Dinner’s on Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson - LISA KUDROW — on playing evil sister Ursula before Phoebe, and her recent Friends rewatch

Episode Date: December 10, 2024

"No Good Deed” star Lisa Kudrow joins the show. Over tagliatelle and scallops, Kudrow tells me the origin story of her "Friends" character Phoebe Buffay, how “The Comeback” was inspired by reality TV, and we get into her new Netflix series “No Good Deed” opposite Ray Romano. This episode was recorded at Novikov in Beverly Hills, CA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The other day I was making lemonade with my sons Beckett and Sully and Beckett is a little bit of a perfectionist. I'm not sure where he gets that from. It's me. It's definitely me. But he was getting really upset about the seeds falling into the juice and it was turning into a bit of high drama. Now listen, there's an easier way to do this. Who knew? Wonderful seedless lemons are a 100% naturally seedless lemon variety. They're juicy, zesty, bright, and everything you love about lemons minus the seeds. That's right, no more seeds floating in your lemonade or diet coke or getting caught in your teeth when you take a bite of salad. Frankly,

that's just a hazard. Wonderful Seedless Lemons are available nationwide at retailers such as Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Walmart, Kroger, as well as select Costco outlets. Look for Wonderful Seedless Lemons at your local retailer or visit wonderfulseedlesslemons.com to learn more. I don't know about you, but every year fall rolls around and I struggle to find the right gift for my friends and my family. But luckily Justin Wine makes it super easy. Justin offers curated gift sets, library wines, magnums, and even custom-edged bottles which you could add a message or logo to. Just in case you're not an expert on Justin, its world-class Bordeaux-style wines

put the Paso Robles region on California's central coast on the wine-making map. They recently sent me some of their wines, including the Cabernet Sauvignon and their flagship wine, Isosceles, which I simply cannot wait to enjoy with my friends and family this holiday season. Can't wait to enjoy a glass of Justin with my Justin. Isn't that cute? Shop all of Justin's exceptional wines at JustinWine.com and be sure to use promo code Jessie20 to receive 20% off your order today.

That's Jessie20 for 20% off. Hi, it's Jessie. Today on the show, you know her from Friends, The Comeback, and her upcoming Netflix series, No Good Deed, It's Lisa Kudrow. There were a lot of auditions for that, and the thrill for me was one of the actors walked in and went, oh, and you're here. Great. Perfect. And I went, oh my God. This is Dinners on Me, and I'm your host,

Jesse Tyler Ferguson. In 2006, I was cast in my first sitcom, a one-season show called The Class. Now, I love to prepare as much as I possibly can for roles, and I didn't really know what to do to prepare for a job I had never done before. I mean, this was my first TV job. So to feel like I was doing something,

I bought the first season of the sitcom Friends on DVD. As a fan of the show, I, of course, had seen every episode multiple times, but I wanted to rewatch those actors again in the first season of what would be the job that would change all of their lives. I mean, those six actors, those brilliant actors, all of them are just icons to me. But Lisa Kudrow with her offbeat choices and quirky character traits was just really up my alley. Her comedy just resonated with me. When

she was on camera, I leaned just a tad closer to try and figure out how she was doing what she was doing. I loved her so much as Phoebe on Friends, but then her performance as Valerie Cherish in the inspired Hollywood reality series satire The Comeback, Lisa somehow topped herself. It's not an overstatement to say that she is one of my all-time comedy icons. Now, I've had the great pleasure of getting to work with her a little bit, once as a guest star on the very funny web series Web Therapy. Also she's the producer of the show Who Do You Think You Are, which I was lucky enough

to be a part of. But I hadn't ever really had a chance to sit down and spend some quality time with her. I think my instincts were that she's not the type of person who likes to be fawned over excessively. And I think my instincts are correct, so I was both excited and a tad nervous about having a meal with someone whose work I respected so greatly. Hi! Hi!

It's so good to see you! Thanks for doing this! Thanks for the dinner! Come on over's so good to see you! So good. Thanks for doing this. Oh, sure. Thanks for being here. Come on over. You have to wiggle in over there. I took Lisa Kudrow to Novikov in Beverly Hills.

It's kind of quintessential Beverly Hills in my mind, situated in the heart of its golden triangle. It's extremely elegant. It's the type of sexy vibe I would expect my pal Sofia Vergara would be into, and as luck would have it, the staff let me know that yes, she is indeed a patron. I think they actually said that she might have even had one of her birthdays there. It's worldly, with multilingual staff from all over. In fact, bear with us as we pretend we know Italian later. In fact, you're practically transported to Italy. There's mature olive trees inside the

restaurant, and each table is decorated with fresh flowers and herbs as you enjoy menu items synonymous with Italian cuisine like beef carpaccio, parma ham and melon, or risotto with asparagus and black truffle. And given we did this on election night, being transported, even if for a couple of hours, was truly a gift. And turned out Lisa, such a wise and grounded soul, could not have been a better dining partner to have that night with. Okay, let's get to the conversation.

