This week on TheWrap-Up podcast, TheWrap founder and editor-in-chief Sharon Waxman spoke with Bridget Everett, star of the HBO comedy series “Somebody Somewhere.”
The discussion begins in Manhattan, Kansas, not only Everett’s birthplace but also the setting of the HBO series in which she plays Sam, a woman trying to find happiness in the wake of her sister’s death.
“My childhood was very different, a lot of the people I grew up with, who I’m still friends with, they were all church, family, faith, football on the weekends,” Everett said of how the show’s portrayal of Manhattan life changed. It is compared to him. Upbringing. “It largely had a straight, heterosexual vibe in the ’70s and ’80s.”
That said, when she met with creators Hannah Bose and Paul Thuren about working together at HBO, she introduced several elements that resonated deeply with Everett. “It was in the Midwest, it was the singing element, a sister who died, Murray Hill being cast as Fred Rococo, these are all major touchstones in my life,” she explained. “When they were pitching the world, my heart was in my throat the whole time.”
Everett has a reputation as a very outgoing comedian, so it may come as a surprise to viewers that he thinks Sam is more true to his true self.
“It feels closer to the real me in a way. But I think it’s kind of hard to feel like I want to give Sam everything I can, be myself as much as I can.” So it feels difficult in that way, it feels very raw, but it also feels really rewarding in the end,” she said. “I’m learning a lot playing Sam, I know it sounds silly but she’s really trying to grow though, and that’s something I struggle with.”
Everett revealed that a third season has already been written, and they are hoping to continue to explore characters, storylines and themes after the writers’ strike is over.
She added, “What I really love about this show and also find it very risky to do it, it’s not super plot driven.” “It’s more about the connection of people and the spice of life ethos about it.”
Hear the full conversation in the podcast, which also touches on the current state of the WGA strike in Hollywood, the latest wave of media layoffs and Disney’s big release date reshuffle, with co-host Adam Chitwood, co-executive editor of The Wrap.
Then, listen to TheWrap’s Pride roundtable conversation with Joel Kim Booster, Titus Burgess, Harvey Guillen, Devery Jacobs, Nicole Maines, and Nico Santos, moderated by TheWrap’s Elijah Gill.
This special episode of TheWrap-Up Podcast is sponsored by Max, which presents the Emmy-award winning HBO Original Series “Succession,” now streaming on Max. Emmy-eligible for Outstanding Drama Series and all other categories.
“The Wrap-Up” won the award for Best Hard News Feature in 2021 from the LA Press Club for the segment “The Complexities Black Journalists Face This Week Covering Protests”. It’s hosted each week by Sharon Waxman, founder and editor-in-chief of TheWrap. She digs into the biggest headlines of the week in the worlds of movies, television, streaming and tech.