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We also wanted it to be, How does this fuck them up?
How does it make them have to deal with real shit theyre going through in their real life?
We like that it forces them to stay in his world.
Now you better be sexy, now you better be chaste, now you better be … religious.
Our takeaway was like,Oh my God, what is this kid going through?
This is your first show, and you used to be head writers onSNL.
We were like, Whats the worst-case scenario of that?
What did you look for in casting Brooke and Cary?
Wed seen him perform, and hes such a likable Everyman, thats his vibe.
We always loved him and thought he was so funny, so we cast him first.
Wed seen HeleneonHigh Maintenanceand loved her, so we asked to bring her in and she was just Brooke.
I think of Helene fromAmerican Psychoon Broadway.CK: Oh, we never saw that!
SS: Shed love to hear that.
It also feels like with Cary, hes trying to pass as straight for his work, his auditions.
Thats not always true.
But you also cant blame him because the industry makes you feel homophobic and self-hating.
Oh, Im just going to pick a famous person whos probably here.
CK: AnArchitectural Digestspread.
SS: We saw it and we were kind of right!
CK: We were close!
But we still needed them to have some sort of home!
SS: We did run it by him.
CK: He knows about it, and hes down with it.
In casting Chase, Case Walker who plays him was a Musical.ly star, right?
Wed brought a couple people in from the list, actually, and he just had a look.
Wed been seeing a lot of Broadway kids and TV kids and actors.
SS: Its an inherent coolness.
I assume you were theater kids?CK: Absolutely!
SS: Is it not clear?
I was often just a funny improvised side character.
SS: I was Smitty inHow to Succeed… so, I was comic relief.
CK: You felt a tightening?
SS: I felt a tightening onstage.
It will haunt me; it still does.
InThe Other Two,there arent very many political jokes.
Its very far away from current politics.
Was that intentional?CK: Theres no president in this world.
SS: They live in a utopia.
SS: Yeah, we like political stuff, but we didnt need it for the show.
We were more interested in the character side of things than the political side.
Do you still watchSNL?CK: Yes.
I watch it every week.
SS: I usually watch it the morning after, but I still watch.
Should we watch it live?
It was like a little treat at the end of a long day of writing.
I was a fan of the show before and I still am.
We cared about the tone of the show, and we just wanted it to be good.
We had a big part in hiring writers our last couple of years there, so that was nice.
But we werent trying to hire writers to be like, We want to hire people exactly like us.
They just had a strong point of view in their writing.
We just wanted fun people.
Its not just that all of Chris went into Cary.
But then a lot from our writers.
CK: That is based on me!
Cary and the straight roommate are based on me.
I talk about it whenever I can.
Thank you for asking the question.
I dont know why … but it also felt like a good show for that character.
I know Im in the minority because not many people watch it 37 seasons in.
SS: I started watching this season ofSurvivorbecause Chris made me.
CK: Its not a bad show.
We tend to like dramedies.
SS: We think our show is a come-dra.
CK: Ew, gross!
Thats gonna be in there.
SS: It will catch on!
Youre going to be fine!
CK: [To Sarah] We have so many similarities, and that is where we diverge.
She likes parties and Halloween, and I do not like parties and Halloween.
SS: I relate to her desire to make big moves in her life.
Like, we always talk big games about Oh, Id love to just buy land upstate.
Or What if I just didnt write anymore and I owned a paper store?
And how are you different from them?SS: I dont make the big moves and she does.
I just talk about them.
CK: I dont really relate to Cary as much anymore.
SS: Its more of your past.
CK: I think we relate to the family aspect of it, too.
Not appropriate for family.
CK: A show about family that isnota family show.