I love that we're doing this tonight. I'm excited, this is dinner, it's so different. Because we have to say that the election's going on. What'd you say? The election. Wait, what's so different. Because we have to say that the election's going on. What'd you say? The election. Wait, what's happening? What's happening? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha Here he is. I was gonna say our waiter's very handsome, but then he was standing right behind me. Hi. Welcome to Novigo. Thank you. Giovanni gonna take care of you tonight.

Okay, thanks. Sure, no problem. I'm blushing. Do you like any water for the table? Do you like still sparkling water? I'm gonna take some sparkling. Sparking water? Yeah.

Still water for me. Yeah. Yeah. Any, if you have any suggestion, your recommendation, just let me know if you wanna know. Okay. Okay. Thanks. I'm gonna take care of the water. Okay. recommendations, just let me know. Okay. Thanks. I'm going to take care of the water.

Okay. Thank you so much. I'm going to take care of the water. That's all I'm going to ask for. Too much. Isn't he ridiculously handsome? Yeah. Oh yeah.

Wait till you... You know we're in LA, right? I know, but that doesn't always track. That doesn't always track. But we know it's not the gorgeous ones. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That have all the talent. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Sometimes. That's what we hold on to.

Thank you. I'm just I'm sorry. Are you an actor by any chance? No, just, I'm sorry. Are you an actor by any chance? No. No, not at all? Model? Model, kind of model, but I want to do acting one day. Oh, okay.

And moved like a few months ago, so I want to do this. You moved here from where? From Italy. Yes, but what part? From South Italy, from Puglia. Puglia. Oh wow. Okay. How long have you been here? Seven months. Brand new. Yeah. Oh gosh, but your English is really good. I learn it day by day. Yeah. So much. I'm gonna bring some bread for the table. Okay. Okay.

Lisa. Because he was there. Rain it in. I was talking. Wait, that was flirting? Oh yeah. Your English is very good. And I'm a huge fan.

Well, he just moved here. Yeah, I know. We learned languages in school. That doesn't mean we know how to speak them. No, I took French for four years in high school. Can't speak any of it. Me too. Did you?

Yes. Do you speak, you were married to a Frenchman, right? I am still married to a Frenchman. No, no, I think the smart thing, the smartest thing I did was not improve on my French. Okay, okay. So the in-laws, you know, I don't have to hear anything that they can talk about me and I don't have to hear it.

I don't have to get tone and edge. I mean, do you, have I ever been brave enough to tell you like what an incredible inspiration you are to me? What? I haven't been. I thought I did, I thought when we were working on web therapy. I hope you haven't, Otherwise I forgot that you did. Yeah, right?

And that might be really bad. I mean, you have admitted to forgetting things. Like you don't even remember that you've been on certain TV shows I've heard. I have some memory of it. Yeah, yeah, vague. Really vague, why? Why?

I mean, I was late to doing sitcoms. The first one I got was The Class, which is the sitcom that Jimmy Burroughs, who put together Friends with David Crane. David and Jeffrey. And Jeffrey. So Jeffery Cleric, you worked with on Mad About You. David Crane was one of the creators of Friends. Jim Burroughs was obviously the early director of Friends. Jim Burrows was obviously the early director of Friends.

So I was with all those people kind of right after Friends was kind of wrapping up. It was really kind of the first season of the comeback. And I, like many people, was a massive fan of Friends. And it was one of those shows that like, I moved to New York in 94, that's when Friends started. I was living that story.

My apartment was so much smaller. It was just ahead of you enough. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That it was perfect. That's right. Oh, neat. And so I just had such a connection to that show, and I really am not saying this to blow smoke up your ass,

but you were always my favorite character. Oh. And I was like, there was just something about the way you twisted a joke, and it was always the non-obvious way of saying something. I just was so drawn to your creativity. Yeah. And when I was doing the class, even in early auditions,

if I was ever stuck, I would say, well, how would Lisa Kudrow say this? And I would emulate a version of what I would imagine, how you would play this line. And it always worked out for me. Oh, wow. But also, what I was so struck by is that on paper, Phoebe was very tragic.

