Cheyenne Jackson talks ‘Call Me Kat’ and creates comedy in the age of COVID

At its peak, there is a modern British sitcom Miranda it attracted an audience of more than 11.5 million. Now, remade for US TV and renamed, Call me Kat one of the first major mid-season network premieres of 2021.

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“I wasn’t aware of it, which is surprising because I like so many shows in the UK,” explained Cheyenne Jackson, who plays Max on the Fox sitcom.

The original show was created by comedian Miranda Hart, written and starred.

“Call me Kat I came through my manager, who said it was based on BBC store material, the work of Miranda Hart. I watched it, and then, of course, I had to look back at the seasons while I was still able to make my performance my own, ”Jackson recalled. “I fell in love with her work and how she was raised. I didn’t realize that she was one of the first, if not the first, to break that fourth wall in a sitcom. I think Phoebe Waller-Bridge has public credibility Miranda to do that because it’s a wonderful way for our heroine to tell you how she feels. ”

Call me Kat was developed by Jim Parsons and stars on the previous one The Big Bang theory co-star, Mayim Bialik, in the lead title role. She plays Kat, a 39-year-old who will make life-saving savings by opening a cat cafe.

“It was the same for me, ‘Who in the world can play that part here in America? Who is so lively and funny and resilient. ‘And, you know, we found her,’ Jackson said. “Mayim Bialik’s beliefs are in the rock box. It’s amazing. All the best of Miranda, I feel like we have obeyed him. I mean, Mayim isn’t a stand-up comic, but if *** ing is funny. We laugh at our asses every day. I hope that translates for people. Honestly, it’s like there’s nothing she can’t do. “

“We joke about it on set. Fortunately, she is full of humor about it, but we say that there is nothing that she cannot do. If we have a scene where we are singing and playing the piano, she is actually playing the piano. If we have a scene where she’s cutting something, and the photographer says, ‘Oh, this would be better from the left,’ she says, ‘Oh, I’m ambidextrous, I can to do with my other hand. ‘It’s just one of those amazing things where it’s all wrapped up here in this magical one-horned magical man. “

Participating Max in Call me Kat both a no-brainer and a terrific career goal were in place for Jackson.

“It has certainly been a learning curve. I only did one guest place on a multi-cam sitcom, Will & Grace, but I’ve been trying to get at them for 11 years, ”he admitted. “They are so small apart, especially the ones that are well written and have everything you want. I always had ink that would be a good medium for me because of my theater training and the show format. However, it took me a while to get used to the pace, which is pretty quick. If you have five cameras, just know where your body needs to be, so you don’t interfere with other people’s pictures. ”

“I lift my eyes from Leslie Jordan, who has done a million shows, and Swoosie Kurtz, those comedy veterans. I’m just trying to get the ground running. I get so much fun. I love comedy. Thug mi detour le The American Horror Story and stretched those other muscles, but I tell you, to have a show that has this joy, especially just after a ** tshow of a year, is a dream. Plus every single night, I was able to be home in time for dinner with my kids, and I was never able to do that on a show. ”

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There are obstacles that Jackson, and his Call me Kat constellations, has been sailing.

“We don’t have an audience, which is sad for something like this. There is no smile, and you have to smile. Also, being established was a wild change. I was scared. I have two small children. My husband’s mother lives with us, and she’s almost 80, ”he said. “Since almost March, we have been in a complete lockout. This is what works best for my family. It’s just the way I had to be. So when the show started, it was so weird. ”

“It was almost the first time I was out of the house and then I went through the test procedures, and everyone is in hazel suits, with masks, a shield, gloves, the nine yards all. The protocols are amazing, but it ‘s a very strange way of working. It was like crossing two worlds. ”

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He said, “We get tested every day, there are quick tests and PCR tests, but even with all that, we are still at a social pace all day. We have masks, we have wings, we rub our own props, we have our own little puppies, but when you’re doing comedy, you have to see each other’s faces. We do it all behind masks, up to the last second, and then in what they call the red zone, which is just like the main thrower and the main camera people and the director, they say , ‘Okay, masks off! ‘Then we put them in small plastic bags, makeup comes in, gives us one quick rub, we see each other’s faces, and then we do the look. A big part of it is also that you trust each other to be safe and when we are done with work to make good decisions at home. ”

“Honestly, I feel incredibly grateful and blessed to work. So many of my peers and friends are waiting for their shows to start, or their Broadway show has been canceled. People are hurt. It’s amazing how the industry has praised, thankfully, the fact that thousands of people depend on these jobs. “

Even before the team got to the soundtrack to record the first program, some of Jackson ‘s main concerns about the show itself were allayed.

“I knew Call me Kat it was unique from reading the pilot. It was so funny, but you also have to have some sadness in it. You need to have some truth. I feel like the six of us because all of these main characters are lonely and lost, and until the calm and the wackiness and the kicks to the face and everything, you have the courage. I knew there was a bit of magic happening the first few Zooms we did, ”he recalled. “We haven’t met in person for months, of course. It was almost like we were all kind of online. We were always doing readings of these events online. Once I saw everyone they were throwing, and I heard the end of their voices, and I heard the rhythm, and as everyone spun it, you know when something is going to happen. click. Now it’s just a matter of finding out if the world will feel what we feel. That’s out of my hands, but man, it feels good to be on something when you know it works because I’ve been on stuff that I can’t tell you isn’t. ”

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“It’s a 13-program run. We broadcast the first scene, and then we start filming the last six. We shoot while we go out, which is really rad. We were pushed back so often because of COVID. I’m glad they trusted it and gave us a good slot. Every minute, every beat, we just try our best because a lot of people’s jobs count on it. ”

Even though he has achieved his sweet spot with the sitcom, Jackson has not refused to return to one of his old gardens, The American Horror Story.

“I won’t close any doors. I came to that decision when I started acting professionally at 27. I received good advice early on, and that was to be open to all abilities at all times, ”explained the actor, who was starred in four seasons of the show. “I love Ryan Murphy, and he has always been my cheerleader and supporter. He saw me in a Broadway play ten years ago and has never seen things in me that I have not seen. I have never seen myself on a show like The American Horror Story. I was so cheap out my first season. Those big Gothic sets and the dramatic dialogue, appearing opposite Lady Gaga, then featured Kathy Bates and Angela Bassett. Dude, I felt like a fish out of water. I settled into my second and third ones, but I’m so glad I got that experience because I had to stretch myself. I had to go to places I hadn’t been to. I would work with him if he had something else for me. I would always step back in that world because it is a wild and bloody and sexual and mysterious world that it creates. Some of it is camp, and some of it is really scary. It’s all over the table. Yeah, I would totally return The American Horror Story. ”

Call me Kat premiered on Fox on Sunday, January 3, 2020, at 8pm PT.