Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1521956
26 C I N E M O N T A G E F E A T U R E the "cringe" with the heart of the show this season? Mandl: For me, it's always about serv- ing the story. A joke for the sake of a joke is not as meaningful as a joke that serves the story and the overall feeling that the audience takes away at the end. So I was always looking for that first. And then from there, it's whatever makes me laugh the most, because as long as it does that first thing, that's what I'm going to present as my favorite choice. I'd say a lot of the time, Keenan and I both found the tone somewhat quickly, and not to say that we read Nasim's mind, but we were able to sense what we thought she would like. And then the changes were often very subtle, so it was a good collaboration in that way. Hiett: There are a lot of little things that Chad does that just immediately make you laugh. When I get to stuff like that, it's a quick "pull, drop it in, it's staying in" kind of thing. A lot of those little eccentricities that the character has from episode to episode were important to keep a thread through the season. The nuance of what Nasim does in that character is something we leaned into kind of heavily to highlight those things with Chad and keep that stuff going. Like George was saying, the heart side of the show really is its best quality. It's a very funny show. It's a very, at times, uncomfortable show. But the family is the foundational part of the show, and that was very easy for us to see in the dailies. You can see it as soon as the footage hits your machine that morning. It was definitely a focal point to make sure that the chaos Chad brings is anchored by the support around him, both friends and family. CineMontage: What were you looking for in choosing the best take? Mandl: I think Keenan and I both ap- proached this in the same way. We read the script, so we know what the story is, but then when the dailies come in, we let what happened on set influence what we do. The script has one version of the story, and then especially with someone like Nasim — who's constantly thinking of other ways to be Chad in the moment — you get all this extra stuff. So you can tell, "okay, that one made me laugh the most," and I can tell that it's making her laugh the most. And it also still serves the story, the heart, the family. Hiett: That stuff was always tricky, too, because it was the first take when she would do improv like that, and it was almost useless because you could hear other people laughing off camera, or other actors would bust or something like that. So usually, it was the second or third take when every- body knew it was coming. But that's helpful for us; hearing people laugh on set, off-mic or whatever, is a sign that this is worth trying to get into the show. ■ This interview has been edited for length and clarity. HIETT: "The family is the foundational part of the show." P H O T O : F R A N C I N E O R R