“It’s just this healthy mess.”
And in some ways I’m not ready to say goodbye to it yet."
AIDY BRYANT:Yeah, it came a little later.
Lolly Adefope and Aidy Bryant at the end of ‘Shril’ season 4.Allyson Riggs/Hulu
It gave us a more grounded, realistic ending to the show, which I really like.
Yeah, I don’t know.
It’s just what life is.
Aidy Bryant in ‘Shrill’ season 3 on Hulu.Allyson Riggs/Hulu
And I think that’s where the show ends.
And yeah, I think that’s where it ends up, which feels true to the show.
And I think the reality is that’s not enough.
You have to be a little more thoughtful than that.
And that’s why she gets herself in deep with that article.
She’s literally centering herself and her own experience.
Like her own internalized fatphobia was turned outward on someone else.
It’s like this horrible blooming onion.
And there’s so much pain in that.
For example, I loved that you guys got a Nigerian wedding on TV.
Yeah, me too.
So much of who they are informed who these characters are.
And yeah, that Nigerian wedding episode is certainly like one of my crown jewels of the show.
I’m so proud of it.
It’s this beautiful, beautiful culture that we got to see in a really approachable and human way.
So that’s certainly one.
I’m really proud that we were able to write E.R.
loves them, you know?
It’s just authentic to who they are, and that I feel proud of.
And I know E.R.
was really proud to represent.
So I mean, there’s lots of pieces, there’s just so many different pieces of it.
But I feel like it’s all just in the DNA of who our ensemble was and is.
How do you feel about the idea that the love story was Annie and Fran’s friendship all along?
I think that’s a totally true and fair assertion about the show.
That Fran and Annie are going to navigate these issues together.
And I guess that’s what I mean about ending the show on this more realistic note.
Are you hoping for more shows that really explore that?
And are you working on that?
I don’t know.
That would be my dream.
And I think, this is the tricky fine line, that also doesn’t completely ignore their fatness.
That’s the tricky nuance that I think is so rare.
So I would love to see that.
How has working onShrillmade you a better writer-performer onSNL?
Well in a weird way it’s made me value the ability to be incredibly dumb onSNL.
And then also just that atSNLI’m not the boss.
I really am not.
I’m just part of the group, and there’s a freedom in that too.
The lack of responsibility that allows me to just be loose, you know?
Shrillseason 3 is now streaming on Hulu.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
