Amy Schumer and Michael Cera’s Sweeping Romance in ‘Life and Beth’ Season 2 Evolved Naturally: “We Were Our Own Intimacy Coordinators”

Amy Schumer and Michael Cera return to Life & Beth on Feb. 26, 2024 for the Hulu original show’s sophomore season, which sees the relationship between their characters evolve at a speedy pace.

Schumer, who also writes, directs, and executive produces, stars as Beth, a woman with a complicated past. At the start of Season 1, Beth loses her mother and returns home to Long Island (from Manhattan) where she meets a quiet farmer named John, played by Cera. 

The two develop a flirtatious relationship throughout the course of the first season before deciding to make their relationship official in the Season 1 finale. 

In the new season, as shown in the trailer and other promotional materials, Beth and John move fast in their relationship and decide to get married and have a baby — without a time jump in sight.

While on a recent Zoom call with Decider, Schumer reveals that the relationship evolution was inspired by her own life.

Schumer explained, “We’ve tried to make [the show] really organic. It’s definitely fun to try and subvert all the expectations when possible. As a writer, my tendency is to write things the way we’ve seen them before.”

She continued, “My own reality was that my husband and I started dating, and then we got married four months later. We decided on a Thursday, and we got married on a Tuesday. So, that’s kind of true to life.”

Upon first reading the script, Cera “loved” it and found that its real-world roots gave it a “sort of roundness.” In regards to the wedding, Cera told Decider, “It was very fitting for John and for Beth. It felt like the right thing for them. I feel happy for them, for these characters.”

While the wedding was part of Schumer’s plan from the start, the timeline didn’t always see the event occurring in the second episode. In fact, Schumer felt an instinct tell her that she should work up to the wedding and leave it for the end of the season. “To each their own but putting so much emphasis on the wedding versus just wanting to be married didn’t feel like an original thought.” So, Schumer decided, “Let’s get it out of the way and not treat it like the end-all.”

“In reality, it’s not. Your wedding is going to be one one night,” Schumer said. 

Life & Beth Season 2 sees Beth and John being swept away in romance, which is a stark difference from the first season’s hesitant energy. Schumer and Cera meet their characters with electric chemistry that isn’t void of their awkwardness and quirks, but lets viewers know that they have an endgame relationship.

While discussing the evolution of their chemistry, Schumer joked that she and Cera had “actual sex on camera.”

“Which we’re promoting as industry standard going forward,” Cera quipped. 

“Yes, we were our own intimacy coordinators,” Schumer responded. 

On a more serious note, Schumer said, “I feel like we’ve had chemistry since before we even filmed this. For me, I can say that we love each other as people and trust each other. I feel like I can be completely vulnerable and like I’m really being listened to.”

Cera agreed, calling their chemistry “natural.” But he also credited the scripts as a motivating force. “It’s great writing which does more than half of the work. Just reading the scripts, I found it very moving. The first time I read how fast it goes, how charged it is… you get swept up in it.”

The actor continued, “You get to know Beth in the first season and then it’s very exciting to see her find this new facet of her life. You really care for her and you want that for her. It’s very sweet. The sweetness of it and Amy having written it, and her being the person who asked me to do it, it’s all very natural. It’s fun to play with and easy to bring to life.”

In addition to learning more about Beth, the season takes John’s storyline to the next level as he recalls his own experience with grief and gets diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as an adult. When it came to processing the abundance of new information about his character in the second season, Cera said, “I really love the character so much. I’m personally very moved by this season and by his story, especially learning about his life, his experiences, and what it has made him into – and how he’s handled it.”

He added, “It was fun to get to explore that and play a character who’s unlocking a lot of pieces of himself through his intimate relationship. There’s a lot to learn from it, too. I feel like I learned a lot getting to play this and reading it, and being in a committed relationship myself.” 

Life and Beth Season 2 premieres Feb. 16, 2024 on Hulu.