How to die alone Follows Mel, a lonely employee at JFK airport who is stuck in a slump in her life, has never experienced love and has abandoned any dreams she has. Everything changes when a near-death experience forces him to reevaluate his life, opening his eyes to endless possibilities. Mel takes charge of her life and refuses to settle for anything less than the life she wants and deserves, even when obstacles come her way.
How to die alone Co-created by Natasha Rothwell (Wonka, Sonic the Hedgehog 2), who also starred in the series, and Vera Santamaria (Bojack Horseman, Orange is the New Black) Rothwell leads a wonderfully funny cast that includes Conrad Ricamora (Fire Island, How to get away with murder) and Jocko Sims (New Amsterdam, last ship) How to die alone Strikes the perfect balance between visceral moments of an existential emotional journey and deeply funny comedy with characters the audience can relate to.
Screen Rant Vera Santamaria is interviewed about her new Hulu comedy seriesHow to die alone. He breaks down what his extensive experience in comedy television series brings to the series and how he balances humor with serious emotional themes. Santamaria also shared how he hopes the series will impact audiences, and what the series’ setting at JFK Airport adds to the story.
Vera Santamaria takes a deep dive into how Mel and her flaws die alone
“Bringing something else that could be internal and externalizing it and really making mail a little bit more flawed.”
Screen Rant: Vera, I love this show. Absolutely incredible. I think Mel is one of the most relatable characters I’ve seen in a long time and she has such an inspiring journey. How did you and Natasha Rothwell collaborate to create Mel’s character and her journey of self-discovery?
Vera Santamaria: I started with what was in the original DNA of his script, which he wanted to explore in this very specific way, and I think he would say himself that what I brought to it was a deep dive. Bringing more that might have been internal and externalizing it and really making Mel a little more flawed.
Because Natasha herself is an integrated person, and so it was like pulling from a part of her life that was probably in her early twenties where kind of mistakes were made and pulling from those corners of your life that you like just make sure that Mel was flawed and making mistakes that made us want to look away.
I think that’s part of my favorite characters for me, so it was really just my little bit of pushing and prodding and getting into that corner of your life where you want to, don’t look there. I was like, yeah, but let’s look there because that’s the part we all relate to.
This show is funny, but it also deals with some serious themes. We talk about self-worth, personal growth, mortality, love. How do you balance the comedic elements of the show with the more serious introspective moments, especially considering Mel’s life-changing journey?
Vera Santamaria: I think we had our ace in the hole in Natasha Rothwell. I think he’s going to be the person that’s doing all these very subtle moments you know he can pull off comedy and drama in the same breath. So when you have that piece, it frees you up to write and reflect on what you want.
I think what people are saying is that it feels like real life. We’ve all had that moment where something amazing and terrifying happens at the same time. I think just knowing that he’s the person who’s going to say these words, embodying this character, that’s what made it so special. [so we were] Able to walk in that very fine tone.
Co-listeners of How to Die Alone hope it “helps you see the world a little more kindly.”
I love that it’s set in JFK Airport. I’m a frequent flyer, and it’s interesting to get an inside look at some of the staff there because for the most part, they almost disappear. Now as a co-showrunner, what was your approach to building the world around Mel, especially the JFK airport setting?
Vera Santamaria: Yes. I think the thing I did was drag his original show to the airport. I kind of knew that the airport was going to be a central part of the show, and if it was going to be, and we really wanted to set a lot of scenes there, we had to bring in her love interest. Workplace versus living in an apartment in Queens.
So what we did was really build on what the airport itself has, which is a community of its own. You have people traveling, but then you have people moving luggage or preparing food. There’s a lot going on. So really creating that world and showing the unseen parts of JFK, I was able to pull from my own life.
I have quite a few family members who work at the airport, and I know there’s a whole underworld out there that’s never talked about, so it was to make sure we had a really strong workplace where we could set many, many For this was my main MO. There are scenes and many, many interactions.
As I said before, I think Mel is such a relatable character. What do you hope viewers will take away from Mel’s story, especially in terms of themes of self-worth and personal growth?
Vera Santamaria: I’m hoping people see it as an original and solo show. I want people to kind of walk away thinking about the show, thinking they laughed really hard, but there’s a theme explored where they’re still thinking about it.
To me, the best thing that can happen when you watch a TV show is that it changes your mind, makes you see people differently, sometimes makes you a little kinder to the world. That will be my biggest hope when people watch the show.
“Jealousy is an extremely valuable emotion” when pursuing one’s dreams.
“If you’ve forgotten how to dream big, I’d say maybe look at those things [where] You’re like, ‘I wish I had this.'”
Mel is described as someone who forgets, has a dream, what advice would you give to people who may feel the same in their own lives?
Vera Santamaria: Oh, that’s a good question. I think sometimes it’s kind of weird advice, but we’ve all experienced jealousy, and I think jealousy is a very valuable emotion because sometimes it tells you, I’m jealous of that thing because secretly I want it, but I really don’t. Do not dream big enough to achieve the things that person can become.
Sometimes I think we dismiss certain emotions as bad hidden emotions. I can say, if you’ve forgotten to dream big, I’d say maybe look at the things that sometimes you like, I wish I had it, or why does that person have it? This may be a good indication as to something deep down that you want.
Sometimes it’s just an emotion of jealousy, and that’s fine too. But I think really following the thing that we put away, oh, that’s a feeling I shouldn’t have. But it’s good, ask yourself why you are having this feeling? Maybe that person has things you’re afraid to say you want.
Season 1 is about how to die alone
Melissa is a neurotic fat black woman who has never been in love, but refuses to settle for anything less than the life she wants after her brush with death, leading her to become “that bitch.”
Check out our others How to die alone Here’s the interview:
How to die alone Debuts September 13 on Hulu.
Source: Screen Rant Plus