INTERVIEW: Tig Notaro gears up for topical season of ‘One Mississippi’
One Mississippi, the Amazon Original comedy, stars Tig Notaro as, well, Tig. The stand-up comedian plays a character based on her life in Mississippi and the relationships she has with family members. It’s a deeply personal show that performs an impressive balancing act between comedy and drama, offering a touch of seriousness followed by a bit of laughter.
Notaro has been sharing her stories on stage for a few years. Her stand-up act has met with acclaim and a large audience, and now she’s looking to continue that success with the second season of One Mississippi, which premieres Friday, Sept. 8 on the streaming service.
“I feel like season two definitely has a more comedic feel than season one, and I think that season one was very much about being in the middle of all the heaviness and the destruction,” Notaro said in a recent phone interview. “I see season two as the characters stepping out of the rubble and dusting their pants off, or dresses, whatever they’re wearing, and getting back into life.”
Kate Robin serves as showrunner for the series, which also stars John Rothman, Noah Harpster, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Stephanie Allynne and Carly Jibson. Robin said the show definitely brings the comedy, but there’s an acknowledgment of tragedy and struggle, making One Mississippi unique among other series.
“This season, we feel it’s important for us to address the social climate of the South and the country, and so that’s something that is part of what we’re dealing with,” Robin said. “The characters, as Tig was saying, are sort of emerging from a kind of darkness into more of a light. There’s a way in which we’re also exploring the degree to which the darkness that has been within us nationally is emerging into the light as well, so that metaphor kind of works on both of these levels.”
As One Mississippi adds more episodes, TV Notaro will naturally grow different than real-life Notaro. There’s no doubt that the character is based on the comedian’s own life, but there’s creative flexibility to build a unique narrative.
“Well, there’s always going to be parts of my own story in there,” Notaro said. “What I always tell people is that even though the show is fictionalized more, it’s always based in somebody’s truth, and we have this room of writers that’s just so talented and giving, so generous with their own experiences. It’s exciting for me to experience these moments in the show, even if I haven’t lived through it, and it’s exciting for me to see my brother and my stepfather experience these moments that they didn’t necessarily have because it gives me some insight. Even if I’m completely wrong about how they would handle it, or what would happen, there’s something very fulfilling for me personally to be like, oh, so that’s what you have done, or that’s what you meant to say, or that’s what should have happened. … I keep using the word joy, but I do feel like, even with all the sorrow, and pain, and heaviness and drama that is in the show, there is so much joy. There’s so much payoff, real or fictional.”
Robin has worked on many successful TV shows, including Showtime’s The Affair and HBO’s Six Feet Under. For the showrunner, a good project is defined by the people involved. For One Mississippi, she pointed out the importance of having many women involved both in front of the camera and behind. Notaro co-created the series with Oscar winner Diablo Cody. Robin serves as showrunner, and all of the writers are female.
“The majority of the directors were women, and we have a lot of women on set,” Robin said. “And we have men who we love who I think feel comfortable and safe. I think there’s something unique about that actually. It’s a real privilege.”
Notaro was not always the type of person to share information about her life or upbringing. Five years ago, circumstances changed, and she decided to offer more personal information to audiences. Her mother had died, and she had a double mastectomy. Both of these topics became subjects in her stand-up routine and were later filmed for the Netflix documentary Tig.
“I had reached a point where I had kind of lost everything, and so there was nothing to protect or try to hold on to,” she said. “I just shared what I was going through, and it really taught me in that moment the power of sharing. You’re doing yourself a favor, and you’re doing others a favor. I feel like I have no doubt learned from that. I’m also just trying to figure out the balance between what I share and what I keep to myself. It’s always evolving for me, but I definitely lean more toward sharing than withholding.”
Notaro added: “It’s kind of hard to not relate to the show somehow, with losing a parent, with illness, or love, or family, starting over. There’s a tragedy in there for everyone, and to go back to the word joy, there’s also a joy in there for everyone. I’m no doubt coming face to face with the viewers and fans of the different things I’ve done or been a part of, and it’s a nice feeling to know that you haven’t just made a big empty nothing, that people are very thankful, especially going out and doing stand-up. Some people, it takes them forever to get the night off, or save their money to go to dinner and to a show, and get a babysitter, and I’m aware of that, and remind myself of that every night when I walk on stage. That’s part of wanting to give the best performance that I can, and I know that sometimes a lot of what has brought people to my show might be some of the material that they related to. And I just want everyone to have a good time. Even if you came there from something heavy, I hope that people leave my show just full of joy. There’s the word again, joy.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
The second season of One Mississippi premieres Friday, Sept. 8 on Amazon Prime Video. Click here for more information.
