Into It with Sam Sanders
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Samantha Irby knows how to write in many mediums.
1 New YorkTimesbest-selling author has published several books of personal essays.
(Meta, in a very fun way.)
And then Im like,Okay, lets talk about whats funny about this.I am just a clown.
Obviously, its a coping mechanism.
Its easier to have problems when you’re free to make fun of those problems.
Okay!How do we set this chapter up?
One of your previous books of essays had been optioned to become a TV show.
And unfortunately, they went all the way to pilot before they pulled the plug.
And its like,Why?
What am I doing?
So its half workplace comedy, half Hannah Horvath trying to become a writer.
I have to clarify that these actors are incredible.
Watching someone imitate my hand motion was the most humbling and horrifying experience Ive ever had.
Because it sounds stressful as hell.No, I would not.
Or I wasnt aware of how much people talk about TV shows.
But I did not think about America tearing apart my actual life.
Nobody reads books, so Ive been spared, but everybody watches and talks about TV.
Listen, just Google Che Diaz.
The response, the backlash.Seriously.
So then between writing for TV and writing books, which do you like better?Theyre different.
TV is so collaborative.
Whats a non-loser way to say this?
Im still getting my sea legs with TV writing.
One thing about working on that show, it became obvious that nobody knows how TV works.
In my episode ofAnd Just Like That …,Carrie is in a hospital bed wearing pearls.
Also, its a show.
Either watch it or dont.