According to Bridget Everett, the third season of Somebody Somewhere will have a plot for the first time in the show’s history. “Twinks get murdered and Sam’s now a nudist.” (We can’t wait for this to become a reality! It’s definitely not a joke!) Although the star admits the “plot is thin” on the HBO series, it’s developed an impassioned following as one of television’s most treasured, little-known comedies.
Centering on Everett’s character Sam, a woman in her 40s dealing with a midlife crisis in Kansas, Somebody Somewhere’s exploration of life’s minutiae and normalisation of the queer experience has won rave reviews from fans and critics, in addition to the chemistry between the aforementioned comedian and her co-lead Jeff Hiller.
“What’s really good about this show is that it didn’t start from a place of, ‘How can we get really good queer representation?’ It started from a place of, ‘What’s true? What’s real? What’s authentic?’” says Hiller, who’s known to audiences for his spine-chilling portrayal of Mr Whitely in American Horror Story: NYC. “I like that it’s coming from a place of truth and not a craven, ‘We get points from GLAAD!’ or whatever.”
Following HBO’s announcement that Somebody Somewhere will return for season three, we caught up with Bridget and Jeff to discuss why “a show like this would never been made 20 years ago”, twink decimation and their “vulnerable” slash instantly iconic demonstration of diarrhoea in Kinda Good, Kinda Gross. Very serious interview incoming.
GAY TIMES: Bridget and Jeff, congratulations on the renewal. I, like all fans, was incredibly happy, particularly as season two could’ve served as a series finale…
Bridget: Kinda!
Jeff: That was the fear.
Bridget: HBO doesn’t love… Well, I don’t know that to be true. Somewhere along the line I thought that we’re not supposed to do cliffhangers. I don’t know. So, it does get nerve-inducing when you do something that could tie things up too well. You get a little nervous! We’re like, ‘We’ll come up with more stuff, I promise!’
GAY TIMES: When do you find out it was renewed?
Bridget: I was one of the first calls. I was appreciative of that. Carolyn Strauss, who’s one of our executive producers, called me like, ‘I’ve got someone else on the line’ and it was Amy Gravitt, who runs HBO and HBO Max comedy. I was like, ‘Oh my god, this better be good news because I cannot handle something sad right now.’ They are so supportive of the show and love it, so she told me and then I got the greenlight to call Jeff over here. He was so pissed. He was like, ‘WHAT?!’
Jeff: ‘I wanna make movies!’
Bridget: We both wanna make movies, we wanna make commercials, we are available.
Jeff: Yeah, actually, don’t take my joke as a joke.
GAY TIMES: Alright, I’ll wait for the announcement that one of you has been cast in an MCU film.
Jeff: Exactly. We seem like we would be though, right?
Bridget: I don’t even know what an MCU film is but I’ll happily do it, and then I’ll do the sequel.
Jeff: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Bridget!
Bridget: Oh yeah, Marvel. We’re on their shortlist.
GAY TIMES: Admittedly, I only discovered Somebody Somewhere quite recently but I now can’t imagine life without these characters. As a queer mentally ill person with a twisted sense of humour…
Bridget: You’ve come to the right place!
Jeff: We’re your people!
GAY TIMES: Bridget, I saw an interview of yours recently where you shared that, when it comes to death and despair, you like to take the piss. I felt seen!
Bridget: In my family, that’s how we deal with everything, undercutting it with a bit of humour. I think that’s the best way to get through life. What is it, in Terms of Endearment, “Laughter through tears is my favourite emotion.”
Jeff: That’s Steel Magnolias.
Bridget: Ahh shit.
Jeff: Terms of Endearment is, “Give my daughter the drugs!”
Bridget: “Give my daughter the shot!” Oh my god. With this outlet, I’m making these mistakes. This is absolutely unspeakable. Yeah, we like to call it “cut the cutie” because I’m not that way, I’m not overly sincere. When I’m with my friends and I’m upset about something, we’re all just trying to make each other laugh to give life a little levity.
GAY TIMES: I want to thank you both for season two’s toilet scene because, again, I felt represented. What was it like for you both to serve diarrhoea?
