If you’re at all a fan of comedy, chances are you likely watch, or have heard of, Comedy Central’s early twentieth century satire, Another Period. Upon its release, the show was heralded as a blend of Keeping up with the Kardashians and Downton Abbey. The series, created by Natasha Leggero and Riki Lindhome, has thus far early in its second season, transformed itself into something far more unique than the blend it was originally conceived around.
Or more specifically, it’s become the type of show that Shonda Rhimes, she of Thursday night ABC domination, says she wishes she could have created your show.
Another Period is set in Newport, Rhode Island circa the early 1900’s and follows, and mocks, the lives of its two female protagonists, the entitled Bellacourt Sisters, Lillian (Leggero) and Beatrice (Lindhome). The show finds its humor, and plenty of it, with an absurdist take on a time period that was bathed in unprecedented luxury, and brought about a new societal definition of the nature of celebrity and socialites in America.
I was lucky enough following the season two premiere to have the opportunity to speak with show’s co-creator, producer, director, and star, Riki Lindhome about what to expect for the upcoming season, the process of bringing the show to life, how she stayed resilient in light of the difficulties of life as an actress, as well as what she hopes to work in the future (Hint! She'd love to make a musical with Matt Stone and Trey Parker).
Going into season two, how did the success of the first season open up the writing process?
“Mostly what opened it up for us was spending all this time with the show, as in we’re constantly in the editing room, and we’re in every sound edit and we’re in costume, and we really enjoyed being a part of everything and every step of the process, as well as most importantly a lot about the actors. The things they did that made us laugh the most so by the time the second season came around, we could tailor things for each actor. We were able to dive into the things we loved that each actor did that we learned going through the first season.”
How did you choose the time period you did and how do you mine comedy from it?
“I mean it’s just no one has tackled this time period in America. Like Downton Abbey is popular, and that show was so popular, and we were curious what it was like here in America at that time, and basically it was the same, except for it with new money. And it was someone who just drew oil and they have all this money of this royal dynasty family of England, except they just got it yesterday. And that’s funny to us, and it’s different, especially through a comedic lens. It’s like a tacky, new money version of Downton Abbey. And also, I feel like things have dove into other decades of the US .
What was an important responsibility to you when you began the show?
Well, we really had wanted to write great roles for women. And our first thought was to write these great roles, and then we wanted to expand out and create great roles for everyone. We didn’t want only the women or the men to have good roles only.
How did you fight through your way to Hollywood?
“I just kind of had this blind faith. And part of it was I didn’t know what I was up against, and I was like oh of course I can do this. I’m from a town of 1000 people and then I moved to Hollywood. I didn’t have a sense of realism and I feel like that served me well. And I kept thinking of the next step, even when I failed. And of course I would get disheartened, but not to the point where I would say I don’t want to do this anymore, it was more like, well okay, I guess I’ve got to get a second job to keep going.
I was in a certain way, delusional. But I’m glad. Because I also wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t thought like that.”
Now that you’ve found success on your own terms in television, what’s the next project you hope to work on?
"I’ve always wanted to write a Broadway musical. And so has Kate. But, we both have always really wanted to do that. And we’ve been writing songs for 8 years now, and that gives us more confidence to write those for other people as well as for us. We’ve been honing our craft for a while and we’d like a new home for it."
That makes me think you guys would be the perfect writing partners for Trey parker and Matt stone. You guys should make a musical together.
Oh my God. I sat in front of matt stone on an airplane recently and I just got so excited. Like ah, I love Book of Mormon so much. Book of Mormon is my favorite thing they’ve ever done.
As it stands now for Riki, with a first season of critical acclaim under belt, a second season of episodes slated for the summer, and a third season that’s already been renewed, she's after many years of hard work, deservedly in a role where she has creative freedom and the platform to help spread her brand of comedy. Not to mention an equally hilarious co-creator and co-star in Natasha Leggero, as well as an absurdly underrated supporting cast that includes Michael Ian Black, Paget Brewster, Christina Hendricks, Brett Gelman, David Koechner, and more.
With the second season of Another Period premiering two weeks ago (June 15), it’s safe to say that if it's early success is any indication, as the comfort level of it's writers and actors continue to grow, the series will only continue to become better than already is. And that's quite a feat.