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Looking for some quality comedy entertainment to check out?
Who better to turn to for under-the-radar recommendations than comedians?
The series opens on Horgan as Donna, who breaks up with her fiance Karl at their wedding-rehearsal luncheon.
And the show doesnt have the same name recognition as other, more dude-heavy Britcoms likePeep ShoworThe Office.
Pullinginnovated in the unsympathetic-comedy-protagonist sphere by asking, What if awomanwere annoying?
Its something that comedianJena Friedmanloves about the show: the likably unlikable women at its center.
Friedmans comedy has always been sharp and centered on womens experiences under patriarchy.
Sharon Horgans character, all the women, are playing these really funny multidimensional characters.
Theyre unlikable, but theyre likable in their unlikability, which was something you didnt really see in 2009.
Ive followed Sharon Horgans career ever since.Catastropheis great.Bad Sistersis incredible.
Its so feminist, so funny, and so radical.
I didnt even remember theFriendspilot.
Theres also the scene where she meets her two friends, which is verySex and the City.
I love the direction of the pilot.
There are all these tiny little things hidden in the directing that are so good.
Theres this one scene where theyre playing bingo, and she watches her friend whos married.
And theres an elderly woman playing bingo next to her, and they both make the same move.
She sees, like, the Ghost of Christmas Future: Get married and live this life.
Tristram Shapeero was the director of the pilot.
Its very visually cruel.The fiance, him puking and crying?
That makes me cackle.
Lets talk more about the fiance, Karl.
This show is celebrated, and rightly should be, for having incredibly well-written female characters.
But the depth of Karl and his patheticness was a surprise for me.
And Cavan Clerkins performance is so physical.You see his ass in the pilot.
When she has to kiss him, you feel her revulsion.
I love how pathetic he is on his knees begging her to come back to him.
Even now, as Im talking about it, my body is having a visceral reaction.
You feel for him, but you also feel for her.
Its just so well done.
The pilot so clearly sets up a divide between married people and single women.
What do you think about how the show characterizes relationships?I love it.
I feel like a kid.
Maybe watching this show subconsciously helped me push back that decision as long as I could.
The show paints a very realistic and Im not talking about my marriage portrait.
Like when Donnas asking her friend, How are you?
and the friends like, My kids are okay, my husbands okay, everythings great!
Then cut to later in the night, when theyre all drunk, and the friend is hysterically crying.
As a new mom now, were just so set up to fail in so many ways.
Has your take on the show changed over the years?The characters 29 going on 30.
At that age, I felt exactly that way.
At 40, I feel a little differently.
Dont seriously date anyone until youre 35.
Dont have kids until youre 40.
Thats almost daunting, you know what I mean?
And the way she plays that character is just so funny.
I was not aware of how it was canceled.
Where is that guy now?
Is he the head of everything?
Oh, its actually Prince Charles, so hes king.Prince Andrew.
He wanted them younger.
Its not going well, its so hard to talk about.
Im trying to find the things to say to make other people in some more situations feel less alone.
The comedy now, if theres any at all, is from how unfunny it is.
You should be lucky if your mom dies before you!
People see that; they can see my face and my voice kind of quiver.
Its masochistic to talk about, but its currently how Im processing it.
Thats really interesting, thinking about which ideas are correct for which formats.
I dont know if I personally can find whatever that is.
A lot of the discussion aroundPullingis about how unlikable the three women at the center are.
Do you worry about your own likability at all?Not at all.
Its why nobody knows who I am.
I also know that you cant control what people think about you.
All you might control is what you put out there and how you act towards others.
I want to plug a friends show.Sara Schaeferhas this new show calledGoing Up, and its so good.
Its about the journey of a young stand-up comic.
You werent in the running to get this really big festival that launched a bunch of careers.
Find your community of people who support you.
But its hard, and theyre everywhere.
Theyre not just in comedy.
Theyre in every industry.
People are just interested in comedy, so we hear about it more.
With the writers strike, the whole industry is kind of up in arms.
I love the late-night format.
I love being able to tune in and watch somebody who I actually trust deliver the news.
Maybe MSNBC will have a comedian host a show.
Thats kind of where I feel like late night is heading: Its heading to news.
If news is becoming entertainment, they might as well lean in and hire us to go on.
Im really just asking for a comedic show on MSNBC.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