Bridget: First of all, we wanted something that showed the level of intimacy that Joel and Sam have, and that feels just about as intimate as you can get. For me, that’s more intimate than going down on someone. It’s real serious. I found the filming to be very stressful, that was actually the scariest thing for me all season to shoot. Jeff went first. Want to take it away, Jeff?
Jeff: People were like, ‘Are you okay doing this?’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, not a big deal at all.’ There was a little hesitation when I sat down with my bare butt on the toilet and was like, ‘Don’t do it. Don’t do it right now.’ But, when I saw the actual scene with the sound effects I was like, ‘This is the most vulnerable thing I have ever done in my life. This is raw.’
Bridget: I thought we might lose some of our audience. It’s low-brow but it’s also real life to me. I don’t know. I was on the phone with a friend and he was like, ‘Oh no! Oh no!’ and exploded on the toilet. He said, ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t have a chance to push mute.’
Jeff: That’s trust. That’s friendship and trust. Let it be known, that friend was not me.
GAY TIMES: This season was funnier and more heart-wrenching than the first, from Joel’s new romance to Trisha’s divorce. Reflecting on the season, what are you both most proud of?
Jeff: I really like the scenes I got to do with Tim Bagley. I thought they were really sweet, tender and real, but not too treacly. I’ve never played any kind of romance before, so it was very exciting for me to be the “leading man”. My Clooney era! What about you, Bridget?
Bridget: For me, it’s the whole thing. I know that’s not really a fair answer, but I feel we understood the show a little bit better in season two and tried to do more in every direction. I was nervous because it felt different to season one, but I think it worked and I’m really proud of that. I’m proud of the deepening of the different characters and how everybody had their own sparkle and shine.
Jeff: Bridget, she’s a writer, so she’s in the writer’s room every single day and is planning out the entire arc of the series and everything. It’s really her baby from start to finish. So, if you have anyone to blame…
GAY TIMES: Who spearheaded the diarrhoea scene, then? Was it you, Bridget?
Bridget: It was my idea, if that’s what you mean! Carolyn Strauss is like the fairy godmother of the show. She’s done things like Game of Thrones, The Sopranos and The Last of Us, has quite a resume – and she also likes farts. She thinks farts are funny. If you’re gonna get her stamp of approval, that’s all you need. We all think farts are funny, so it seemed like a natural fit.
GAY TIMES: As well as farts, Somebody Somewhere is quite trailblazing for its LGBTQ+ representation. The experience of LGBTQ+ people in their 40s is still scarce on television, so how important is it for us to see more stories like this?
Jeff: As a queer person in my 40s, I think it’s really important! I just think it’s important to show lots of different people. I get it, it’s fun watching hot 20-somethings fall in love or whatever, but it would be interesting to see other stories. What’s really good about this show is that it didn’t start from a place of, ‘How can we get really good queer representation?’ It started from a place of, ‘What’s true? What’s real? What’s authentic?’ In Bridget’s life, there are a lot of queer folks around. Just because we’re in Kansas, it doesn’t mean there are no gay people anymore. So, I like that it’s coming from a place of truth and not a craven, ‘We get points from GLAAD!’ or whatever.
Bridget: With the way that people respond to the show, it proves that there’s thirst for more. There’s a thirst for people to see everyday-looking people, not the hot version of, dot dot dot. I’m not saying that we’re not hot, you know what I mean? I just feel like we look like your average beautiful person on the street. Jeff is right, this is a representation of the friends that I have in my real life, so to me, it feels like real life – however you want to paint it.
Jeff: Which is surprisingly refreshing to see, real life. You wouldn’t think it would be…
GAY TIMES: I mean, I’m still shocked in 2023 to see real representation like this.
Jeff: I think that is the benefit of the whole, ‘There’s too much TV!’ Like, a show like this would never been made 20 years ago. This is not a show that could show on ABC or whatever. Like we talked about, ‘Why is it important to have this representation?’ it’s because it does normalise and humanise. Especially with trans folks and queer folks who feel so othered that we never really recognise that we’re all human.
