I feel that based on how you guys made the show and what I know about independent film financing, it works. Have there been any conversations with HBO at all about letting you guys go off and do this on your own? Or is it just still in the early stages?
I think it’s in the early stages. Is it something that Paul and Hannah and Carolyn, and I dream of. And I think when the time is right, we will pursue it more aggressively. At least I’d like to, I don’t know. But right now, it feels like I don’t know what executives are looking for, but I’ve never done something where I get stopped on the street as much as I do for this show. It feels like the fan base and the people who watch it aren’t just going to go away. I feel like they will show up for a movie. So you have a built-in audience. We would take so much care making a movie, it would be a dream to be back together. So, I don’t know. I hope it happens.
Well, I’m going to put this in the ether, and I hope it happens. And I’m going to resurface this conversation two years from now, Boulder, Sundance 2027. That’s where the “Somebody Somewhere: movie’s going to premiere. That’s my dream for you guys.
Why not, right? I mean, how many people go to see independent movies? And I know that if the people who watch our TV show turn up and watch the movie, just that amount of people alone, we’ve already got a hit.
I re-watched the finale last night, and one of the things that struck me, that wasn’t really top of mind the first time I watched it, was how much this season was a way for Tricia and Sam to really sort of come together in a way that they hadn’t before. You all could have dragged that conflict out for another two seasons or whatever, but purposefully took their relationship in a new direction. What was the thinking behind that?
It just felt like the logical progression first. In season one, there’s a lot of simmering resentment, and they’re probably dealing with their own grief in a certain kind of way. And then season two, towards the end, you see them kind of bumping up against each other and kind of trying. And then in season three, when we talked about the idea of her coming into the house, that was something that we talked about very early on, and it felt like a great thing to work towards. I love the stuff in the hotel when it burns, when she pees. First of all, Mary Catherine can do anything. She’s such an incredible actor. She’s always been one of my favorite actors. And in season one, she was underutilized. And so as we went along, HBO wanted more of the family dynamic, so it worked out. It was kind of a win-win. And also, she’s fearless. People toss that word around a lot, but I called her when we were writing season three, and I said, “O.K., I just want to make sure that you’re O.K. with having an STD.” And she’s like, “Oh yeah, it sounds fun.” She’s all in, and she’s so believable and good at everything she does when she’s on screen.
When you shot the show, the world was a very different place, and even when it dropped and aired, it was a very different place than it is now. Do you think there’s room for shows like “Somebody Somewhere” now on television, or streaming at all?
Absolutely. I think that people crave things that make them feel comforted. And I know that the show makes people feel that way because they tell me and they tell Murray and Jeff and Mary, Catherine and Tim and I know that it’s a business and people have to make their money, but art is meant to make people feel all different kinds of ways, but it’s certainly meant to comfort them in times like this. It is a really scary world, and I know that I’m just stating the obvious there, but the kind of characters that are in “Somebody Somewhere” are the people who would be feeling what’s happening. And somebody told me that she puts it on her earphones and she listens to it as she falls asleep because it makes her feel better. It may not be that experience for everybody, but it’s important for networks and for television to not only worry about the bottom line, but to also care about the people that they are providing product for. The arts matter, they matter. When Trump got elected, Murray and I were really down, and we were talking about a lot of things, and we’re like, “O.K., well, we can’t wallow because it’s our job to make people feel better. Go out and do our shows even if we don’t want to.” And it always feels better when you’re in the room connecting with like-minded people. It’s always going to be the right thing to make a show or do something that makes people feel good. Everybody likes to watch a car blow up every now and again, but we also want to see ourselves reflected back, too, and blah, blah, blah. End rant.
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That’s a rant I’ll endorse for sure. Let’s hope “Somebody Somewhere” returns somewhere, somehow, some day sooner rather than later.
“Somebody Somewhere” is available on Max.
