You werent going to march into a fantastic female protagonist out ofSNLin 2002.
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Were actually going to break bread together, Ana Gasteyer observes a few minutes into our tableside chat.
And what a time to do some analysis.
(One of the companys cars starts a large-scale, rather biblical wildfire.)
But were not watchingAmerican Autofor sedan mischief.
Its the perfect situation, she explains.
I feel really seen, taken care of, and written to.
Sometimes it happens when its supposed to.
You strike me as someone who shouldve been the lead on a internet sitcom years ago.
What took so long?I took a road less traveled.
I lovedSNL, but so much of it for me was a blitzkrieg of creativity and anxiety and fame.
The whole situation is explosive.
The adrenal experience left me feeling a little depleted.
You get to do the same thing over and over and over again and make it better each week.
It was like an overcorrection.It was very secure and safe.
Also, remember, I left the show in 2002.
Opportunities for females werent the same as they are now.
Tina created30 Rockfive years after, and that was a new breakthrough.
I guess you could point to roles on television, but it wasnt the same.
You werent going to march into a fantastic female protagonist out ofSNLin 2002.
But there were lots and lots of opportunities on stage.
I was a trained singer and wanted to use my training.
I wanted to improve.
I wanted to try something different.
It wasnt until I went back for theBetty White show atSNLthat I connected deeply with my female colleagues again.
That started to tell a story of how many of us there were.
When I started, there were only three of us on the show.
Even in a six-year span, the way women were used on the show changed radically.
We brought a lot to the table.
Molly Shannon and Cheri Oteri were hustlers.
We had three female writers, includingPaula Pell, and three female cast members.
Everybody else was a straight white guy.
There were some really nice straight white guys, but we had to work hard to stake our territory.
You get to refine a character over time.
Its not obnoxiously boring.
Were you auditioning for a lot of roles?I tested for Julie Bowens part inModern Family.
There were a lot of wives.
There were things I got close on that were like,Oh, shit, that wouldve been nice.
How much did the Michael Scottification of sitcom bosses affect how you wanted to portray and calibrate Katherine?
A pure cold-hearted bitch is a fun side character, but not a great lead.
The idea of She Boss and this kind of swaggery mega-bitch wasnt that interesting to me.
It wasnt something that would have room for compromise and gray areas, and thats where comedy comes from.
Im a natural ensemble player.
Im a natural collaborator.
Im a natural leader.
I like to be a part of a team.
Its fun to have enormous confidence around the ways in which youre an asshole.
But also, those vulnerabilities make for a good story.
Its not an option to not play by the rules in this culture.
What about something like the appearance of success?Thats very important to her.
Shes very aware of how things look.
The head of our hair department takes Katherines hair incredibly seriously.
Every frame of every episode, my hair is fucking perfect.
Katherine looks deeply in control.
you’re able to have a likably arrogant human, you know?
CEOs, showrunners, producers, and directors think very highly of themselves.
I love the idea that Katherine is shameless in her assessments and insults and expectations of people.
It should stay that way.
What does Justin understand about a workplace comedy that others fail to?Hes not cautious.
Hes got aNorman Learstyle insightinto American society.
Look at Commercialfrom last season.
It was about making a politically correct commercial, and everything goes south so fast.
And then The Letterfrom this season about abortion.
Did you see the whiteboards?
Theyre trying really hard.
Americans are bad at being good.
The intentions are there, but the stock price matters to them more than their morals.
Its not like theyre total assholes.
Theyre just partial assholes.
My favorite kind of writing is about flawed people.
Where does Katherine fit into the Venn diagram of good and bad?Shes partially ego-driven.
Narcissism gets in the way sometimes.
I also think really good CEOs are narcissists.
Theyre good at moving on.
They dont spend a lot of time hand-wringing and wondering.
Good directors are like that, too.
Shes nothing like Katherine; shes born and bred from cars, understands it inherently.
The auto industry is a venerated and old American industry, which is why Justin chose it.
Its a massive political organism, and its enormously male a dinosaur in many ways.
But its also the best of American ingenuity and American inventiveness.
It has a really cool through-line to the future.
The problem is some people think our show is about cars.
People on Twitter are like, They would never design a V8 engine.
Its a workplace comedy.
The way they ran that bar is not normal.
I would like three or four more seasons to be having those conversations.
I also think theres fun stuff to do with her screwing up at women-in-leadership conferences.
Im very proud to be a part of something thats talking about uncomfortable things.
Sometimes it makes me uncomfortable.
Were dealing with corporate assholes; you might make fun of how were rich assholes.
We can do the wrong things in a noticeable way.
We can fuck stuff up.
Thats the point of our show.
This show calls it to account.
Thats a gift I got fromSNL.
You just fucking lean in.
Getting precious about stuff … sometimes the joke is just the surprise.
Sometimes the joke is the reaction.
You talk about how generous of a showrunner Justin is.
Is there room for spontaneity?He writes like theCurbguys.
We have so many lines per episode.
Its only 21 minutes.
Theres not a lot of room for error.
Theres so much story happening, and he still manages to use so many improvised lines.
Im shocked every week.
Hes shockingly generous about it.
Im surprised you never returned to hostSNL.
It seems like a sure thing.That would be amazing.
you’re free to give Lorne a call.
I would love to host.
Theres a migration from Hulu to Peacock, and people are getting confused.
Theres just so much content.
Do you thinkAmerican Autocouldve worked on a premium cable web link like HBO?Yes.
In fact, I think its a cable show on connection television.Its amazing what NBC is letting us do.
Its fast-paced, its intelligent, its not patronizing, and its not talking down to its audience.
Theyre tough for a web link audience.
Theyre answering to red, white, and blue America, and they get nervous.
But theyve been incredible.
Did any scripts make NBC a little too nervous?They were very nervous about the abortion one.
Justin said, Lets see it through.
It was an incredibly funny table read, and they let it happen.
Listen, Ive been waiting my whole career to be on an NBC comedy.
Theres something nice about having a big boy behind you like that.
NBC is the big boy?Theyve been at it a long time.
I was at that40th-anniversary partyforSNL.
The stable of talent in that building and under that stupid Peacock icon is extraordinary.
To be a part of that is exciting for me.
But I know its also old-fashioned.
I walked through the Rockefeller Plaza lobby today.
It feels like youre in a movie about an actress whos in New York doing a TV show.
Do you think you couldve played this role ten years ago?Probably not.
Its corny, but everything does happen when its supposed to.Ive produced a lot of things for myself.
I produced my own album.
I wrote and produced my Christmas movie with Rachel Dratch.
Ive had my one-woman show on the road for a long time.
They seem like small things, but theyre hard when youre pushing your own little boulder up the hill.
I have a lot more confidence in what I can bring to something from a leadership standpoint.
1 on the call sheet is a responsibility.
Its a big one.
I dont think I wouldve known how to do that necessarily, or I wouldve felt too much pressure.
I love it now.
I have fun doing it.
Theres something nice about getting it when you want it.
Im very aware of what a lucky break it is.
Its hard to get a web link-television show.
I have a character that Ive been developing forever.
One day Ill do something with her and shell exist.
Its likeThe Comeback,but for a Broadway lady.
Ive written whole musical numbers and recorded songs for her.
We soft-pedaled the online grid version of that.