I mean, her father had left her at an early age. Her mom committed suicide. This is one in a sitcom at age 14. That was the audition monologue. And then she lived in a car with a guy who overdosed or something? I think so, I think you're right. And she had this twin sister who had stolen her identity

and was doing porn under her sister's name. Yeah. Yeah. But you know, she was to me also the funniest character. I just was so tickled by her take on life and her positivity and her optimism with this incredibly tragic backstory. Yes, I know, I loved that.

So you're saying that was all in the character before you came to it. That monologue was the audition piece. Wow. And so to me, what was funny, what would be funny about that is a person who just treats it all like, you know, it's not just me, can't take it personally, it happens to everybody. Right.

There are a lot of auditions for that and two things about that. One of them, there were people at the studio audition that I knew from TV, they were known actors and I went, oh. Excuse me, sir, do I get anything to drink tonight? Would you like to start some wine or cocktail? No, I don't drink. I don't either. Only by myself. Ah, just by yourself?

Yeah, not in public. That's perfect. Do you have any question about our menu? I kind of know what I want. I kind of do too. Tagliatelle with creamy. And then just way too much Parmesan cheese. Yeah, why not?

But can I maybe. Do you want to start with some appetizer? A salad. Yeah. I'm going to need a salad for sure. Mama needs her greens. I know, I didn't look though. You want maybe maybe Greek salad?

It's really popular here. Okay, that sounds great. It's really good, yeah. Great, so that is that. Perfect. Well now you're handled, you're settled. I'm handled. Could I do the Caesar salad please?

Caesar salad, yes. And I'm gonna have the scallops. The white scallop? Yes. Perfect. Is that good? Oh, all right then, chef's kiss. What do you mean?

Can I see scallops? It's in the box with chef's specials. Okay, no, I'm happy with what I'm getting. Thank you. Thank you. God, it better be good. He's flirting with me. I saw that.

Yeah. Okay, so you were talking about the audition process. So you went to the studio or the network. Right, all these known actresses. Right. And I thought, oh, she'd be great as Phoebe. She'd be good too. She can do anything.

Oh, I know who she is. She's great. And I had just done a couple of recurring role moments on Mad About You, and the thrill for me was one of the actors walked in and went, oh, and you're here, great, perfect. And I went. You were a threat.

Oh my God. Yeah. And then seeing all these actors, and all of them had more experience than me, coming out of the audition, because it was in this theater at Warner Brothers. I think we probably auditioned in maybe the same space. Yeah.

And they're, I hadn't gone in yet, and they're coming out, and one by one, they're just like, that was fucked. I mean, how are you? And they're just like, oh that was fucked, I mean how are you, and they're like why what, it's like on a stage, okay, and then it's like there's like 20 people in there. And this, like a theater, like how the fuck are you supposed to be able to do this?

How do you do it? And I thought, won't there be like 200 people in the audience when we shoot the show? Yeah. I'm there to do the character, and then they have to decide. Right, yeah. I mean, that was my training,

and it was so perfect for auditioning. Now, I know that, okay, this is what I've always been fascinated, it's a little bit of like the chicken or the egg situation. So you played on Mad About You, Ursula. Right. Who ends up, who is Phoebe's sister and friends? Yes.

Now, okay, so Ursula, I'm very confused on the genesis of Phoebe, obviously Ursula came I'm very confused on the genesis of Phoebe. Obviously Ursula came before Phoebe was ever created. Right. When did those two worlds connect? When did they decide that these two people are sisters and then have Ursula actually come in to Friends and then there was a whole episode

where you had scenes with yourself. Yeah, yeah. Tell me how that all broke down. Okay, so after the show got picked up. Friends. Friends. Yes. Yeah, that show.

That show. After it got picked up, it was decided we would be on Thursday nights, Mad About You was on at eight, we'd be on at 8.30. Okay. And I was still being asked to appear on Mad About You. And I think for both shows, it was, how do you want to explain the same face, voice, actor is on at 8 sometimes

and then on at 8.30 right after it. So it was decided that. That's so good. Phoebe's twin sister and they both are in New York. And I don't know if it was around the same time, because I don't know if Ursula was in the first season of Friends or not, I don't remember. I don't think so.

So you just had Phoebe reference that she had a sister who, you know, she's really ambitious. She's like a high powered, all she cares about is work. So, oh, what does she do? She's a waitress at a coffee shop. Yeah. Yeah. And Helen Hunt came, they had crossover things, you know.

But Phoebe never appeared on Mad About It. Right. So, I mean, it's safe to say that Ursula was kind of the genesis of Phoebe, I guess, in a way. Well, in that, Jeffrey told David, you know who you should see for Phoebe is the girl playing Ursula. And he said, yeah, she is funny.

