-Welcome back, Natasha. -Thanks, Seth.
-Congratulations on the show.
It's really something special. -Thank you. Thank you.
-For those who haven't seen it, the premise is --
you are a woman, on her 36th birthday,
who keeps dying and then going back and reliving that birthday.
over and over again.
-Yeah. It's essentially sort of an existential adventure show,
involving multiple loops and deaths.
And it's hilarious. You're going to love it.
You're really going to enjoy it.
-But it has been a show that --
Everyone I know has seen it, we like talking about it.
We like trying to deconstruct it.
Are you surprised that you made an existential adventure show,
as you said, and people have been so drawn to it?
-I mean, I am.
And, in the first place, I would say I'm also --
You know, I'm blown away.
It's so, you know, definitively personal to me
that I am very moved that it's connecting on this level.
And, yes, I definitely think it's indicative of
the troubling times we're in that it's connected
for so many other people, as well.
It's essentially a show that's saying,
"Hey, we're all broken on the inside.
Let's do it together."
-Which is a really lovely message.
And I should say, because this is eight episodes on Netflix
and the highest praise I can have for it is --
it starts great and ends better.
Because I feel like there are shows where people say,
"You've got to give it five episodes."
And I want to say, "I have a life."
Whereas this starts great,
and then you can say to people, "Oh, stick around,
because they know exactly where they're going."
And because this isn't just this
very personal autobiographical show that you helped create,
there is also -- There is, like, a science-fiction element
and a plotting element that you guys took very seriously.
This is like "A Beautiful Mind." There you go.
-There you go.
This is fully from the writers's room
of getting all the time lines straight.
-And this is actually Michael Bricker,
the wonderful production designer,
who had a hell of a time,
because what he was doing here is --
you know, he's managing loops and time lines
and multiple deaths.
Our poor script supervisor, Melissa Yap.
I mean, she came from "Orange is the New Black."
She's amazing. And this was an endless game.
It was almost like, you know,
Jodie Foster searching for Hannibal Lecter,
only she didn't even know that
she was looking for Hannibal at the time.
I mean, it's a real, you know, cross-sectioning scenario.
-And, yet, you drew from, you know,
this very personal place and you drew from your life.
And I've known you for a long time, and I've always --
You know, we know each other well.
-Then you know I'm a big fan of Viktor Frankl's
"Man's Search for Meaning," so -- Yes.
-But I've always felt -- And I feel like
maybe other people feel this way, too.
I always felt like I knew you better than I did,
because I feel as though you're a very open person
and I feel like maybe that's one of the things
people are responding to in this show is --
they can tell, "Oh, I've seen Natasha in things
over the years and I've liked her,
but this is the purest version of her
I've ever seen of her onscreen."
-Yeah, I mean, I think that that's --
You know, just speaking frankly, because I do know you,
I mean, that's the, sort of, like, heavy part
to take in, you know, as somebody who has been
working in this thing for a long time.
You know, I started show biz back before
anybody here was born, including me.
And so it's just so, you know, heavy and deep that,
you know, something so personal is connecting in this way.
But, yeah, you know, I mean, it's a lot of connective tissue.
We had such an incredible room, and there's so many creators.
Your friend Amy Poehler, of course, co-created the show
and Leslye Headland.
And we had all female writers and directors on the show.
So I think it was really -- [ Cheers and applause ]
Thank you.
So, I do think it was also sort of, kind of like
a testament to what happens if you just, you know,
try to avoid small talk, like I do desperately, in this life
and sort of aim to kind of
tell your version of the truth, you know?
-You now -- I know how you feel about small talk.
I would assume, because you made this very personal show,
people feel a comfort to come up and talk to you.
And now they probably want to talk to you about this show,
which is great for you,
because that's not small talk anymore.
-And, yet, you know, the great relief is --
I think I'm sort of like a Paul Giamatti type.
-What does that mean? -You know what it means.
It's like, you know, you see Paul Giamatti,
you're thrilled, but you're not going to go up to him
and be, like, "Hey, 'American Splendor' was great."
I mean, where does it go?
It's like we all know -- But it's kind of like
a New York character
that's more like a garden gnome or a leprechaun.
A twin. A twin even. -I see.
-I'm happy to kind of see you.
I think I may be projecting an air of like,
"Hey, buddy, I might follow you home,
so why don't you --" Right?
I'm not even doing it on purpose.
I just might follow you home, you know?
-No, I think there is something true
about the quintessential New York celebrity
that because they're so New York and the fact
that they have stayed there for their career,
they're -- They don't --
-You begin is what it is, Seth.
You begin to blend into the pavement.
You're like a series of ash piles on the street.
-No. I figure people are like, "Natasha Lyonne is so New York
that because of her New Yorkness,
she probably doesn't want a stranger to come up
and ask for a selfie."
-Eh, it'd be nice once in a while.
Will you?
A little, "Hey, nice job,"
you know, give me 5 bucks, whatever.