- Title: Amazon Studios pushes reality based comedy
- Date: 5th May 2017
- Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (RECENT - APRIL 20, 2017) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) 'CATASTROPHE' EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS, WRITERS AND ACTORS, ROB DELANEY AND SHARON HORGAN, SAYING: Sharon Horgan: "You know, we were as shocked as everyone else, more so I guess because she'd just been on set and it was a couple of days later she got the plane over and the heart attack but from the minute that we heard that she'd passed the only thing we can do now is apart from tell people what a great lady she is to honor her with this show and hope that it does her performance justice, right?" Rob Delaney: "It's a very poignant episode. There's some almost... I was nervous when it first went out in the UK because there's some uncanny parallels with what really did happen with her life and so putting it out there was a little scary, you know."
- Embargoed: 19th May 2017 16:56
- Keywords: Kathryn Hahn Kevin Bacon Catastrophe I Love Dick Transparent Jill Soloway comedy Reality
- Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES; UNIDENTIFIED FILMING LOCATIONS
- City: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES; UNIDENTIFIED FILMING LOCATIONS
- Country: USA
- Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Television
- Reuters ID: LVA00A6FK8FGT
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:CONTAINS PROFANITY
After the success of Jill Soloway's award-winning "Transparent", Amazon Studios has turned to more comedic productions which are rooted in reality.
British comedy "Catastrophe" and the Jill Soloway produced "I Love Dick" are two of the studios' latest productions, which bring a similar sense of humor to their respective shows and contain characters whose insecurities and vices are on show but are not used for narrative techniques.
"I like to call it 'Fun-comfortable' or vulnerable or 'fun-vulnerable' or 'funerable'," said Soloway, adding "You really root for people that have heart and you have moments where you might shed a tear. That's not wrong to shed a tear during a comedy."
"I Love Dick's" lead actress Kathryn Hahn, who plays failed female film director Chris who finds a different outlet for her creativity after meeting art guru 'Dick' (Kevin Bacon), praised the directors of the show, which include indie film makers Andrea Arnold ('Fishtank') and Kimberly Peirce ('Boys Don't Cry') for the style steeped in reality.
"All these humans have a very similar aesthetic and taste which is just digging for truth and even the cringiest of moments, the 'wink wink' that sometimes happens would be really detrimental in this," said Hahn.
"It's the opposite of escapism," explained Kevin Bacon who plays the titular Dick. "It's in your face in a way and I think everything we approach on the show has that sort of vibe."
"Catastrophe", which sees American Rob (Rob Delaney) and Irish girl Sharon (Sharon Horgan) try to get by in London as a married couple despite varied complications in life, follows the same comedic tone.
Delaney, who writes, directs and executive produces the show with Horgan, believes that this new wave of reality comedy isn't just a progression of the genre.
"As cameras get better and high definition gets stronger and it's more and more like you're there, shows just have to become realer," he admitted, adding "You can see all the warts and hairs and stuff, your show just has to be realer, so it's not because we're creative, it's because we're keeping up with ocular technology."
"Catastrophe" was released on Amazon Prime on April 28 while "I Love Dick" will premiere its season on May 12. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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