TV & Movies
The comedian, writer, and actor finally takes center stage in NetflixsSurvival of the Thickest.
She jokes, What happens next?
Do I just die?
Perhaps it feels especially personal because so much of what viewers will see is drawn from Buteaus own life.
Her best friends, Khalil and Marley, are based on two of Buteaus own.
Once, her real friends came to set and met their onscreen counterparts.
Theyre excited as they should be because it’s a f*cking honor, she deadpans.
Its a f*cking honor, bitch.
Sometimes, being the sidekick is actually pretty sweet.
In the show, youre newly single.
In life, youve been happily married for many years.
What was it like imagining yourself in todays dating landscape?
It was really dope because when my character gets cheated on I have been cheated on.
Most of the women in my family have been cheated on.
And just devastation and having to rebuild.
But be safe, youre too cute for bacteria.
And it was very important for me, for her to have a character that loves on her body.
Im a size 18, 20.
I love all my inches.
And why are we out here just having these big girls feel so thankful that somebody finds them attractive?
Its f*cking stupid.
So, Im just like, Were going to have fat sex.
Its about body positivity.
And with that came the diversity in the crew, because I wanted very thoughtful heads of my departments.
Just find people that lift you up.
You dont have to go for the copy-and-paste, cookie-cutter, I have all these credits on IMDb.
You mentioned working with intimacy coordinators.
What was your experience with what they brought to the set?
It was amazing, because theres going to be no f*cking around on my watch.
You come to set, youre going to feel loved and seen and safe.
And if you need a minute, go take your minute and come back.
And were going to talk about everything were going to do before we do it.
Theres going to be no surprises.
We talk about where we touch someone, we talk about what its going to look like.
And they really were just magic because everybody felt comfortable.
You should feel empowered.
Ive had friends, too, who have horror stories around doing intimate scenes.
And Im calling bullsht. I dont give a sht about your meal penalty.
Those avocados are still going to be there.
Theres money for everybody.
Have a Zoom meeting before, some sort of kiki.
I think you know.
My college boyfriend didnt know how to read.
I think I shared that story onstage at a storytelling show about 15, 17 years later.
Thats so much of writing rooms, even when its extremely fictional.
Yeah, it was my first writers room for my own show.
Its been a crazy year.
So I got a full dose of what its like to be a writer.
I know there was some confusion at the beginning of the strike about promoting projects.
When things hit you like that, its sort of like COVID youre just learning things in real time.
What can I do?
What should I not do?
Forty-two shooting days, 16 weeks of writing.
And the writers had to fly themselves out to set if they want to be a part of it.
And we should find it in the budget, because we even got avocados on set.
Kumquats we dont need kumquats.
We need the writer, OK?
Ideally, both kumquats and writers.
I always felt like a kumquat sounds like a citrus queef.
And you’re free to quote me on that, sister.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
