When HBO offered Bridget Everett an overall deal, she never imagined anything would actually come out of it. “I thought, ‘OK, this is money, but after a year I’m gonna have to go back and just make my live shows,’ ” she says during a lunchtime interview in April to mark, incidentally, the second season of her series, Somebody Somewhere.
The quietly affecting comedy, about a woman who is still struggling with the emotional re-entry to her hometown after her sister’s death, has embodied the kind of success specific to premium cable: critical acclaim, a steadily growing audience and prestige awards (it was just nominated for a Peabody). Everett speaks about it with equal amounts of pride and extreme humility. “We’re a small show, and I’m not chasing any hardware, but I will chase whatever keeps us on the air,” she explains. “I can’t imagine ever having this level of success again, so I may as well enjoy it.”
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For fans of the series, which this season followed protagonist Sam (Everett) as she grapples with her mother’s illness, the changing dynamics of her relationship with best friend Joel (Jeff Hiller) and the reality of truly making a life in Manhattan, Kansas, Everett is a star in every way. She’s now a credited writer and executive producer, and it’s easy to imagine her ushering Somebody Somewhere through many more years. (This interview took place before the May 2 launch of the writers strike.) Here, she talks about what all the attention has been like (hint: weird!) and the redemption arcs of her beloved characters.
What is it like promoting a show that’s so personal to you?
I’m proud of the show and I want people to watch it, but it is hard. I was wondering the other day, why have I been so depressed for the past three years? I have a lot of similar things going on as Sam, we have the same emotional trip wires, so in making the show — whether in the writers room, while filming or doing press — we just keep hitting them.
Does the show help you work through your trip wires?
I wouldn’t say I’m working it out, I’m just seeing how it would feel if I did work it out. When my own sister died, my family and I just never talked about it, and it sounds corny but it has been nice to sort of feel her with me on this. It’s a lot of highs and a lot of lows. Life in full color is no fucking joke.
You lend a lot of moments from your life to the plot. Do you have to be convinced to do so?
The times when I bring up the most vulnerable things for me, it is always the most effective for the world of the show. But if you struggle with self-worth, it’s weird to put a bunch of yourself onscreen. I do feel like I’m in really safe hands — everyone’s so fucking nice. I’m always like, why are you being so nice to me? I’m not used to that. I’m not really answering your question, but just keep asking and eventually I’ll get you something good. (Laughs.)
Are you used to people being abjectly not nice? Or is it the attention you‘re not used to?
It’s the attention. I don’t have any interest in being famous. I just want people to see the show because they care and connect to it. Am I making any sense?
Absolutely. A lot of people talk about this phenomenon where they forgot to think about the fact that people would watch their show.
Exactly. In season one, I wanted Sam to start sleeping in her sister’s old bed, instead of on her couch. Even though I’m playing a character, it can be embarrassing to open myself up like that. Because I’m so emotionally shut down in other ways, I just feel naked. But what I’m trying to say is that this show has to come from my heart for me to feel it is effective.
How do you turn off at the end of days like that?
When we started the show, I had my first dog — she was a comfort when I came home from set. She got cancer and I had to put her down. I did get another dog in time for season two, and she’s a maniac. (Laughs.) I’m worried all the time when we’re filming, because I’m also an executive producer and I care so much about every little detail. I want the people of Kansas to feel properly represented. I felt like I had COVID every day. I also try not to drink on the weekdays when we’re filming, so I don’t have that comfort of an ice-cold martini.
Did you set out to negotiate your writer and EP credits?
I wasn’t technically a writer on season one, but I was in the writers room every day. I never knew what the fuck a producer did, honestly. My point of reference was when a movie wins best picture and there’s all these people onstage that you’ve never seen before. But on season two, I’m credited as a writer, which made me really happy. I’ve never been credited as a TV writer before; I wanted to have my name represented that way, and I think these titles will help me in the future.
What goals did you have for the plot of this season? What did you want to see Sam do or achieve?
I really wanted to show Sam with her voice teacher, to show the ways that music informs her. I go through life without stopping to think or feel too much, but when I’m singing the feeling is undeniable. I cry just talking about it. I also really wanted to do a storyline with Joel and Sam that explored the idea of falling in love with your friend, and what happens when you’re not the first person they want to call in the morning anymore. Sam is sort of an emotional toddler, but I think the heartbreak of having friends not be as available to you is a universal experience.
Do you think Sam is open to getting into a romantic relationship?
I think her great loves are people like Joel or her sister. Getting into a relationship isn’t everybody’s end goal, and I don’t think hers is to be married. It doesn’t mean that in seasons three, four or five she can’t explore that. But friendship is what fulfills her, and it’s sad that the world is structured in a way that it can’t last forever.
It’s fulfilling to watch a show about a woman that isn’t about her search for romance. But if we’re seeing years and years of her life, is it realistic to expect her to never seek traditional love?
You have to allow room for growth, right? If a romantic relationship happens for her, it will only be because she knew Joel. She learned to open herself up to that life experience. I think if you’re somebody that grows up always being a bit bigger than everyone else and having a bit of a mouth or is considered “too much,” then you preserve yourself by shutting down a little bit. The evolution of Joel and Sam is what ultimately will set her free.
In season one, Sam’s sister, Tricia, describes being gay as a sin — and by the end of season two she’s planning a wedding between a trans man and his female partner. Is she redeemed?
I think Tricia behaves the way a lot of people in the Midwest do, which is that once they meet the real people, they become more OK with the behavior they were against. I also do like that Tricia has a faster progression of growth than Sam does. But the goal wasn’t to have a big moment of redemption for Tricia — it was just to not have her be the stereotypical bitch sister and to show that she’s capable of change. She’s taking big swings in her life.
Will HBO ever market Tricia’s Lying C—t pillows?
We talked about it, but I don’t think anybody’s gonna do it. I have a couple at home though, and I love them. My cleaning lady and I have never discussed it.
They sell Waystar Royco merch.
Here’s the thing about that. Sometimes I really wonder, like, does anybody watch our show? We’re not pulling Logan Roy numbers.
Is that something you really believe or just something you say?
I feel good doing this, and that is an anomaly for me. I’m riddled with self-doubt and a low self-worth. The foundation of this house is not steady, ever. But it’s not like I get a lot of calls from the biz. Maybe that’ll change, I don’t know. I guess I’m talking to The Hollywood Reporter, so you can tell everyone I’d like some calls, please. I would also settle on, like, an Old Navy campaign.
Interview edited for length and clarity.
This story first appeared in a June stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
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