I just lost track of whatever we were talking about. No, I feel like all that, all of those overlaps are so fascinating. I feel like so many things happen this way. I mean, like, I feel like my life has overlapped with yours in very interesting ways and just that, you know. Oh, wait, no, I never said something. Oh, yeah, go ahead, go ahead.

And I get a chance to say it, okay? Okay. Because I knew David and Jeffrey, because I used to see them all the time, right? And I knew they were really proud of this show and they kept talking about Jesse is amazing. Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Wait till you see him. He's just, I mean he's gifted. He's just got it, you know? And so I watched it, I went, yep, he's great. Because you grounded everything. And that's why it was so good and funny.

Because it was all like, it's really happening for him. Like whatever this is, it's not just like reciting jokes or anything. It's all real. That really means so much to me, thank you. It's making it real. Are you tearing up? A little bit, just because what I just said to you.

It just sounded so derisively. No, no, no, no, no, but just cause like how I, I just told you that like so much of like what you did was, I don't know. It was like, it was like a, it was like a kind of like a blueprint on how to do this. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. But that's also signori. Buon appetito. Thanks. But that's also what I thought. He didn't look at me that time.

I got upset. But I was going to say, but just to finish my thought, you were such a blueprint on how to do this. The fact that you even thought that means so much to me. My God. Gosh, thanks. Thanks. even thought that was, it means so much to me, my god. Gosh, thanks. Thanks.

Thanks. Now for a quick break, but don't go away. When we come back, Lisa tells me about the poignant moment that caused her to rewatch Friends, and how special that last reunion was to her. Okay, be right back. Jing, jing, jangle, jangle, jangle. Those were holiday bells.

The holidays are upon us and Whole Foods Market is your holiday headquarters. Jing, jing, jangle, jangle, jangle. Whether you're a hosting or a guest, impress everyone at your table with exceptional flavors and enchanting host gifts for your holiday gatherings. Jing Jing! I'm not going to do that anymore.

Look for sales on Curated Cheeses to create a grazing board everyone will love to nosh on while the dinner is getting prepared. You're in the right place to get all the best accoutrements like unique jams, nuts, dried fruit, and chocolate, plus fresh bread and tons of crackers to choose from. I seriously love making a charcuterie board. It's like meditation for me. And don't forget to stop by the bakery department for timeless classics like bouche de noël and gâteau basque cake. Okay I took four years of French in high school and my French teachers either wildly impressed or very disappointed in me. Oh and also it never hurts to bring

some butterscotch pretzel brown butter cookies too. Now that one I do know how to pronounce. Make Whole Foods your holiday headquarters. You know when you discover a new binge-worthy show or a song that you just bump on repeat, you just have to share it with all your friends so that they can experience just how awesome it is. That's kind of what it feels like

when you discover that Mint Mobile offers premium wireless for $15 a month when you purchase a 3 month plan. It's such an awesome deal that there is just no way you can keep it to yourself. As I always say, friends don't let friends overpay for wireless. Seriously, I say it about 3 times a day. Say bye bye to your overpriced wireless plan and switch to Mint Mobile. There's lots of good reasons to make the switch, such as all plans come with high-speed data and unlimited talk and text delivered on the nation's largest 5G network.

You can also bring your phone number and phone along with you, along with all your existing contacts. Ditch overpriced wireless with Mint Mobile's deal and get three months of premium wireless service for $15 a month. To get this new customer offer and your new three-month premium wireless plan for just $15 a month, go to MintMobile.com slash dinners. That's MintMobile.com slash dinners. Cut your wireless bill to $15 a month at Mintmobile.com slash dinners. $45 upfront payment required equivalent to $15 a month. New customers on first three month plan only. Speed slower above 40 GB on unlimited plan. Additional taxes, fees and restrictions apply. See Mint

Mobile for details. And we're back with more Dinners on Me. I remember we were shooting the class on the same stage that you shot Friends on, on Warner Brothers. And so David was very comfortable there. Jimmy Burrows was very comfortable there. Well, Jimmy's shot on every stage. It doesn't matter.

That's true. And Matthew Perry was next door shooting the behind the scene drama, Studio 60. And he was dating a cast member of mine on the class. But Matthew was the first one of you I met and became friends with. And I think Matthew Perry came to one of our tapings one night.

He like popped over when we were taping. He was in between scenes. And there was scenes that weren't going well. You know, the writers do that thing where if a joke doesn't land, they'll huddle and come up with a new blow for the joke and they come over and spit it out to you and you have to memorize it really quickly and if you start to go off on the wrong words or with the wrong punchline Jimmy Burrow stops you so you don't ruin the joke.

