Inside Amy Schumer Returns April 1!
A brand new season of Inside Amy Schumer kicks off in just a few weeks. In the meantime, you can kill some of that time by reading Beside Amy Schumer, a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the new episodes, written by Amy’s sister Kim.
Two years ago I found out I was going to shoot a pilot for Comedy Central. I was so excited. My first phone call was to my sister Kim. Kim also happened to be with me at a hotel gym in San Francisco when I got the call that they wanted me to shoot a whole series. We got off our respective ellipticals and cried. I wanted her to write for the show immediately. She could not. She is a school psychologist and couldn’t leave with such little notice. Not to mention the fact that she is married and lives in Chicago with her husband Vinny and her three-legged pit bull Abbot. We both agreed that if I got a second season, she would move to New York and live with me and work on the show. Getting a tv show was a dream come true for a gal like me. I grew up watching Shirley Temple, Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, Gilda Radner, Lily Tomlin, Laverne & Shirley, Kate & Allie, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, Donna Reed, and so on. I would collect all the movies and tv shows from these actresses that I could get my hands on, and watch them till the cassettes broke.
Welcome back guys. This was our final week of principal photography for IAS Season 2. There was no time to feel sad though as this was one of our busiest weeks yet. Also, there is always time to feel sad so please disregard that previous statement. The week kicked off with the return of Josh Charles, which was ideal because the best time to see him is the first day back to set after you’ve drowned yourself in a sea of mashed potatoes and turkey for a full 9 days. I thought that as this was his second time with us this season, I would get used to being around him. I didn’t. No one did.
Welcome back guys. I am writing to you from a freezing hallway in our Tribeca apartment building. Why am I sitting outside in a hallway instead of on our comfy couch under a warm blanket? Well guys, it’s because Amy is currently taping Jennifer Carmody’s podcast (“Carmody Central”) where the first topic they discussed was preference in sex positions. I tried hiding in my bedroom, the bathroom, and Amy’s bedroom, but I could not find a place where I could get far enough away so as not to hear my sister, who I used to make up dance routines to the Footloose soundtrack with, discuss the pros and cons of missionary. So here I am. Cold and thoroughly bummed out. I’ll try not to let my disgust color this blog entry or my overall life going forward, but I make zero promises.
Welcome back guys. This was week one million of shooting IAS season two. Over the last five days, we have shot parts of 13 sketches. That works out to being…God only knows how many sketches per day. I’m obviously going to show you guys a picture from most of them but first, here is a quote from Christopher Columbus (which you guys are clearly the perfect demographic for):
“You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.”
Beside Amy Schumer with Amy’s Sister Kim Welcome back guys. Last week, IAS took a few days off from production so Amy and I flew to LA for some very fancy shit. We drank a lot of scotch and did a lot of writing. In addition to the fancy shit and booze, we also recorded a song on Mr. Kyle Dunnigan’s upcoming Christmas album, which will be released on December 5th. Now while I don’t care for him as a writer, or comic, or person, I think his album will be decent and Amy and I are kinda psyched to be a part of it.
Welcome back guys. We just finished week three of shooting. I’m torn because I really want to tell you about every scene we filmed but I’m not sure how much I’m technically allowed to reveal here and I am wayyyyy too lazy to make a phone call and find out. So I guess I’ll just keep writing about/showing you guys whatever I feel like and wait until someone gets mad and tries to fire me, which won’t happen because nepotism is dope!
My favorite scene that we filmed this week was (I just sat here for a full two minutes typing then erasing trying to decide) “You Cant Go In There.” This scene featured Jim Norton (my favorite comic other than my sister) and a stunning display of Muppet-like qualities from Amy.
Welcome back guys. Holy. Shit. When I imagine the production phase of some other TV shows, I think of phrases like, “Barrel of laughs,” and “Does the fun ever stop?” We are now a week and a half into the production of Inside Amy Schumer season 2 and my favorite on-set comment thus far came from the show’s director, Ryan McFaul, when he said, “Wow…these scenes are all really dark. Hilarious, but dark.” Ryan, you nailed it.
Welcome back guys. The writers wrapped last week for IAS season 2. In total, about 70 sketches were written and narrowed down to the 50 that we will be filming. To celebrate, the writers all went out for a night of reflection and some no-hold-barred karaoke. Kyle Dunnigan suggested that everyone drink Mojitos all night, which we did and it was a terrible idea. Neil Casey kicked off the night by IMMEDIATELY singing Bowie’s Changes. Tough act to follow? Not for Amy and Jeremy Beiler, who took the stage next to belt out a heartfelt and (surprisingly not over-)theatrical rendition of Sunrise Sunset from Fiddler on the Roof. As the night went on, our performances stayed confident but some people’s song choices just became outright unacceptable. Like when Jeremy and Kyle chose a song that they CLEARLY had never heard before and forced us all to listen to them stumble over ever single word. Karaoke that relies solely on reading is aggressive. Kyle and Christine Nangle also made the decision to follow their performance of Born to Run with…you guessed it, Born to Run. Back to back performances of the same Bon Jovi was a bummer. A real bummer. Thank God I chose to rock Bobby McGee and give everyone a performance that I’m sure they all considered to be a gift. You’re welcome. Kyle being an awful person aside, please enjoy these pictures and be so very jealous that you weren’t there to witness all of this:
Welcome back guys. Thank you for the emails with your suggestions for the Amy Goes Deep interviews…they were smart and funny. I think you guys will find the people we have lined up to be super-interesting. Inside Amy Schumer season 2 is almost completely written and ready to shoot. After over two months of intensive work, the writers are feeling more enthusiastic and invigorated than ever. Just ask Christine Nangle who joined IAS this season:
Until IAS season 2 airs, however, I recommend that you try to catch Amy’s stand up. current tour dates are on her website. Now a lot of people ask me, “Kim, as Amy’s sister and road manager and best friend and muse and hero and fashion icon…what is it like traveling with her and being backstage at her show. Is it crazy?” The answer is uhhh if you like going halfsies on a bottle of Cake Bread Chardonnay and peeling over notes for an hour then uhhhh yeah…I’d say it’s prettttttttty crazy. See backstage for yourself:
Being with Amy on the road these days is pretty similar to how it was growing up with her. When we were kids, Amy used to make us get all dressed up, stomp around in boas and hats, and perform some ridiculous play or dance for our parents or brother or anyone else who would be patient enough to watch for a few minutes. Thank God she now lets me hang behind the scenes, and the content of her shows has become way more entertaining. There is a part of me that will always think of her in that way though, even when she goes on stage to do her set in front of a theatre holding thousands of people who have chosen to come watch her perform. I will always see Amy as the girl who held up a hairbrush like a mic, made up songs and scenes, then sat with me eating snacks and talking about her performance.
