does sort of, that is in the zeitgeist of like, do kids know, not kids, but I call them the kids on the show.

Speaker 2 I'm sure they're so irritated.

Speaker 2 I'm like, where are the kids? Are the kids coming to lunch?

Speaker 2 They're all like, you know, 29 years old.

Speaker 2 But so,

Speaker 2 you know, there, there's something there because

Speaker 2 it we're living in various kinds of times, but on the one hand, a really expressive time where, you know, people can bring themselves to work, at least they do here.

Speaker 2 And like, I, this character does not understand what language they're speaking. And I just think that's relatable.

Speaker 1 No, Lauren, thank you so much for coming on. This was a pleasure sitting down with you.
You're so incredible. You.

Speaker 1 Your life is so inspiring and everything you've done.

Speaker 1 And I feel like whenever I get to sit down with someone that I have admired and been inspired by and I get to watch and then I get to like get to know them as like a real human being, it is why I do my job.

Speaker 1 Like this is so fun for me. And I just thank you for taking the time because I know you're a busy woman.

Speaker 2 Thank you. And I love this conversation.
And I just loved being asked these questions and

Speaker 2 being included in this, whatever this journey is going to be for you. So congratulations and thank you for inviting me.

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