Filming TV episodes in front of live studio audiences has been a standard for the medium for as long as it’s existed, and while the number of shows keeping that idea alive isn’t nearly as high as it once was, creator and producer Chuck Lorre has remained dedicated to keeping the concept going, with much distaste for manufactured laugh tracks. Lorraine markes his latest, and serves as his first traditional sitcom for fans with Netflix subscriptions.
Fronted by stand-up megastar Leanne Morgan, the new show is a slice-of-life comedy that stems in part from the comedian’s real life and stage act. Though performing comedy for an audience is technically quite different from performing filmed scenes, Morgan was apparently an extremely quick learner, and showrunner Susan McMartin told CinemaBlend the comic’s skills in front of live crowds helped make filming that much easier. In her words:
[Leanne's] used to memorizing two hours worth of material and doing it in front of thousands and thousands of people. So I was like, this is gonna be a piece of cake, because we can stop, we can start, we can cut, we can rewrite, we can do things. We did it in front of a live audience, which was fantastic, and they just loved her. But of course, you know, our audience compared to, like, stadium audiences, it was so much more intimate.
I think it woulc have been fascinating as a studio audience member to watch a stand-up queen like Leanne Morgan learning the ropes when it comes to blocking scenes and acting opposite her co-stars. It's a completely different world from speaking directly to crowds on a nightly basis, even though many of the skills are shared, as far as timing, facial reactions, vocal projection, and more.
That's not all, of course. While a headlining stand-up act will usually last between 90-120 minutes, it takes many more hours to properly film a 30-minute episode of TV. So that could have been a major hurdle for Leanne Morgan to deal with, but Susan McMartin said it wasn't even a minor issue, and that working with co-star Kristen Johnston definitely helped keep things on track.
Not just from a comedy standpoint, but also from a women-in-power perspective. As she put it:
Her work ethic is so incredible, her stamina. I mean, what she does in stand-up? I was like, this can be a piece of cake, literally. She's so hard working, and she wants to get it right, and she wants to know how everything's done, and she's so gracious. I fell in love with her and, and, you know, I have to say it was wonderful to have two female stars, and a female showrunner. We brought a lot of 'We love you!' on the set. There was a lot of gushing and hugging and dancing, because that's what we brought, that energy.
Despite much of it happening in front of an audience, McMartin said that Leanne Morgan was always willing to take new suggestions and hear advice for how to handle something. To the point where the creative team considered her to be a true actress by the time the show was wrapped.
She blew me away with just her never being too tired, never wanting to get it right all the time, and always trying stuff. Always willing to take a note and really understand, 'Oh, that's different than what I'm used to in stand-up,' and all of it. It couldn't have gone better. Kristen even said she's now a black belt actress.
I can imagine fictional Leanne would have used a black belt to open up a can of whoopass on Ryan Stiles' Bill at one point or twelve others.
Susan McMartin also talked to me about how she, Chuck Lorre and Leanne Morgan crafted the sitcom's central story, and how they used the comedian's stand-up act to inspire the new show without making it the only source material.
In her stand up, she shares a story about her friend of hers who, after years of being married, is getting divorced, and she shared the humor of, 'I don't even know how I would do that,' and that's what Chuck and I decided to lock in on. Rather than making it just her life on TV, let's give her that peril. Let's throw that at her and give her a journey that she has to go on, which was the best decision, because it immediately did make it that we're not just doing her stand-up on TV, but we're giving her a role. We're making her an actor, and we're giving her a family. It also helps the audience not expect they're just going to see her stand-up regurgitated back to them.
It is indeed strange to see a well-known part of a stand-up comedian's act get morphed into a live-action sitcom joke. Granted, it seems to happen far less often than it used to, given how many fewer sitcoms get produced now compared to in the '90s.
Next up for Chuck Lorre on the 2025 TV schedule, beyond a possible second season for Leanne, will be the newest season of Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage hitting CBS, while many fans are also pumped about HBO Max's official Big Bang Theory spinoff Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, which is still in the development phase.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.