Summary

Chelsea Peretti praises Daisy May Cooper’s comedic qualities. “Daisy has those qualities of comedic legends.”

Peretti was pleasantly surprised by how much improv made it into the final cut of “Am I Being Unreasonable” Season 2

Comedic success involves tackling deeper, darker questions for catharsis.

One of the surprise hits hailing from across the pond in 2022, Am I Being Unreasonable, created by best friends Daisy May Cooper (This Country) and Selin Hizli (Land Girls), stormed to success on the BBC and even earned wide acclaim across the world. Sporting an excellent 89% rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the series quickly earned the green light for a second outing, with a bigger budget helping the folks in charge cast their net ambitiously wider for the Season 2 ensemble.
Alongside the likes of Tom Davis, Denise Black, Jamali Maddix, Kojey Radical, and Cooper’s real-life brother Charlie, perhaps the biggest name to join Season 2 was the ever-brilliant Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Big Mouth star Chelsea Peretti, who guest-starred in the show’s sophomore outing as couples’ therapist Savannah.
In this one-on-one interview with Collider, Peretti sits down and discusses her time on the show, what encouraged her to join the cast, and the secret ingredients needed to help a series become successful in both the UK and the US.
Chelsea Peretti Fell in Love With Daisy May Cooper’s Comedy

“Daisy has those qualities of comedic legends.”

COLLIDER: The growth in the cast for Am I Being Unreasonable Season 2 was so large, and Savannah truly is a great addition to the show.
CHELSEA PERETTI: Thank you. I was actually amazed they kept in so many things. I was mortified because I was having so much fun watching them. They are so amazing with their marital discord and the dynamic that they have. I was telling Daisy, “Please cut anything!” As a fan of the show, it’s really weird to see yourself suddenly pop into it. Also, I just feel like they’re so brilliant in how they interact, and they’re dynamic. It was a great experience.
How did you get involved in Season 2?
PERETTI: I made a movie, and one of the producers told me, “I’ve seen this show, and I think you would love it. It’s called Am I Being Unreasonable?” I knew that she really knew my taste, so I was intrigued. Then I went to watch it, and it was so unique and so appealing to me because I felt that Daisy has those qualities of comedic legends. For me, for a comedy, I want to watch someone who, anything they say, is funny. I feel that way about Daisy; she reminds me of Bernie Mac or Chris Farley or Danny McBride when he had his show. There’s Bridesmaids, too; I remember seeing Melissa McCarthy, and I hadn’t seen her before. That’s how I felt seeing Daisy, where she’s hard-funny but also has this vulnerability. That combination is what I get the most excited about in people.
I had a holiday trip to London planned, and I asked my agent to set up a meeting with her producer. We met and got along, and he said, “We might have a part for a couple’s therapist.” I said, “I’m in,” because I’ve been in therapy since my parents divorced. When I was a kid, they sent me after like, “Oh, here’s a sandbox,” you know? I remember being like, “Oh, come on, I know what you want. You want me to play in the sand and show you how I feel about my parents.” So I’ve always had a fascination with therapy and, in particular, bad therapy — even though I do really believe in therapy. I always love that kind of character: Someone who’s bad at what they do.
She’s like the therapist no one needs but everyone wants. The scene is so fantastic.
PERETTI: When he’s calling her a “truffle pig” [Laughs]
That is such an amazing moment. How many takes did you need to nail it without laughing?
PERETTI: They literally are so good. He did that [pig noise] so many times, and each time subtly different. The way he seethes with hatred for her, but he also has that vulnerable thing too, where he feels betrayed by her at the same time as being repulsed by her. It’s an amazing line that they’re both able to walk.
Chelsea Peretti Didn’t Expect to See So Much of Her Improv Make the Final Cut

“I didn’t think they were going to keep it all, but they kept a lot of it.”