And it's a high stress situation. I think it was a joke for me actually. And I was having a really hard time nailing it. And Matthew came up to me and said, you know, we would have this joke when we were shooting Friends. When things didn't work out, we would always say, oh, you can hear the traffic on Barnum.

Oh, Barnum. Traffic on Barnum, that's right. Barnum, right, you can hear the traffic on Barnum. Oh, Barnum. Traffic on Barnum, that's right, Barnum, right, because that's the street that's outside the studio, yeah. But I just, I felt it was a very special time just because I was overlapping with these people who were such titans to me. Mm-hmm, one of. You were saying that you just started watching Friends again.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. How's that been? I mean, I completely understand not being able to watch yourself. I hate watching myself on TV. watching Friends again. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. How's that been? I mean, I completely understand not being able to watch yourself. I hate watching myself on TV. I would watch myself in Modern Family just to sort of learn, but if it's on now, I have

to turn it off. Right. I mean, part of me was like if it was on, if it was on. Right. I mean, it's on. It's always on. It's on. And especially on weekends, there are marathons for Stuff Thanksgiving

and there was something like, if God forbid anybody walked into my house and saw me watching my show, I'd be mortified. Yeah, yeah. But after Matthew passed away, there were marathons, and I wanted to watch. Because it was just, it felt like part of the, for me anyway,

like remembering, grieving, remembering all that and just enjoying and celebrating, you know. And boy, I appreciated everybody on it. Like, Ben, this one was hilarious. Matt LeBlanc is making me laugh out loud. Jennifer, come on, she's so good. Look what she just did, she's so good. And Courtney, it's like, oh my God, you're hilarious. Did you never get nominated for an Emmy? Yeah. Never.

Yeah. And, you know, and Matthew, of course. nominated for an Emmy. Yeah. Never. Yeah. And, you know, and Matthew, of course, at the time he was blowing me away, you know? There's episodes I've never seen. That's mind blowing. I mean, I was at the table read. I don't know what the rewrites were for the other stories.

Right, yeah. You know, cause then everyone's busy and doing things. I had a kid, I was married, you know, I was the first one, and then I was doing movies, so sometimes I was doing that and then come back to do pickups for the scenes I was in. And yeah, I mean, there are episodes I just never saw and still haven't because I'm still deciding how to work my way through it. It's like there's a certain amount of anxiety around watching it. Yeah, I'm sure a huge part of it

is also because it is so loved. I'm afraid of what my takeaway is gonna be. Mm-hmm. I mean, I actually, when Phoebe got married and she's walking down the aisle and has this huge smile on her face, I teared up. Because she was so happy. She was so, just like honestly happy.

And it was just, I don't know, it was really touching to me. Like she deserves to be this happy. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you have to love your to me. She deserves to be this happy. Yeah. I mean, you have to love your characters too, so you obviously feel for them. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah.

I mean, you must have been so, and I thought about this after Matthew passed, it was like, you must have just been so happy that you did get to have some sort of a reunion together and all be in the same space and watch scenes from the show. I mean, that HBO reunion special was so great. Yeah.

And I know, because it's happening to me now, people are asking, when are you guys going to have a reunion? When are you going to do a reunion? When are you going to do a reboot? And granted, you did this, that reunion special on HBO was many years after Friends had ended, and you had gone on to do so many other things. But what was that like for you?

The reunion? Yeah. Oh, it was so good. I mean, Did you all go in wanting to be there? Yeah. We'd only had dinner the six of us once before. Since the show had ended. Since of us once before.

Since the show had ended. Since the show had ended. How soon after the show ended was that dinner? No, no, it was 10 years. Oh wow. You know, so if it's like 20 years or well, 25 since it had started, that was the 25th reunion. And what was that dinner like, the first time you got together? Fantastic, it was like we didn't miss a beat.

Because that wasn't being filmed, that wasn't for fans. No, no, it was just us. That was just you, yeah. Just us at someone's house and had dinner and like didn't miss a beat. Incredible. It was so great that it was, we should do this more. We're loved ones there, or was it just the six of you?

Just the six of us. Oh my God, incredible. Yeah, it was fantastic. Yeah, and private and great. Yeah. But on the set, they recreated the set. That's what was, I think, emotional and pretty emotional for some of us.

Yeah. And yeah. Just incredible. Julie Bowen, Eric Stone Street, and Ty Burrell and I did an ad for WhatsApp as our characters. And they recreated one of the living rooms for us. And our show ended not that long ago. It was like four years ago or something.