GAY TIMES: This show means a lot to so many, particularly queer people. Did you ever expect Somebody Somewhere to have such a passionate audience?
Bridget: No. I didn’t. I don’t want to speak for Jeff, but it felt very different from what you see on TV. So, I didn’t know who was going to find it and who was gonna watch it, and I didn’t know if anybody would love it. The fact that it does have an audience, and it does seem to reaching people, blows my mind. When somebody stops me in a restaurant or on the street I’m like, ‘Wait, you talking to me?’ But, I do see that people have connected to it and it’s very rewarding. The show is small moments and the plot is thin, it’s more about what happens between the people. It feels like a slow burn, and that people are just discovering it. Like you said, you came to the show recently and people tell their friends. That’s the most exciting way to build a show. As long as HBO keep us on the air, I don’t care that it’s taking its time. Again, that’s what Carolyn said, ‘This will be a show that people discover over time’ and of course she was right.
GAY TIMES: Have you noticed much of a fanbase in the UK? As the sense of humour is very dark, which us Brits love.
Bridget: I haven’t really gotten a sense because it came out later in the UK, right? Other than a few messages on Instagram or Twitter, I don’t really know how it’s doing over there. I’d love to know how it’s doing because I love going to the UK and London. What do you think? How is it doing over there? Is anybody talking about it?
GAY TIMES: I’m not sure.
Bridget: Exactly! There you go.
GAY TIMES: Look, I’ll go out to all the clubs like, ‘Listen, have you watched this motherfucking show? Because it’s time.’
Bridget: There’s your headline! Watch this motherfucking show, it’s time!
Jeff: Also, thank you for your sacrifice by going to the clubs for us.
GAY TIMES: I’m sorry, I don’t know why I said that. I hate clubs and I won’t be going to them.
Jeff: If only you had an outlet where people will read your words!
GAY TIMES: I know, what are we gonna do? Let’s talk about Sam and Joel’s friendship, because does this dynamic translate off-screen?
Jeff: [Fart noise.] Hatred. We actually lived together for the first two seasons while we were shooting, with Murray Hill, who plays Fred. Our director called it the “Ding Dong Dorm”.
Bridget: It was very nice.
Jeff: Bridget would make her famous salsa. She grills her own vegetables and makes this delicious salsa, and then makes a margarita to go with it that usually has an infused jalapeño.
Bridget: I would say the friendship is genuine. He’s not just hanging out with me because he feels sorry for me, which, I wouldn’t blame him.
Jeff: And vice versa.
Bridget: He’s too sweet, too kind, too charismatic. Strike one, two and three.
GAY TIMES: I’m glad, because Jeff, you absolutely scared the shit out of me in American Horror Story. You’re not actually Mr Whitely.
Jeff: Well, you’re wrong. Joel, I act. Mr Whitely is just me. I was carving up a twink right before I got on the call.
GAY TIMES: Good. At this stage, can you reveal anything about season three? Or is it all hush-hush at the moment?
Jeff: I literally don’t know anything, so you’re getting nothing out of me. But also, this show – as Bridget said – is not super plot heavy. It turns out, Fred is the one who successes!
Bridget: We wrote it before the strike and I feel pretty good about it. We’ll see. I’m not telling you anything!
Jeff: She won’t tell me anything either.
GAY TIMES: Let me add onto that: is there anything about your characters that you perhaps didn’t know pre-season two that you’re taking with you into season three? Did that make sense?
Bridget: Yeah, I think so. Well, I would say that Sam is learning and growing, right? The way Joel has infused her life, I think, will offer up new changes in season three. That’s it. That’s all you’re getting!
GAY TIMES: Hmm.
Bridget: There’s going to be a lot of nudity.
GAY TIMES: Love it. Perfect. Nudity and slaughtering of twinks, then?
Bridget: Twinks get murdered and Sam’s now a nudist. It seems like that’s not exactly what Somebody Somewhere has been like, but it’s what it’s going to be like.
Jeff: We’re about to take a hard turn.
Somebody Somewhere is available in the UK on Sky Comedy and NOW.
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