00:00Apathetical for you.
00:02Mm, okay.
00:05Let's say we're at a party.
00:10Maxwell's playing.
00:11Love him.
00:13You don't know me.
00:15I don't know you.
00:19And I ask you on a date.
00:22Would you say yes?
00:23Super excited about this series.
00:30I fell in love with Master of None first season.
00:33I'm so glad it's back.
00:36Can you talk about this new season,
00:40focusing on Denise and Alicia and then for you,
00:43you know, revisiting this character so many years later
00:46and being the lead this time as opposed to, you know,
00:49recurring your guest star.
00:50Well, look, being on the call sheet is not easy.
00:56That's what I learned.
00:57Like, oh, man.
00:58Okay.
00:59No, but look, Denise is a character I can step into,
01:02you know, any day of the week.
01:04And I've missed playing her because it's such a,
01:08becomes such a part of who I am and my career.
01:12You know, but, you know, four years later,
01:14it's I've grown up and so has the character.
01:17And I think that's what was exciting.
01:19I think it would have been a little not as fun
01:21if she was still doing the same stuff
01:23and was still saying the same things.
01:25But instead, you know, she definitely has gone on a journey.
01:28She's living in upstate New York now.
01:30She's written a book that's done really well.
01:31She's married.
01:32She doesn't get to see her friends as much as she used to,
01:34which I think is also very relatable for some folks who
01:37kind of gets their later thirties and they get married
01:40and starting to have kids.
01:41And that's also the thing is that she's embarking on possibly starting a family.
01:45And that's a layer of stress that I think Denise just isn't quite ready for.
01:49But what I love in this season that she's not able to say that she's not ready for that yet.
01:55You know, and so I think instead she does what she thinks she's supposed to do.
02:00And it kind of gets her in a little bit of a truck in trouble.
02:02And I think that's what's so great about.
02:04I think what me is he's able to find the writing this season is about
02:07what do people actually do in these moments?
02:10Do they tell the truth or do they say what their partner wants them to say
02:13and how that can actually get them to a place where they don't want necessarily want to be.
02:17Yeah.
02:18It was really fun to explore.
02:19And I think a lot of people may be able to relate to it.
02:21Yeah.
02:22And I'm glad you said that because I was like, I cannot put my finger on Denise.
02:25Like the face was saying something, but the actions were matching.
02:29I was like, what?
02:30What's going on here?
02:32And it was really, you know, very interesting to play,
02:36because usually as an actor, you're about, okay, well, let me play what I'm saying.
02:42But with this is that everything Denise is saying is to protect something.
02:47You know, she's trying to hold on to something rather than being honest about where she is.
02:52And that was a very tricky, you know, line to walk.
02:55And it's really helpful in making sure the performance always felt, you know,
02:59you believe what I'm saying out of my mouth.
03:01But you, but I also have to play it in a way that's, I don't want my partner to know that I'm nervous
03:08and I'm trying to instill confidence, but I am trying to do that for myself.
03:12And it's just a very interesting journey that she goes on.
03:16And it was, it was really, it wasn't always fun to play because it can be very heavy,
03:21but it was very rewarding by the time I would walk off the set.
03:25Okay.
03:26And I was thinking too, you know, I feel like this is one of few series I've seen that doesn't make cheating seem fun.
03:31I was like, this is not a fun thing, you know, and then for both characters.
03:35And I think showing that there's underlying issues, you know, behind it, can you kind of talk about framing that narrative?
03:41Oh yeah. I mean, I think when Aziz and I were working on it, we really wanted to make sure that we didn't,
03:48there was no hero, you know, or, or, or villain per se.
03:51But that was also how we really approached the Thanksgiving episode.
03:53You know, I think in writing a character that was loosely based on my mom,
03:58I didn't have any desire to vilify her at all, you know, or, or make myself a hero.
04:02And I think in this one, there are moments that I wasn't afraid where I was like, Denise is not going to be likable here.
04:07Or Denise, you not necessarily rooting for Denise here, or maybe you are rooting for Denise,
04:11even though, you know, you know, she's making decisions that aren't that smart.
04:14But I really wanted to feel like a human journey.
04:17I want people to be able to look at it and go, I mean, I probably did the same thing in that situation,
04:21or I've done that before.
04:23And, and I think rather than doing something that is not something you want to aspire to be,
04:27but rather instead we're showing you what you actually would do in that scenario,
04:32which isn't always the right thing.
04:34And I think that to me is what's always exciting to me in Aziz,
04:37is to write characters that do stuff that isn't always likable,
04:41because that's more fun to write.
04:42And I definitely think we're in a space and time where I think especially black audiences
04:46want to see happy, joy, things being perfect and aspirational.
04:50But I think over time, it's this work that they'll be going back to revisit,
04:55not the stuff that just makes them smile and forget.
04:57Yeah.
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