The Gen X Show You Should Be Watching + Embodying The Boss
Hello WNVM-ers,
Not sure about you, but we feel the need to be swaddled in the biggest hug ever, so thankfully, the third, but final (*sob*) season of “Somebody Somewhere” just started a few weeks ago. The semi-autobiographical dramedy inspired by the life of actor, singer, comedian, and cabaret queen Bridget Everett offers a small-screen version of that comforting, supportive and cathartic huggy hug. If you haven’t watched — what are you doing?!? Binge the first two seasons on HBO and/or Max, so you can quickly catch up for the farewell installments.
Ahead of Sunday’s fourth episode, Fawnia interviewed Mary Catherine Garrison, who plays Tricia, the sister of Everett’s Sam. They discussed how “Somebody Somewhere” so accurately portrays Gen X, why Garrison feels the best ever at 51, and what are her go-to ‘80s/‘90s karaoke songs.
And in news You Oughta Know, Hugh Grant continues to be an asshole, new Whitney Houston music, and everything we know so far about the Jeremy Allen White-starring Bruce Springsteen biopic.
I Want ‘Somebody’ To Share
‘Somebody Somewhere’ star Mary Catherine Garrison has ‘never felt more ready to take on the world’
By Fawnia
Each beautiful episode of “Somebody Somewhere” can feel emotionally shattering and wonderfully heartfelt at the same time. The series, co-written/produced by Everett, so deftly illuminates the sheer joy of simple gestures and moments that we often forget to notice and appreciate. The show also highlights the very specific experiences of a massively underrepresented group on television: Generation X. (Although right now, I’m pretty OK with being ignored.)
Over the three seasons, Sam continues on her journey of self-discovery since returning to her (and Everett’s) hometown of Manhattan, Kansas. Along the way, the storylines hit very Gen X points: grappling with grief, caring for aging parents, reconciling with generational trauma, and opening up to new relationships and situations when we’re so settled in our ways. As Tricia and Sam confront the loss of their beloved sister, Holly, and navigate their fraught relationship, they discover deeper ways to connect and embrace found family through the tight knit LGBTQ+ community in the Little Apple.
Along with finding the Midwestern small town set decoration by Krysten Kate Hegner and Trent Weaver so spot-on that it’s triggering (I grew up with Brad’s carefully-stored Corningware!), I can relate so much to the sisters’ complicated, ever-evolving, and very X-y predicaments and situations.
Sometimes, I connect so much with Sam — meandering, pausing, and catching new curveballs on that continuous path of self-discovery. I liken her taking on extra bartending hours and hustling for tips to me, desperately scrambling for editor responses and dwindling work in this freelance media hellscape, thinking, “I have to find something else — again?” This season, Sam feels like everyone around her is moving on with their own life stage changes. Instead of remaining stuck, she finds the courage — not always easy! — to work toward her own self-fulfillment.
Other times, I feel confident and assured after building, and achieving, a new career — like Tricia’s success as a “big c*nt mogul” (seriously, watch the show.) I couldn’t have felt prouder watching #girlboss Trish climb into her shiny new Escalade that's even branded with her dream event planning company, “Trish Upon a Star.” (She would so subscribe to Sophia Amoruso’s new Substack, btw.)
In the role, Garrison brings the snort-laughs and tears as she trades pitch perfect barbs and quips with longtime friend, and former NYC roommate for 10 years, Everett. The Broadway veteran infuses Tricia — who definitely spent four years on the Manhattan High homecoming court — with all her complex, sometimes frustrating, and always irresistibly charming layers. Even the way Garrison cocks her head to the side and sips out of Tricia’s colossal Stanley Cup says so much about the character — and makes me chuckle.
“Across the board — starting from the top and trickling all the way down to the cast and crew — is this rigorous commitment to authenticity,” says Garrison. “If anything felt TV-ish, [creators, co-writers, and native Midwesterners] Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen would be like, ‘Nope, cut it.’ Or if anything felt too adorable or too funny or too presentational, we’d opt for the more subtle version.”
“Somebody Somewhere” also leans into the nostalgic euphoria of an ‘80s-inflected soundtrack featuring songs with the most evocative lyrics. Sam’s banger rendition of “Gloria” closing out season two even elicited an enthusiastic tweet from Laura Brannigan. Bronski Beat’s “Smalltown Boy” perfectly bookends the season three premiere (“run away, turn away, run away…”), and Tricia enjoys a very satisfying Pointer Sisters moment in Sunday’s episode.
In the meantime, grab a ‘tini, order French toast for the table (fuck you, Susan), and enjoy our conversation below.
Going back to the pilot episode: When we first meet Tricia, you were giving me serious “high school popular girl, 30 years later” energy — especially when Tricia pairs up against Sam with her then-business partner and BFF Charity (Heidi Johanningmeier). I was like, “I know these people!” What memories, experiences, and/or inspirations did you tap into for your portrayal of early-Tricia?
