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The second season of NBCsAmerican Autoends with the executives of Payne Motors getting a much-needed win.
They deserve to be fired.
The company deserves to go out of business.
Its nevertheless a huge relief when neither happens.
This isthe contradiction at the heart ofAmerican Autosappeal.
After a promising if uneven first season, the shows second season takes a leap forward.
Theyre not good or evil, explains Spitzer.
They have a job to do, and sometimes that means doing things that arent always morally pure.
I like that these people have an edge and it can be a little more caustic.
OnSuperstore, that part of it was a lot easier.
Whatever the characters felt about each other, they were united by tough circumstances.
Corporate was the bad guy.
Here, who was the bad guy?
Are you trying to make a point about the banality of evil?Theyre not good or evil.
Last season, there was a problem with the car, but they werentsureit was a problem.
It was more like,There may be a problem, but were not sure.
They just kind of put it off until tomorrow.
And hopefully, thats more relatable.
In their minds, theyre not not the worst of the worst, theyre not hurting anyone.
But I think its more complicated than that.
If anything, we have a go at show nuance and find the comedy in nuance wherever we can.
When you were breaking the new season, how much were you pulling from the headlines?
Im thinking specifically about the abortion story line in episode six.
OnSuperstore,we had success with those.
But the language of this is very harsh.
It was like, We demand this!
We were talking about what a companys reaction to something like that would be.
Thats an interesting story.
But what happens when its something youdoagree with?
Katherine says shes pro-choice herself, but thats not necessarily what she wants to lead with.
Ana Gasteyerhas talked abouthow season two recalibrates the dynamic between Katherine and the rest of her employees.
She does something thats actually selfless.
That was what was going on in our heads with the fact that she gets divorced, too.
I think it humanizes her to see that she has problems at home.
Knowing that theres a cost to that makes her more likable.
This is the third show youve worked on featuring a will they, wont they relationship at its core.
Whats the key to making one work?I think Im still figuring it out!
They are two people who obviously like each other a lot and are attracted to each other.
You want to have a reason why this isnt happening.
With Ross and Rachel inFriends, Ross was just kind of shy and beta for a long time.
I think its hard to be all in on it.
If you make the show all about the will they, wont they, how many moves are there?
People just couldnt invest.
I think its important for the audience to sort of feel like theyre discovering it on their own.
Sometimes, its just a look in an episode.
And then you make a move every fifth episode or something.
Because at that point, yourereallylow on moves.
And then just hope you find actors with chemistry, if you believe that exists.
But then it just kind of felt like,All right, lets shit or get off the pot.
Im out of story lines for why the two of them cant try getting together.
And thatd be nice I like the idea of having a bunch of different shows in the same universe.
And that made the decision simple.
But hes also the character who seems most in danger of becoming a parody of himself.
If youre running a show, you always have to fight the urge to do the easy joke.
And oftentimes, the easy joke is just having a character be dumb.
Im not saying Im totally immune from it.
I think its just taking care and trying to remember who he is and trying to keep him three-dimensional.
And I think having smart actors who you trust are helpful in that.
Ive known Jon for a while and I have so much respect for him.
Is this pushing it too far?
Can you take me through the writing of one of these scenes?Theyre my favorite to write.
It doesnt necessarily have to move the story forward, but it can.
It seems like a writers strike is looking more and more probable.
I just dont know enough to speak about the various issues.
I also ask because labor negotiations were a big plot point inSuperstore.
I thought that was an interesting parallel.Theres a parallel.
And yes, were a guild, but were not the machinists guild.
Were well compensated compared to a lot of people.
So for me to get up on a soapbox and start talking about workers rights doesnt really feel appropriate.
As we speak,American Autohas yet to be renewed for season three.
But thats a luxury that few shows have.
The only real difficulty it presents is in thinking about your finale.
You might do something different if you knew its the series finale versus the season finale.
Its a question of,Do you want to do an open-ended cliffhanger finale?
I think thats a victory.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