Image via BBC

The scene feels so spontaneous, it’s almost as if it were an improvisation game. How much was pre-written, and how much was improvised?
PERETTI: That whole truffle pig thing was written, and I remember reading it and going, “I cannot wait to see this,” because I thought it was such a funny image. To imagine a husband watching his wife eating potato chips and burying their face in it and looking at them like, “Ugh! You’re a pig.” To actually say that to your spouse in couples therapy is so bold, and I was excited to see it. He really did play with the delivery each time, but then other things were improvised. They really did let me improvise, and, like I said, I didn’t think they were going to keep it all, but they kept a lot of it.
Do you remember any particular moments that were improvised?
PERETTI: I’d have to rewatch it and think about it. When they gave me a script, I was reading it and cracking up. I think that’s the key for comedy. Ideally, it’s about having something funny that’s scripted but still playing. When they were making monkey sounds, that was not scripted. Daisy is telling him to make monkey sounds, and I’m like, “Whoa, like, where is this headed?” Then it wound up being really funny. That they both really went for it. It’s kind of this bold vulnerability.
The show is fantastic at mixing the darker moments in life with chaotic comedy, from making the sound of a truffle hog to questioning the deep-rooted issues in a relationship within moments. Was that a part of the show that attracted you?
PERETTI: Very much so. When she’s talking about puzzles and he’s like, “Well, you fucked my brother,” that is such a funny juxtaposition. It is how things are with couples. You may fixate on the small thing that is winnable when there’s some huge wrong you’ve done. That’s what really drew me in. The show had that combination of hard jokes and silliness with this element of a thriller that makes you want to binge-watch, and the core female friendship. In high school, a lot of my friends were guys, and in comedy, a lot of my friends were guys. In a way, female friendship is the final frontier where you go, “Wow, it’s kind of scary,” because women think way more. You never quite know what a female friend might be thinking, whereas I feel like, 90% of the time, you know what your guy friend is thinking, and it’s, “Let’s go get some food.” [Laughs] I think it appealed to me, that feeling that women are sort of mysterious and risky, but you want this closeness, and what cost does it come at? I thought it was cool that it was this exploration of female friendship in a way that I hadn’t really seen before.
For Chelsea, Comedy Needs to Be Answering the Harder Questions Right Now

“‘Is there inherent evil in people?’ That is a question that I think is very of the moment, in particular in America.”

Image via Hulu

As someone with such a great pedigree in American comedy, why do you think this British comedy has managed to translate so well over in the US?
PERETTI: Again, I do feel it’s such a testament to Daisy being one of those people where she’s just inherently funny. Yes, there are British-isms, but I think that someone who’s extremely funny is going to be able to transcend any cultural alienation there may be. I also think right now, like, people really love these binge-worthy shows, and this show has so many twists and turns. I also think that there’s this darkness in the world right now, and so there’s something cathartic about watching a show that isn’t trying to just be really light and airy and instead goes to a deep, dark place. Asking, ‘What if you killed someone?’
‘What if you put the cat in a washing machine?’
PERETTI: Yeah. [Laughs] Let’s not pussyfoot around. What is going on? Why is there such darkness in humans?’ I don’t know if you’ve seen We Need To Talk About Kevin, but it’s like a comedy version of that in some ways. ‘Is there inherent evil in people?’ That is a question that I think is very of the moment, in particular in America.
It works so well with the title of the show.
PERETTI: I know. That’s the other thing. It’s a great title.

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Expanding on that thought, do you think there might be a secret ingredient or recipe for comedies translating so well across the pond, such as Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Parks and Recreation?
PERETTI: I think part of the recipe is Mike Schur and Dan Goor; they definitely seem to have some sort of secret sauce for that. It definitely seems like, in those cases, they’re both workplace comedies. I guess the original origin of that was The Office, so it’s gone back and forth across the pond like a ping-pong game, you know? I think there’s always this appeal of adapting each other’s things or bringing UK things to the US and being influenced. My personal opinion is funny people and good jokes. That’s the stuff I remember the most. I’m sure every comedy writer might give you a different answer.
Am I Being Unreasonable Season 2 is available to stream on Hulu.