“You’re the Worst” follows insensitive writer Jimmy Shive-Overly and his toxic relationship with cynical PR executive Gretchen Cutler.
The FX original, created by Stephen Falk, puts a dark twist on the conventional romantic comedy through an impressive performance by British actor Chris Geere, who says he has to work hard to convincingly play a narcissistic snob that is “so horrible.” He succeeds, making him an Emmy contender for best actor in a comedy series.
TheWrap talked with Geere about filming Season 2 and long distance binge-watching TV with his wife.
What was the toughest thing you had to do this season?
Probably pretending to be so horrible. I try to be a really nice, charming guy in real life and I play this unlikeable chap who really speaks his mind. So, learning the ability to really let go and speak my mind was tough, but fun at the same time.
What was the most fun thing you got to do this season?
Everything that we had to do during “Sunday Funday” [in Season 1, Episode 5]. We had, I think, 17 locations for the episode in total. We did fun stuff in every bit of it. There’s a little section in “Sunday Funday” where we’re in shopping carts, racing on top of this huge bridge — I felt like a little kid.
Let’s say someone hasn’t seen “You’re the Worst.” What would you say to persuade that person to watch it?
It’s a love story for our time. Even though these people seem pretty unlikeable, there’s a real relatability to them. People struggling with the idea of love in this current age. It’s weird, actually. I’ve just been rereading — I’m a huge Shakespeare fan — “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” I was bored last night. One of the first lines in Act 1, Scene 1 reads similar to the theme. Lysander says, “The course of true love never did run smooth.” This [show] is that line in 2015 Los Angeles.
Are you a TV binge-watcher or are you a once-a-weeker? What was the last thing you binge-watched?
I’m a binge-watcher. I’m doubling up, at the moment, with “Californication” with my wife. We’re watching the same episodes in two different countries and then we discuss it afterward, which is quite fun. Living on my own, I’ve been binge-watching “Entourage” like a student, because I’m really embracing the fact that I don’t have a wife and child around me the entire time like I do at home. So I’m taking full advantage of that, buying myself family-sized bags of snacks and watching “Entourage.”
If you could add a new category to the Emmys, whether serious or silly, what would it be and why?
Best Episode. A series, as a whole, is one celebration, but — I’m automatically geared toward my show, honestly — there is an episode in the new series, another “Sunday Funday” that we’ve just been filming, the amount of work that has gone into it, from everyone behind the scenes, is phenomenal. It stands alone as a movie within a series. Everyone behind the scenes should get the praise that they deserve.
Who else on your show deserves an Emmy?
They all do. They are all fantastic, everyone from the writing staff to the production team. I think a couple of the production team were nominated last year, for different shows that they’ve done. All of us are very grateful to be considered in any light, really. The main one would be the show itself, or Stephen. Because he’s done this whole thing. That would be an incredible achievement for him. Stephen or the show itself.
Between your character Jimmy and Aya Cash‘s character Gretchen, which of you is actually the worst?
At the beginning, probably Gretchen. But they’re both as bad as each other. There’s a phrase in Episode 10, that says: “They’re like pitbulls. If they’re put together with any other dog, that dog’s dead. Put them together, they continue with mutual destruction.” So they’re both as bad as each other, that’s what makes them a perfect match.
FX announced it renewed “You’re the Worst” for a 13-episode season, which is currently undergoing production.
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