EW YORK, Feb. 14 (UPI) — Ana Gasteyer says American Auto continues to balance “goofball workplace comedy” with social criticism in its second season.
“It feels relevant. It doesn’t feel like it’s just ignoring everything that’s going on in the world around us,” the 55-year-old actress told UPI in a recent phone interview.
“It is trying to make light of it and trying to find the ways in which it is ironic and funny. The characters are so fallible.”
Airing Tuesday nights on NBC, American Auto follows Gasteyer as Katherine — who has a background in the pharmaceutical industry and little interest in cars — as she takes over the fictional Detroit-based car company, Payne Motors, and upsets the status quo.
The cast also includes X Mayo as Katherine’s assistant, Dori; Michael Benjamin Washington as Cyrus, the company’s chief product designer; Jon Barinholtz as Wesley, the rich heir to the company who has no official job or title; Humphrey Ker as corporate lawyer Elliot; and Harriet Dyer as Payne marketing director Sadie.
Coming back for Season 2 was easy because the world and characters were already established, Gasteyer said.
“Just as actors, you know the territory, you know the set. It really feels like we work at Payne now,” she said.
“We know one another. We know our rhythms. We know the jokes that land in other people’s voices well. All of that is great.
“This season is much more about the gang coming together to save the company vis a vis the employees being afraid of new leadership and losing their jobs, which put me at odds against them [in Season 1].”
Asked if Katherine’s hilarious lack of affection for the cars she peddles will change in the new episodes, Gasteyer laughed and replied, “Ever so slightly.”
“She is still pretty steadfastly stupid about cars,” the comedian said.
Even if Katherine wanted to learn more about her trade, she would be distracted by the many public relations and human resources crises plaguing her company.
“She is putting out those fires — literally and figuratively. The screws just keep getting tighter on her and she hasn’t really had much of a shot to just sell cars,” Gasteyer said.
Season 2 sees Katherine voted “Most Hated CEO” after the company is accused of covering up its use of faulty parts on its vehicles.
After many disastrous attempts to rehabilitate her image, Katherine finally makes a sincere public apology on Late Night with Seth Meyers.
“It was interesting and challenging and human,” Gasteyer said about the scene.
“On the one hand, I do think it is a chess move. I think she understands that, ‘If I play this vulnerable now, I’ll probably get away with it.’ But also, look, she genuinely wants to be good at her job and everybody wants to be liked.”
Gasteyer said she felt sorry for her character because “she was in over her head” on Meyers’ talk show.
“He’s sharp. He’s funny. She was impressed by him and she keeps her cool in almost every situation,” she said.
The situation was slightly surreal because Gasteyer previously worked with Meyers on Saturday Night Live and is a frequent guest on his show, which is taped in the studio in which she auditioned for SNL decades ago.
“I’ve spent a lot of time on that couch as a performer,” she noted.
“So, it was odd playing Katherine, who I know would be really freaked out to be on that couch. Even the most rock-star CEO is not accustomed to performing in that capacity, so I was aware of how ‘on the line’ she felt and it was fun to play. It was fun to find that. It was also fun to make Seth be mean because he is the nicest guy.”
Gasteyer said many SNL veterans feel connected for life and continue to collaborate long after they’ve left the iconic sketch-comedy show.
“It is truly a fraternity. It’s a family system. You never escape,” said the actress, who has also worked with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler on Mean Girls and Wine Country, with Rachel Dratch on A Clusterfunke Christmas and with Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg on That’s My Boy.
“It is such a unique and anomalous situation,” she said of being an SNL player. “Even in show business, which is full of unique and anomalous situations, it is a lifelong bond, for sure.”
Gasteyer doesn’t worry when numerous cast members leave the show at the same time every few years, sparking fan and media speculation that SNL will never recover, because she knows there always will be talented newcomers waiting in the wings.
“It’s the nature of the beast. That’s what they do. They ebb and they flow and then another political year comes around and everybody tunes in,” she said.
“It’s the last piece of live commentary in real time on television. We’ve got TikTok, but if you’ve seen my most recent interview with Seth [we talked about] how that is hardly about developing an idea.
“Sketches have a beginning, a middle and an end and people will tune in to see the latest and most relevant [commentary] on any current event.”