I can only imagine what it would have been like 25 years later. Oh, it was so great. And I think it was have been like 25 years later. Oh, it was insane. It was so great. I don't remember anyway, but I mean, I had been on Ellen, and she shot at Warner Brothers. One time I did it and they had the coffee house set up. Wow.

So we went over there and that shook me up. That's wild. Yeah, that shook me up. That's wild. Yeah, that shook me up and that was before, you know, the reunion or anything. But to have all of us together on the set. Incredible. Right, because it's, you never know when it will be impossible. Yeah, that's what I thought about when, you know, and I'm so sorry about Matthew. I know, I mean, I just lost a good friend of mine suddenly a few weeks ago, and it's just, you know,

it's devastating when it comes out of nowhere and it's someone that you have such history with. I'm just, I'm so sorry. Yeah, it shook us up, I have to say. I mean, he said, it won't be a surprise, but it will be a shock. And that was exactly right. He's so smart. I can't even know. He's so smart. That is true.

It wasn't a surprise, but it was a shock. Yeah, it was a big jolt. But I don't know, I think personally, I think he died happy. I think in the days around his passing, I think he was happy and excited about what's happening next. It's such a legacy he left behind and you know, his memoir is beautiful and it's just uh, I'm very, I'm very glad that he was someone I got to meet.

Oh yeah. And know a little bit. Yeah, so funny. Yeah, truly. So funny. Now for a quick break, but don't go away. When we come back, Lisa tells me how reality TV inspired the comeback, working with Sex and the City creator Michael Patrick King, and the time we dug into my family history

on Who Do You Think You Are? A show she's an executive producer on. Okay, be right back. Hello, I'm Edith Bowman, and on my weekly show Soundtrack, I sit down with the world's greatest filmmakers to talk music. Whether it's a director, composer or actor, there's one thing all my guests have in common. They love the opportunity to dive deep into the magical relationship between movies and music. But don't take my word for it. You can probably tell how much in love with movie scars I am and how much more there's

left to be said. So let's definitely do this again. I'd love to do your show again. Thanks, Mr. Spielberg. Soundtracking with Edith Bullman, wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, ladies and germs, boys and girls. The Grinch is back again to ruin your Christmas season with Tis the Grinch Holiday Podcast. After last year, he's no stranger to the spotlight. And it turns out he might even love the limelight. You can listen with the whole family as guest stars like Jon Hamm, Brittany Broski, and Danny DeVito try to persuade the mean old Grinch

that there's anything to love about the insufferable holiday season. Follow Tis the Grinch Holiday Podcast on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. ["Dinner's on Me"] And we're back with more Dinners on Me. I mean, I find it so interesting. I heard that you were given advice to maybe not do this, but like, you jumped into the comeback pretty soon after Friends ended.

And I mean, I know from just having been on something for a long period of time, how hard it is to crawl out front and meet these characters. Was the success of Friends sort of a jumping off's point for Valerie Cherish? No, I thought it was fun. No, before we were done with Friends, I was watching The Office, yeah, the UK. The Office.

And I was watching Amazing Race. Survivor had already been on. Yes. And I just went, oh, this is the end of civilization. I mean, decorum. There's no... And also now that these people will be known for this? Yeah.

I don't know that it's survivable. And I just thought, how fantastic would it be to have, if it's an actress and the audience won't have to feel sorry for her because she's signing up for it. I don't know. I just thought that would be so great. Then Friends ended and Michael and I had the same agency, Michael Patrick King, who had just finished Sex in the City. Yeah.

Our agents had us meet. And I thought, I know Michael. We were friends. I'd known him for a long time. And he just finished a show. Why would he want to do a show with me? That doesn't make sense. And he thought, she just finished a show. She's not going to want to do anything.

Yes, please. This is the wild scallop. Thank you. Oh, I think that's over here. Thank you. Anyway, I have been playing around with an idea. So it's basically I had like a cup of raw sugar and told it to Michael and he saw it and sculpted it into like a

gorgeous sugar art. He got it. We were there for like three and a half, four hours and by the end of that meal he said we've got a pitch and a series. I said we do and he said yeah we do. And he said, yeah, we're going to meet again. Yeah. Yeah. You want the whole bowl? You just want to eat the bowl? No one ever does that. Thank you very much.

Enjoy. Enjoy, Bella. Oh, thank you. He left the bowl. Just for you. And he said, enjoy, Bella. Enjoy, Bella. You're in.

