Comedy Central’s new show Whitney is about couples and their relationships. It brings the famous American stand-up comedian and her friends to Indian TV. The cast responded to K Bhardwaj
It’s all just surreal. It’s funny. I was joking the other day about how my real life feels like a TV show, and my TV life feels real because, to be on television, which is what I grew up with, has been such a big part of me,” confesses Whitney Cummings, who plays her own fictionalised version on American sitcom series Whitney. The show premiered in India last month on channel Comedy Central and is based on Cummings’ real-life experiences and her comedy routines.
It shows her and Alex (Chris D’Elia) in a live-relationship. The series got a fabulous response in West during its broadcast of two years (2011-2013). The USP, according to Cummings, is the fact that most actors of the show are comedians and have been facing live audience for long time.
“I think that Chris (D’Elia) and I are both stand-up comedians. I spent a long time, working on the material we’re talking about on the show and toured several cities working on this material. Now we’re sort of putting it into a narrative form. The best thing about being a comedian, then having a sitcom is that the stuff you’re talking about works, is funny, or has resonated with people, because I’ve seen people laugh at it.”
She and her partner in show, Chris D’Elia are real friends and have done shows together. “Whitney wrote this show keeping me in mind. I’ve been friends with her for five years. Nothing makes me happier than working with friends so, that’s just a no-brainer to me. To me, it’s much more fun just to work with somebody that you kind of have shorthand with and you can kind of goof around with. Otherwise you’re just actors getting to know each other which take time,” observes Chris, a los-Angeles-based comedian. Talking about the live-in relationship and marriage which the show deals with, the 33-year-old actor says knotting the tie hardly matters as long as there is love and an urge to live together. “If you love somebody and it’s working out, it’s the same thing to me. Anyhow, you’re going to be together, live together. Whether you’re married or not, that doesn’t change anything. I know people say oh it’s much different when you get married but it’s not really. I have been married and I know it’s the same thing.”
Cummings agrees and suggests customisation of relationships. “We’re doing our version of love, not society’s version. Also, I don’t think there is a lot of purity in relationships. A lot has to do with the culture we live in or the kind of romantic movies we grow up watching. I feel our generation grew up with a lot of divorce.”
Ask if stand-up comedians offend people by crossing limits, Cummings underlines that the performer should understand what works and not. “When I write I find what worked in my stand-up, what I am passionate about and want to talk about that I think provocative, interesting, worth exploring and has a lot of conflict, yet makes the audience and myself laugh,” she says.
Do comedians face creative clashes while working togetherIJ Chris says no! “It comes as playfulness because we weren’t two actors that were hired, then put in a room together that try to act like we know each other. We actually do. I laugh during takes and it’s not out of character. It’s in my character because that’s who I am with Whitney, I mean we’re not in a relationship together, but that’s what we do. We talk, laugh. I’m not spot-on line by line because of my unprofessionalism.”
Zoe lister-Jones, who plays lily Dixon, a close friend of Whitney and ex-fiancée of Neal (Maulik Pancholy), lapped up the opportunity when offered. “The cast of Whitney is either trained in theatre or stand up. If we get such an opportunity, it would be stupid to decline it. For me, having a live audience is actually a real asset. And it’s a lot of fun to be able to play with an audience and be able to react genuine,” says 31-year-old Zoe, best known for playing Zoe Carpenter in British soap Hollyoaks.
Hi-five
Maulik Pancholy is the only Indian connection Whitney has. He plays a bisexual character and is known for serials like Weeds. A quick chat with the actor
Tell us about your Indian connection.
I am of Indian heritage — my parents are Indian who moved to the US. I have attended the Yale School of Drama and graduated of Berkeley Preparatory School in Tampa, Florida. I am a die-hard vegetarian fan and love Indian cuisine.
How much close you are to your character in WhitneyIJ
Neal is fearless about his relationship with lily and being a couple. I think he represents that side of their being a couple — love, courtship and they love being in love. But there is a twist to it as they’re three-dimensional characters and they’re going to encounter their own issue over the season. I am very close to character when it comes to love and courtship.
What scene you guys create on the setsIJ
It is fun when we do tape nights and the audience is there. Writers will often throw us alternate new lines that we have to try out for the first time. There’s a kind of give and take with the audience.
Are you planning to come to IndiaIJ
I am keen to visit the country and touch base with my roots.