Well, it's so funny because when you read the script for season one, it feels like Trish is going to be your villain. And I was like, “Well, that's cool. Every show needs a villain,” and it's usually a little bit more fun to play the villain. But, because the writing is so sophisticated and they're not interested in doing two dimensional portrayals of anybody, everyone on the show is fully realized in some way. [In the pilot], you just learn that there was a two-against-one thing with the three sisters, and that made Tricia feel left out. So she didn't grieve the same way [as Sam], and didn't feel like she could grieve the same way, because she felt shut out of it. That'll put someone on the defensive, obviously. But that gives room for Sam and Tricia, who are the only two left, a lot of room to play with. Because they need each other. It was so fun to really dig into that.
Tricia’s professional success and singledom also change her dynamic with Sam. There's also something so specific about confronting change, decades into a relationship, especially with siblings and friends. Because you're so close with Bridget, what discussions did you both have about your characters’ journeys into a new stage? How did it feel to be playing that?
The thing about sisters, siblings or family — really if you've grown up in the same house — you tend to slide back into these dynamics that you had when you were 10 or 14. What was really fun was: [Sam and Tricia] could be in mid-sentence, and then all of a sudden get pissed at each other. Like, it just turns on a dime: “no!” “No, no, NO!” [*high-pitched scream*] Just having a normal conversation, and all of a sudden everybody's pissed. Then you have to get over it because you have to finish the conversation. Just to bring those dynamics that we had when we were kids into your adult life — that was delicious to play with.
Also, it is vulnerable when you've known someone for decades to admit that you need to change — or that you are changing. You try to either sweep it under the rug and pretend like, “I've always been like this.” But I think [Tricia and Sam], they both do a little bit of, “Oh, I've always been cool [with that]. I thought you were cool,” while secretly fearing that she wasn't cool.
You have these set roles that flip this season, in a way. Sam is coming into herself a bit more, but then Tricia becomes Sam's boss, essentially.
She’s one of those people that was born to be a boss [laughs].
Tricia also showed how you can reinvent yourself and find a new successful, fulfilling, and clearly lucrative career path during what they call “midlife.” It's really encouraging and inspiring, but I feel like we don’t see that story explored much on television. What was it like to play that arc, and were there any personal experiences that you and Bridget infused into Tricia’s journey?
I mean, hell yeah! You've hit a nerve right now because I'll be 51 in December, and I have never felt like more ready to take on the world. I feel more myself than I've ever been. I feel more relevant than I've ever been. I feel more interesting as a person. I feel more wide open. We've been told this myth about middle age or menopausal time or whatever, that you just get crusty and dusty and just go sitting on a flower tufted chair somewhere. And I feel like warrior-level strength right now.
And you're right. That's not something that we ever see [on TV]. You see midlife, and it's your divorce, and that's it. Like, what are you gonna do? You never meet anybody again. But first of all, it's not even about meeting somebody. It's about your inner life and it was a joy to play someone who felt like everything was over, and then you get to see her — just bit by bit — build it back up and see just the whole new chapter. A whole new second go at her whole life, really.
I feel like that's happened to me with this show too, like I can absolutely relate to that. There's another comedian, Leanne Morgan, and her career really took off in her 50s. Because her kids were grown and she could focus on it. I read this quote — sorry, this just really does fire me up! — by an Australian artist. I'm forgetting her name, but she's 90, and is starting to become really famous in the art world. [Fawnia note: Maybe Yvonne Audette?] She said, “Women's lives don't really start until we're 60, because it's not until then that we're free.”
That's a very good point.
Yeah, isn't that incredible? I read that quote and started crying. Because that sense of freedom — that I feel like most men probably feel already, or maybe they don't need to feel it, I don't know, but — we’re just held in place taking care of people for a big chunk of our lives. And then there's a time when suddenly life is yours again and that's what Tricia got
In the upcoming episode, Tricia asks Sam for help about a gynecological issue. (No spoilers.) This is such an intimate but hilarious scenario that I feel like only sisters would do for each other. How did being former roomies and such close friends influence how you both played that scene? How much of it was like improv? Like, I don't know how you all keep a straight face.
Well, we do it a few times, so that helps! Again, the writing is so good. I'm pretty sure it was all scripted, except for, at one point, I threw my wet underwear from the shower, and I'm not sure if it got cut or not, but it lands on [Everett’s] foot. That was improv by Bridget, and it was pretty brilliant. But the thing about Bridget and I, we don't discuss [a scene together.] We just show up. I don't want to presume anything, but I feel like I understand who [Everett] is as a person and how she's playing Sam, and what these scenes need to tell us about her, and about Sam and Trisha’s relationship. So we both come at it just from the same place, somehow.
One of the great things about acting with really good writing is — I joke that my whole acting process is just, “Let her rip!” Like, I don't really know what's going on, I just go for it and hope for the best. With really good writing, the moment unfolds from each other. So you're just there going, “Oh, this is what it is. This is happening.” That sounds a little bit kooky, but you discover it together as you're playing it. and you allow yourself to do that.