And I understand that. Yeah, I do. That's what it is. That's what it is. Just for you. And he said, enjoy Bella. Enjoy Bella. You're in. And I understand that. Yeah, I do. That's what you do understand. Because I took Italian in college. I was studiato in Italiano Perunno.

Oh, hello. Flirting in Italian 101. Ciao, bello. But, I mean, what you did with the comeback is like right up my alley where you created this sort of tragic person and you... I mean, the structure of that show is so brilliant where you should have these moments where she'd be doing herself confessionals in her space and think that she turned off the camera and then you did watch her like actually crumble and you'd see how she was feeling inside and it was so heartbreaking and it's

such a brilliant opportunity to see how much you can do as an actress yeah yeah I'm lucky I got to do it yeah I think I read that someone told you that it's too soon after Friends to jump into another character and actually encourage you not to do it. Someone, huh, someone who was in this business said, listen, the show, the idea, great, write it, you want to write it, you want to put, that's great. Shouldn't have been in it. Oh, after that already. That's what blew my mind. Oh, really? And I just just went because it had gotten canceled. Right. And it was the most insane thing I'd ever heard.

But you shouldn't have been in it. It's like, well, I mean, the drive for me was not, I can't wait to write it and produce it. Right. Yeah. I don't know. But I created the character, Right. Yeah. I don't know. I created the character, not just for writing. I mean, I inhabited the character or the character

inhabited me. So, what? Like, you shouldn't have been Valerie Cheris. All right, should I not have been Phoebe? Should I not have been Michelle? Right, right, right, right. How did you process that show being let go of? Oh, immediate acceptance.

Interesting. I do that. Immediate acceptance. Like, truthfully, you actually accepted it. I actually do that. I just say, okay, well. Okay. I said, well, that's a mistake.

Okay. That's too bad. Shoot, I would have loved to do more. I don't know how to feel, and I would tell Michael, I was like, I don't know how to feel anything but proud of what we did, and they made a mistake. So we didn't do anything wrong. It is a show that then came back. There was another season.

Yeah. How many years later? I mean, it was quite some time. Nine. Yeah, nine. Which, you know, there was such a fever pitch around how exciting that was. I mean, I was thrilled it was coming back. How did that all come together?

Michael and I would talk over those nine years. Every time we had a meal, what would Valerie be doing now? You know, we would be talking about it. And it just sounded like there was an opening. Dan said, I mean, would you want more of the comeback? It was sort of like, would you see us again? Because we would go out with you.

We didn't have a bad time. I mean, I would try another day. So yeah, that's it. And then we just got, thinking about what it would be and basically all we had was, okay, so she wants to be back on reality, TV. We're in the lobby and Michael says, you know, I was just thinking, what if Polly G has a show on HBO

and he won't let her audition? I said, that's so great. What if she auditions and gets it? Yeah. And he went, oh! I was like, that was on our way up to meet with them and say here's our idea. I mean that's exactly why I love Michael Patrick King. He has these ideas that come out of him. He's unbelievable. That's right. That's right. Unbelievable.

It's probably the best HBO show. Open such door to story. Yes. Yeah. Absolutely. I also have never gotten to properly thank you for, I don't know if it was your idea or Dan Bugatinski's, but having me on Who Do You Think You Are? Oh.

Yeah. Which was a show that you executive, did you produce or executive produce? Yeah, we brought that, we. Yeah. We brought that show from the BBC. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's right. To the US. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I saw it when I was in Ireland

and went, well, we're smart enough to have this. Yeah, it's incredible. Wasn't it amazing? And I had the best time doing it, I was so nervous. Yes, everyone's nervous to do it. Yeah, I mean, you go deep into your family history. Yeah. I mean, with my episode, people that-

Wait, remind me. Mine was, my great-grandfather, my grandmother, who I was very close with, her father, had a very sordid past, was accused of murder a few times, was accused of, he was acquitted of, oh, I'm trying to remember all the details. Wait, this you knew or this is what you learned? No, this is all I learned. This is all the stuff that you unearthed. Yeah, me personally.

Yeah, you personally. He had taken an expedition to Alaska for the Gold Rush. The Yukon. That's right, yeah. And I went up to Alaska and followed his footsteps there. Bezelman was part of his story. And then there was this whole second life after he met my great-grandmother,

where he sort of turned his life around. He had this whole other life before becoming part of like my family history. Yes. And my dad was a part of this journey with me and it's something that we got to share together. He didn't know about so many of these things as well. Oh, he was with you the whole time? That's fantastic. Not the whole time, but for the early stuff.

