Friends has been off the air for ten years. Ten long years. But the six actors made enough money – and then some – from their Friends paychecks and syndication deals that none of them would have had to work again. For their post-Friends careers, I always had high hopes for Matthew Perry. He’s an underrated dramatic actor and when he started doing guest gigs on The Good Wife, I really hoped he would join the cast. I was disappointed though.
But ten years later, you know who is in the best shape? Lisa Kudrow. She’s a powerful TV producer and creative force and she’s loving her life and career. Web Therapy is a hit. The Comeback is having a comeback. And she executive produces Who Do You Think You Are? Lisa is still making that money, with a lot of creative freedom, and she has a solid personal life with her husband and teenage son. Kudrow had a wonderful interview with Vulture this week – you can read the full piece here. Some highlights:
She loves playing weird characters: “My favorite characters to play are people who aren’t aware of how they’re coming off. That’s what’s funny to me. Everybody has those moments.”
Creating Valerie Cherish on The Comeback: “I didn’t care if I became completely irrelevant, because Friends gave me a huge gift. Whatever I’m putting my name on is something that I want to do.”
Finding out that HBO wanted a second season of The Comeback: “Michael [Patrick King] and I were near tears in the parking lot after we met with HBO. We were sort of staring at each other like, ‘What happened?’”
The celebrity nude-photo leaks: “I can’t identify with that. I would never take a picture of me naked under any circumstance. Yeesh. No.”
What she thinks of ‘Girls’: “[I connected] because the question for me was, ‘Is it really like that now? Oh, no, that’s awful.’ That means nothing’s changed. It’s complete subservience to the guy, except with a better vocabulary and higher education and assertiveness in every area except the relationship.”
The frumpy floral housecoat in her office: “I won’t let us throw this out because it’s the one Meryl Streep wore,” she says. Streep had discovered the series early on and, after they got to know each other at a Vassar event, Kudrow warned her that she’d ask her to be on it. “This is the Meryl Streep stuff, so it’s not allowed to leave. Ever, ever, ever.”
She hates shopping: “I hate putting my arms through sleeves and it not going through the first time so you have to readjust the trajectory. On that micro level I hate it.”
How she came up with Web Therapy: “Then I thought. How funny if people didn’t leave their desk to do therapy and they just do three minutes at a time?”
Jon Hamm will guest star this season of Web Therapy: Hamm plays Jeb, a phone-sex operator for the elderly. “His business is called Absolute Last Call,” says Kudrow, practically hiccuping with laughter. In their first episode together, Hamm’s character talks to a client in the middle of therapy. “He has that Mercedes voice,” says Kudrow. “You know, ‘Hey, what are you wearing? Pink housecoat? Oh, yeah. Did you get it wet? Was it an accident?’ I’ve never broken that much, ever. I started crying I was laughing so hard.”
See? She just sounds happy and fulfilled. In real life, Lisa isn’t desperately clinging to a sliver of tabloid fame or trying to prove that she’s still some hot young thing. She’s just… creative. Talented. She owns who she is. And I’m really looking forward to Jon Hamm on Web Therapy!!
Here’s the trailer for the second season (nine years later) of The Comeback:
Photos courtesy of WENN.
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