The music on the show is so good, and I love it when Bridget sings. When you lived together, or even now with the cast, do you go karaoke together? What are some of your ‘80s and ‘90s go-to songs?
Bridget and I did karaoke all the time when we were living together in the early 2000s. We're a little bit older now, so we don't do much past 10pm, so we haven't done karaoke in a little bit. We maybe went a few years ago to this place Sing Sing in the East Village.
I love Sing Sing! Maybe we ran across each other at some point in the early 2000s there. Like at 2am.
Oh my god, I love it! It's always very late there. When Bridget forced me to karaoke the first time ever, I did “Son of a Preacher Man” by Dusty Springfield and I still do that one. I think she felt it would suit my voice, and perhaps it did. Then she sang the Bonnie Raitt song, “Something to Talk About.” Now I do …I actually have a list of my karaoke songs on my phone. Let me look. Oh, John Waite, “Missing You.”
Oh, so many good ones. I love that you have a list ready to go on your phone.
[Laughs] Well it's because, you go in the room, and you're like, “Shit. What songs do I like?” And you never remember, but now I've got a little list. “Waiting For That Day” by George Michael is my new favorite.
My last question: Cheryl wrote this story on the return of press-on nails, and you said in an interview that you make your own. So I just need to know more.
The ones I make are really weird shapes and ones with little people on them, and they’re all mismatched. I draw on resin. To me, they're super fun and weird, but not everyone likes them, and that's fine.
The above interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
We are two Gen X journalists who analyze all the '80s and '90s nostalgia in current pop culture, fashion, and beauty. Read more stories like this one here!
You Oughta Know
The last few weeks have seen a few reveals of Jeremy Allen White (of “The Bear” and wearing-underwear-while-having-six-pack-abs-and-lounging-on-a-couch fame) as The Boss in the forthcoming Bruce Springsteen biopic. We are having a hard time seeing anyone but Carmy, but InStyle made a pretty good side-by-side case for the two as doppelgangers. Recently, Springsteen said on “The Graham Norton Show,” of White’s performance: “It’s difficult but he is a great actor and sings pretty good.” Hm. -CW [People]
On November 25, French billionaire socialite Mouna Ayoub is auctioning off her personal Jean Paul Gaultier haute couture collection, ranging from Autumn-Winter 1998-99 to AW 2022-23. The 41 (!) lot treasure trove of “highly wearable, museum-quality” pieces “laid dormant for more than a decade,” presumably in one of her massive walk-in closets (or temperature-controlled storage warehouses.) Her favorite, from Spring-Summer 1999, is the enfant terrible designer’s cheeky take on a black tie Gaultier turned a pair of jeans into a spectacular ball gown — with the waistband as the strapless neckline, and ostrich plumes fluttering down the mermaid silhouette. The gown will set you back a cool €25-35K, but there’s also a circa-late-’90s satin bustier, with a peplum, starting at a relatively reasonable €400. -FSH [WNVM inbox]
Two 64-year-old men who loomed large in Gen X ‘90s pop culture are in the news. Hugh Grant, horribly miscast in Sense and Sensibility and a delight in Four Weddings and a Funeral, just took Vanity Fair’s Proust questionnaire, as part of a media blitz to promote his new horror movie, Heretic. He’s really leaning into acting like a dick, and we kind of like it? Also, we agree with his current state of mind (“deranged”) and most marked characteristic (“thinly veiled fury”). Then, David Duchovny speaks to Gillian Anderson on his podcast (of COURSE he has a podcast) about their three decade friendship and how he could have acted better towards her. -CW [People]
Music diva anniversaries: There’s a new live album available to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Whitney Houston’s visit to and live concert in South Africa. It features a never-before-released studio track called, “Love Is.” Plus, this week marked the 40th anniversary of the release of Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” album. The Boy Toy belt? That bustier?? “Material Girl”??? Raise your hand if this album was extremely formative for 13-year-old you. -CW [Stereogum]
For a snort-laugh, scroll to the end for quite possibly the most Gen X-referential error that The Gray Lady has ever corrected (also the series is very good). If only they apologized by standing outside my bedroom window holding a boombox blasting Peter Gabriel. –FSH [New York Times]
For much, much less than a rare vintage Corningware set (seriously?! Guess Brad is onto something… ), please consider supporting us and upgrading your subscription here:
I have watched “Somebody Somewhere” since Day One. I laugh and cry during every episode, and I’m so sad it’s ending.
Ohh great interview, and I don't think we can get Somebody Somewhere here, and now I REALLY want to watch it (I think HBO is not able to stream here?😫) Yes!! to the Jeremy A W "We are having a hard time seeing anyone but Carmy" situation 😂 - and have you seen there's a new Bridget Jones coming, with Hugh making a cameo-ish comeback as Daniel?! XO