‘High Desert’ Is a Fun Look at the Comedy Chops of Its Cast
Ever wanted to just watch a show that has Patricia Arquette, Bernadette Peters, Christine Taylor, and an all-star cast of comedians that is directed by Jay Roach and written by Nancy Fichman, Katie Ford and Jennifer Hoppe-House? Well then, you should be watching High Desert. The family comedy is outrageous, emotional, and well worth the watch if not for the brilliant writing taking place throughout the season but for the cast of actors we know and love.
Prior to the show’s release on Apple TV+, I was lucky enough to sit down with them all to talk about the show as a whole and their work and one thing is clear: They all love being a part of this comedy and the show.
Bernadette Peters, comedy queen
Growing up a theatre kid meant that I was used to seeing Bernadette Peters killing whatever role she was given. So High Desert is no different for her and her career. But I did ask her about bringing to life this flawed woman and how she as an actress comes into her own with these characters she embodies to make them all so different from one another.
“Well, this writing is so good that you, first of all, when I read the script, I just thought this is one of the best things that I’ve read in a very, very long time,” she said. “It’s original, it’s irreverent, it’s heartfelt, it has Patricia Arquette. And so you try to figure out within the scene what the writer’s intention is and what is going on underneath the surface. And that’s kind of what I try to do, to know what is the unconscious feeling that this person is actually going through right now. And then you get to just go for it and start to scene and be with these amazing actors, and especially Patricia, which is where I had most of my scenes and what a great joy it was to work with her.”
You can see our full chat here:
Finding humor in pain
Christine Taylor is known for a wide-range of roles for fans. Whether it is playing Marcia Brady in The Brady Bunch Movie or for her work in films like Zoolander and beyond, she’s a legend for many a comedy fan. Especially myself. For me, talking with her about the comedy elements of the show mixed in with the pain this family is going through, I wanted to know how it was to balance those two aspects of the show together.
“It’s so amazing that you immediately brought it to Jay Roach because I can’t imagine this in the hands of anyone else,” she said. “You know, when we first read the script, it was like reading, really the heroine and Patricia’s character sort of almost the anti heroine in a way is like she is going on this insane journey. And I think, for the siblings and for Diane and Stewart to be a little bit of the lens that the audience watches her through, that can see her through and be the sort of the voice of reason, you know, I think what I thought was really important to the story was having those family members be a through line throughout the entire series so that Patricia is always going back to this sort of grounding force.”
You can see our conversation here:
Would the Grand Inquisitor like Guru Bob?
Talking with both Rupert Friend and Weruche Opia for High Desert was exciting because they’re both characters looking in on this family and their drama. But one thing I did note was that both Guru Bob and the Grand Inquisitor have a flair for the dramatics that is almost unparalleled. So I asked Friend about the two characters and whether or not they’d be friends in the end.
“That’s a great question,” he said. “I like the idea of Guru Bob and the Grand Inquisitor getting a beer sometime. That would be fun. The writing was just very much our map for this which, you know, it often is, but this is such a specific and unique show and it has elements of comedy as well as elements of drama and tragedy. But the thing is rooted in the story of this one woman’s grief and what she does to overcome it, which is, you know, she’s very tenacious and you can’t keep her down. She’s an eternal optimist. I’m talking about Peggy played by Patricia Arquette, I should mention. And so the rest of us just kind of bounce off her orbit. Whether they are support systems, maybe like Carol or antagonists, maybe like Guru Bob who’s too stupid to realize that he’s just in the way most of the time. And playing people who are not the sharpest tool in the shed is such a joy. And I thank the writers for coming up with this guy and for Jay for letting me run with it.”
You can see our talk here:
Jay Roach knows comedy
As someone who grew up with movies like Austin Powers and Meet the Parents, I know Jay Roach’s work like the back of my hand. And what makes High Desert so fascinating is that he manages to balance the humor with the pain that these characters are going through. So when I got to talk with Roach, I asked him about bringing those elements to life on screen together as a director.
“I felt lucky to sort of have trained in comedy because it allows you to be open to chaos and unpredictable situations,” he said. “And I came into this show seeing it as a much more grounded show because the characters are going through tragedy of drug addiction. There’s, you know, real souls at stake, if you will, but I knew that it also had to be light and that we would cast actors who would find comedy and the absurdity and the irony. And so for me it’s always about character. You can earn a tone through what the character needs to go through. And sometimes, like in Patricia’s character’s situation, part of the comedy comes from the world according to that character. The sort of sometimes delusional optimism, for example, that Patricia’s character has in the story.”
You can see my talk with Jay Roach here:
You can watch High Desert on Apple TV+!
(featured image: Apple TV+)
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