In the second season of Hulu's “Life & Beth,” from creator and star Amy Schumer, there's the same shifting tone of comedy and sadness. The biggest difference now is the confidence in her unique voice and how Schumer, who also writes and directs, has expanded and deepened the world of the show.
At the center of the semi-autobiographical story remains the rapidly accelerating romantic relationship between Schumer's Beth and Michael Cera's farmer and chef, John. But now, the supporting characters also have their own emotional complications.
When Schumer talks about the guest stars she's assembled, including David Byrne, Amy Sedaris and Jennifer Coolidge, she says sincerely, “I'm so proud that they said yes.” There's also a sense that it's significant to Schumer that “Life & Beth” reflects the difficulties faced by people in her age group: from simple nagging insecurities to agoraphobia, addiction and depression.
“I wanted to show different life struggles that people go through when they're in their early 40s,” he says. “I hope people [will] feel some empathy for each other and also for themselves.”
Writer, executive producer, director, star. Talk about why you like to wear all the hats.
I have a lot of practice making a lot of decisions. I want the best end product and I like to be efficient, so it makes sense. I think it's difficult for women because no one questions that about men. Women can be seen as control freaks, difficult, or whatever. So, playing the role that I play in a very active patriarchy is in itself a challenge that you have to make peace with in order to do your best work.
Talk about the Season 2 story: Kevin Kane's Matt suddenly discovers he has a daughter. He's inspired by something that really happened to Kane, right?
It happened very similar to what happened on the show. Kevin and I dated about 20 years ago. Together we founded a theater company. We knew we felt connected. But we didn't realize that we should be best friends and collaborators. We hadn't dated in over 10 years and he said, “I really need to talk to you tonight. You need to open a bottle of wine.” And I thought, “Ach, he's coming to tell me that he's in love with me.” [laughs] I actually wanted to tell myself that [learned that he] I had a daughter who was, I think, 16 years old.
“Most women I know who watched the show have said [to me]”I think my husband is on the spectrum,” Schumer says of her series, loosely based on her life and her husband's autism diagnosis as an adult.
(Evelyn Freja / For The Times)
The conversation ended with me saying, “Well, can I see her?” And he put up the picture of him on Facebook and I said: [laughs] “Oh my god. That's clearly your daughter.” I just asked him. [if I could use his story on the show] and he said he was totally depressed and he talked to his daughter and they were totally supportive and wanted to do it.
In one scene, Coolidge plays a psychic looking into a crystal ball. How much of the dialogue came from his amazing brain?
I think he maybe said five written lines. The scene took five or six hours to shoot. It was the hardest I've ever laughed in my entire life. It was brutal. Brutally funny. He arrived very late. We were all laughing so much that we had to stop filming for a couple of minutes to recover. That scene was so crazy but so joyful.
You didn't write as many episodes this season as you did the first. Because?
The truth is that I end up writing them all. I don't want to minimize the role of writers because they are great. This season, I just wanted to spread the love. I was as practical as I was [last season] but I had confidence in these writers to make the first passes.
Amy Schumer addresses the issues that plague people as they reach middle age in “Life & Beth.”
(Marcus Price/Hulu)
Like John's character, her husband, Chris Fischer, learned he has autism spectrum disorder as an adult. How did your friends react?
Most women I know who watched the show have said [to me]”I think my husband is on the spectrum.” I have a joke in my stand-up called “Autism? Or just man? There are bigger distinctions, obviously, but there are a lot of things that I think are inherently masculine.
Is it true that all of your writers have some kind of connection to autism spectrum disorder?
Yes. We have many actors on the show who are also on the spectrum. I think it is essential. I don't think I do a great job writing for men, because I'm not a man. So I look for help with those things. I want to do things well. Even bringing in experts and our own doctor who diagnosed my husband. I don't want there to be a single thing where someone thinks, “They made a big mistake.”
What has this experience shown you?
I am a pocket psychologist. I have no real clinical experience, but I love diagnosing people. [laughs] I am very interested in the psychology of people. It's like, “That person has OCD” or a stressful relationship with money. I notice all those things. I'm one of those people who can't stop my mind from racing in general.
