John Early Channels His ‘Gay Female Comedian’ — And Several Other Characters — In ‘Netflix Presents: The Characters’

Very few shows capture the true range of comedy better than Netflix’s must-watch new series, The Characters. The premise of the show is beautifully simple: eight comedians are given their own 30-minute episodes to do whatever they want. No rules.

The resulting comedy beast is a funny, meta, and smart look into what comedy is and can be in 2016. Last week, Decider spoke with the comedian behind The Characters‘ first episode, Orange is the New Black’s Lauren Lapkus. Today, we’re exploring the mastermind behind the anxiety-fueled second episode of the series — John Early.

If you’re a fan of 30 Rock or Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp, you’re probably already familiar with Early. In the Season Six episode of 30 Rock, “Standards and Practices,” Early played Jenna Maroney’s son, Jerome, and he was featured in episodes four and six of First Day of Camp. You may remember him as the talented and eager theater kid who lost his deserved leading man role to Paul Rudd. Early’s brand of comedy deals a lot with anxiety and larger-than-life characters, blending relatable observations with his own quirky brand of hyper-confidence and anxiety. That fusion between exaggerated and misplaced panic and genuinely relatable situations translates wonderfully to Early’s episode of Netflix Presents: The Characters. I spoke with Early about how he defines his type of comedy, what it was like working with Netflix, and which of his diva characters he relates to most.

DECIDER: How would you describe your particular brand of comedy?

JOHN EARLY: Oh wow! (Laughs) Why is that so hard?

I like watching people, like, having nervous breakdowns. I like seeing people in social settings sort of panic. In stand-up, I’m more like … there’s a Sandra Bernhard, cabaret-y vibe to it. I like to rant in the way she does and sing songs unapologetically in that way that she does. I’m really just a big patchwork quilt of female comedians, just feeding from female comedians from left to right. I guess I’m just a gay female comedian, I don’t know (laughs).

As far as The Characters go, as far as the video stuff I’m working on the past two years, yeah I really like to watch people be nervous and panic.

D: What was it like working creatively with Netflix?

JE: It was really insanely, continuously good. I think a lot us going into this were — we were told from the beginning we would be given kind of free range. They wanted us to dream big and not hold back, but I think we’re all prepared [to compromise]. A lot of us are people who make our own work. By the media’s definition, we are people who are always making our own work, and we were prepared to really feel the heartbreak of compromise in the way that — you know, you always hear the tales of you get the big opportunity but then you have to answer to all these notes, and it’s devastating, but you make it work.

So this was insane because the premise [of The Characters] itself is about basically not giving notes, and they really kind of stuck to that. Of course they were very helpful along the way, but for the most part, they were very hands off. And if I disagreed with them, I would push back, and they would back down. It was all very amicable.

Mine was originally set in like a courtroom party, that was the original kind of runner for my thing, and then the supreme court ruling (legalizing gay marriage) happened during my drafts. After I sent in my final draft, I called them, and I was like ‘I’d really like to change my entire thing to a rehearsal dinner,’ and I was expecting them to be like ‘Absolutely not!’ Because, suddenly, it was going to change the location, it was going to change the number of actors, it was going to changed all the dialog, you know? And they were like ‘Totally! Send us a new draft!’ and it was just so cool.

I just couldn’t believe — and like us singing that song at the end. I was like ‘They’ll never let me do this. They’ll never pay for the song, and why would they think that’s interesting or funny or …’ I just figured, everything I wrote in that script, I was like ‘They’ll never let me do it.’ I was so shocked that they let me do it all. It was really, really supportive and great.

D: Out of your characters in your episode, do you have one that you relate to the most?

JE: Well, there’s obviously the kind of ‘me’ character, the one being John that, on paper, I definitely think I do relate to the most. I look like him the most (laughs), but, right, that’s still a kind of distorted, ugly version of myself. I don’t know if I truly relate to that person all that much although there are so many elements of that that are like pulled from my own psychology and blown out of proportion, probably, but right now, I feel the most like Vicky, the kind of Southern … character. I had such a good time with that, and what I feel like is so nice about that short — especially in comparison with the rest of my special — she’s very confident. She’s like killing it onstage, and people are loving it, and I’m not saying I’m killing it, but I am having a good time. I’m very lucky to have this special right now, where I got to communicate, on such a big platform, do this stuff that I’ve been doing on my own for years, and people get to see it now. So I’m feeling most like Vicky right now. I’m feeling a little less dumb, like Jason (laughs), and I’m feeling less panic, like the John character. Yeah, I would say Vicky slaughtering is who I identify with right now.

D: I would definitely love to channel Vicky’s confidence.

JE: Don’t we all? And you know, she’s still vulnerable in that short. I think it’s mostly that I aspire to be Vicky. I aspire to be as confident as she is on stage, and I aspire to be as contemplative and thoughtful.

D: Do you have a favorite moment from the episode?

JE: You know, right now I love … I love the Vicky short as a whole. That was the most surprising for me. It’s the thing out of all the special that I’ve been doing the longest. I’ve been doing that on stage for a long time, and I think I was so worried that it would be just a hack or something. Like ‘Oh a Southern woman character.’ I was worried that would be a well-tread territory, and I wouldn’t feel excited by it. It’s my old shick, and it turned out— because of the brilliant Jacqueline Novak and Kate Berlant who are in a scene with me— it turned out to be the sweetest little short just because I love the way that it’s just these women are like worried about here, and the line where Jacqueline is just like ‘Honey, what’s wrong?’ The way they kind of look very concerned when she talks [about] the Sex and the City thing. I’m just so happy with how weirdly intimate that scene is and how it came like it’s own funkily shaped six-minute short film. I’m really, really proud of that one the most, I think. I just loved seeing the power through Jacqueline and Kate, who are like my favorite comedians in the world. I feel like I’m very influenced by them. They’re also two of my best friends in the world, and it’s so exciting to me to see the shot of the three of us trying to light our cigarette. I just feel like it’s very iconic to me, and I love seeing us kind of dress up in a different way, in a different kind of era of woman, like early 2000’s kind of women.

D: What do you want viewers to take away from your episode?

JE: I guess I want them to want more. (laughs) I want them to beg Netflix for more. I want them to feel like they’ve sort of been in a gay fever dream, full of references and lip syncing and  drag and like kind of— I love … putting women on screen. I love seeing iconic women have nervous breakdowns in a very lush way, and what I’m excited about in my special is seeing that kind of in the body of a gay man. I want people to feel all the things I was referencing. The whole thing starts with a direct reference to marital dwelling. I want people to get excited about those references. (laughs) This is a horrible answer.
*In Vicky voice*: I want people to know I try hard.

[Stream John Early’s episode of Netflix Presents: The Characters]

[Where to stream Netflix Presents: The Characters]

Photos: Netflix