Yeah. But I was so grateful for that week of just getting to explore my past. It was so meaningful, so meaningful for my dad. We were able to go back and visit with my grandmother's surviving sister and share information with her that we've learned and showed her writings from her father that we got to hold on to. And it was really, really impactful. her writings from her father, and that we got to hold onto. It was really, really impactful. And I can only imagine, it must have felt so good

to have been a part of a show that was that for so many people. Yes, I miss producing that show. Because that show to me was so educational. Because that show to me was so educational. It's these details of history that are so significant because it's the details that impacted people's lives and trajectories. And then it's something so meaningful for the person and their family who gets to do it.

And it's not just sitting, learning about it. You're walking in their footsteps. No, it's not swapping your mouth and sending in. Yeah, absolutely. That was, I mean, being in Alaska, seeing the places where he struggled so much, just trying to make ends meet with his gold run. What he went through.

Really powerful. It was a really incredible experience. I just think that we place people in history in this almost not quite human category or they were so smart, they were so good, they were so strong. I don't know what, but then you realize, no, no, they were human beings, and some of them made mistakes, but boy, they were tough. There was no choice of what they had to endure and overcome.

I don't know, it's in all of us. I mean, that is our legacy. I mean, it's sort of interesting because we are sitting on this night where there's a huge election happening. And you know, we're all in this very tenuous, tense place, at least I am. Yeah, everyone was tense.

And until we started talking about, who do you think you are? Yeah. I was tense and I've calmed down. No, calm down, I've re-amped. No, you haven't because it's reminded me. Yeah. If you look back, this isn't the first time.

Yeah, that's right, that's what I was gonna say. This isn't the first time everyone thought this is the most important thing that's ever happened. That's exactly what I was gonna say. To me, that's hopeful. It's just breathe through the hard parts. That's exactly right. Breathe through it, knowing that it's all a process,

it's all a journey, and it's navigating our ways through the difficult times. Right. Yeah. Yeah. And that's Politics with Lisa Kudrow. Thanks for tuning in. I know.

God. How dare I? How dare I? When this comes out, I think this comes out mid-December. So it's a few days before... So we might know who won. We might know who won. This is going to come out a few days before No Good Deed.

Oh yeah, No Good Deed. But I got to see a trailer for it. It looks fantastic. Have you seen much of it? Here's what I know. I watched it immediately, forgot the first episode, forgot I was in it, got so engrossed in the story.

By the end of it, I couldn't wait to see the next episode. Wow. Just so you know, for anyone who's in something, that doesn't happen that much. No. Right? No, for sure. I mean, so I'm married to Ray Romano in this.

Yeah. Linda Cardellini is in this. Yep. Linda Cardellini is in it. Who is in Dead to Me, which is Liz's show that she just finished up, yeah. That's why also all I heard was, so it's Netflix, Liz Feldman, I went, yes, I'll do it. Oh, yeah, she's serious.

And they said, well, and you'll be married to Ray Romano. Oh my God. That's a deal breaker. That's like a dream come true. No, dream come true, and Linda Cardellini's in it. So far, that's like a dream come true. No, dream come true and Linda Carlini's in it. So far that was it. Yeah. And I said, what, do I need to read the script?

I mean, don't I just say yes? It's like, yeah, you should read the script, but yeah. I'm really excited for it. And I'm so happy you did this. Me too. Yeah, and I'm paying. I know. Dinner's on me, yeah.

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. I figured after all was said and done. I mean, just as a gesture, I'm going to get my credit card up. Oh, no, no, no, no, no. No. This episode of Dinner's on Me was recorded at Novikov in Beverly Hills, California.

Next week on Dinner's on Me, you at Novikov in Beverly Hills, California. Next week on Dinners on Me, you know we're from films like Step Brothers and Bad Moms and now the Disney Plus series Agatha all along, it's Catherine Hawn. We talk about taking big swings on screen, voice memos from Patti LuPone, and the work that goes into a long, healthy marriage. And if you don't want to wait until next week to listen, you can download that episode right now by subscribing to Dinners on Me Plus. As a subscriber, not only do you get access

to new episodes one week early, you'll also be able to listen completely ad-free. Just click Try Free at the top of the Dinners on Me show page on Apple Podcasts to search your free trial today. Dinners on Me is a production of Sony Music Entertainment and a kid named Beckett Productions. It's hosted by me, Jesse Tyler Ferguson. It's executive produced by me and Jonathan Hirsch. Our showrunner is Joanna Clay.

Our associate producer is Angela Vang. Sam Baer engineered this episode. Hans-Dyl She composed our theme music. Our head of production is Sammy Allison. Special thanks to Tamika Balanz-Khlasny and Justin Makita. I'm Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Join me next week.