Fans of the Showtime series got a special in-person treatment session at the Paley Center as Lisa Kudrow, Lily Tomlin, Don Roos, Dan Bucatinsky and Gary Levine were “grilled” by moderator Sarah Gilbert before a sold-out crowd.
The new season of the show, which started out as a web series, premieres July 23 on the pay cabler.
Kudrow plays Fiona Wallice, a therapist who espouses the idea that the traditional 50 minute talk therapy session gives people too much time to discuss irrelevant things, and that by shortening the sessions – conducted via WebCam – they get faster results.
This concept showcases her ability to determine people’s issues quickly and effectively, or so she thinks.
“People go shopping and looking for dates online, so why not get therapy?” Kudrow said about the genesis of the program, which premiered in 2008 when it was greenlit by Showtime. The issue was expanding three-minute segments to half an hour for television.
“It’s hilarious to play people who have no idea how they come across,” said Kudrow about her character.
Added Tomlin, “I love characters who are intolerable. The show is so weird and off-the-wall, you just do whatever you want.”
“We’ve banned likability and passed on that freedom to the producers,” said Levine, the EVP of original programming Showtime.
Tomlin said she loves the freedom– and the puppets. “You’ve elevated the character about 1000%,” Kudrow told her, to which Tomlin replied: “I haven’t had enough sex on the show.”
Tune in to see if she gets more and to see the new crop of guest stars, which in the past have included Meryl Streep, Courtney Cox, David Schwimmer and Matt LeBlanc–begging the question if the other “Friends”– Jennifer Aniston and Matthew Perry– might participate.
Just like in therapy, Kudrow said she’s working on it.
