#Lisa kudrow series
#Lisa kudrow tv

“These topics, like sexual assault or gender identity, get co-opted by these really polarizing political forces, and they become these really fraught public conversations, and I think we sometimes forget the human aspect of these things and the nuance and how complicated they are,” said Martin, who came out as nonbinary in April. Martin, who has infused many of their own experiences and even their own name into the show, said they felt it was important to show the humanity of the characters who go through these difficult issues - and that meant embracing the ambiguity life has to offer instead of shying away from it.

While much of the first season centered on Mae’s faltering commitment to their sobriety, George’s gradual coming-out journey and their increasingly complicated love story, the second and final season picks up in the aftermath of the couple’s ambiguous breakup and tackles equally heavy subject matter, including gender identity, sexual violence and post-traumatic stress disorder. “I think people get so wrapped up in their own kind of excitement about meeting that they forget that this is a new environment. She doesn’t know any of these people,’” Martin added. “Everyone was like, ‘Oh, we’re so nervous for Lisa to be here,’ and I was like, ‘Well, it’s pretty scary for Lisa to fly to another country.

#Lisa kudrow tv

Martin wasn’t the only person shaky about working with the iconic TV actress. Lisa Kudrow and Adrian Lukis in Netflix's 'Feel Good.' Matt Squire / Netflix And I was like, ‘I guess I’m putting all of my tension into this pen,’” Martin said with a laugh. I thought I was being pretty cool and pretty chill, but I was holding a pen, and halfway through talking, the pen just snapped in my hand and exploded. “I remember meeting Lisa in her hotel, maybe the day before we were filming or two days before. Martin, who described sending the first six scripts to the “Friends” alum as “a shot in the dark,” said they and Hampson were already longtime admirers of Kudrow's work and could barely contain their excitement. “I think it was a natural choice that it would be a love story,” Martin said, “because I’m deeply romantic, and I was fresh out of a big breakup, so it kind of flowed out of me like lava.”Īfter signing on to the project, Kudrow emailed Martin a few questions that helped Kudrow get a better grasp of her character - “a woman who uses her erudition to keep people at a distance because that’s safer” - before flying to the U.K. (The first season premiered in March 2020 on Channel 4 in Britain and on Netflix globally, while the second premiered earlier this month exclusively on Netflix.)

Martin was ultimately approached by Channel 4, a British public service broadcast network, to turn their life story into a scripted comedy-drama series.

#Lisa kudrow series

When they first set out to create a show together, Martin and Hampson, who had met at a comedy festival in 2012, tried to pitch “all kinds of crazy shows” to various networks - mostly murder mysteries and science-fiction series - to no avail.īut in 2017, Martin, believing the nature of addictive behavior would resonate with audiences across the country, did a critically acclaimed stand-up tour called “Dope,” which focused on the intersection of love and addiction. It was an absolute yes.” Mae Martin in Netflix's 'Feel Good.' Luke Varley / Netflix She’s so open, funny, accepting, really smart and accessible. “I’ll figure out who Linda is later, but, ‘Just say yes, because it’s so honest.’ And then I did a little dive into Mae Martin - all the stand-up I could see, interviews - and she’s fantastic. “I was sent all the scripts for season one that Mae and Joe wrote, and it was undeniably fantastic, right up my alley,” Kudrow told NBC News in a joint video interview with Martin, who uses she/her and they/them pronouns.