Inside Season 4 of Acclaimed Comedy Series GREG IN L.A. with Star/Co-Creator Gregory Lay
When everything and everyone you’ve valued disappears, what — and who — is left to help you rebuild you? In 800 Pound Gorilla Media’s funny, revealing and sometimes heartbreaking comedy series Greg in L.A., an average, divorced and unemployed Los Angeles guy named Greg (played by Gregory Lay) gets some fascinating answers to that question, and learns that starting a new life may be tough, but friends, humor and an openness to taking chances can help anyone to start fully living again.
Co-created by Lay and show writer/director Sean Daniel Cunningham, the new fourth season of the charming Seinfeld-ian sitcom (now on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram; links to all at the end of this article) features more of its eponymous lead character’s everyday slip-ups and run-ins with people both odd and somewhat normal in a city where some search for stardom and others — like Greg — search for stability.
In season 4, Greg has a supposedly rock-solid squeeze in girlfriend Luna (Julia Sismour), a surreal new employer (Al Warren) and the reliable counsel of his complex but incredibly wise former neighbor David (David Neal Levin), fledgling songwriter/sounding board Jacob (Jacob Jeffries), sage mentor/frequent episode narrator Carlos (Octavio Solorio-Camacho), unapologetically direct advisor Julia (Julia Tokarz) and his lovable puppy Winston.
While Greg’s romantic and career journeys are a roller-coaster of successes and stumbles, his complicated relationship with his estranged sibling Kevin (portrayed by Kevin Kane, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit) makes him ponder not just where his life is going but also what it should be — and if there’s still hope for reconciliation between them.
With Greg In L.A.’s fourth season now having debuted, Lay recently spoke with me about the inspiration behind and growth of his character, the creative advantages and resources that the acclaimed series now enjoys via its partnership with comedy-centered prod-co 800 Pound Gorilla Media, and the emotional connection that the show continues to make with both himself and with audiences.
Chris Hadley: Gregory, tell me more about your character on this show, how you and Sean developed him, and how he’s evolved over the past three seasons.
Gregory Lay (star/co-creator, Greg in L.A.): Greg is an extension of me as a person, my experiences and my personal feelings on growth and evolution, combined with the psychological framework that Sean and I construct via conversations we have about life, love, psychology and how those things play on people and the metaphors that arise out of that process. We are also constantly laughing hysterically while constructing these storylines so comedy runs through the veins of everything we do as a collaborative team.
CH: In what ways have your own real life experiences, as well as your everyday life and interactions in Los Angeles, inspired your character on this show?
GL: The character is deeply inspired by not only my own experiences but by my deconstruction of those experiences and, inevitably, how those elements resonate with Sean and I as creators. I am a previously married and now divorced man and that was an extremely painful period of my life. It made me question and reconcile everything about who I ever thought I was.
That process of allowing a part of yourself to die off so another part (of it) can be actualized and can grow is lonely and painful. It brings you to question everything you’ve ever known if you are open to it. I had lived in New York City for 15 years and moving to Los Angeles gave me fresh eyes and a fresh heart. It was here that I was able to reflect on those past years and use those experiences honestly and creatively.
CH: How did you find not just the supporting cast for this series but also the right locations around Los Angeles to fit into Greg’s story and the show’s comedic moments?
GL: Sean and I are blessed in that we have worked together for over 15 years so the cast of brilliant people who have come through our lives is numerous. We match up the character with the essence of the person often by knowing who we want ahead of time or by creating the character based on the actor. Sean is the camera lens so he chooses the locations based on what he sees in his mind’s eye.
The beauty of our partnership is that we don’t waste time getting stuck disagreeing because we see the same thing so often. Therefore we are able to agree on the world we are constructing quite quickly and fluidly. The whole process comes simply from the excitement to create without ego. All ideas and failures are welcome in the process.
CH: What was the production process like for season 4 of this show, and in what ways has that process improved over the course of the past 3 seasons?
GL: Season 4 was a unique and wholly different beast for us. For the first time we conceived of the season as a whole as opposed to how we approached the first 3 seasons, which had us coming up with an idea weekly, shooting it, and releasing one episode a week with no money and no crew. We often didn’t know what was going to happen in the story until the next week when we created the episode. With season 4 we constructed the character and story arcs ahead of time and created a far deeper and more involved experience in the process.
With the help of a budget from 800 Pound Gorilla we were able to upgrade our storytelling abilities by flying in and hiring actors we wanted to work with and using locations that would elevate the show in a way it hadn’t been before. We also decided to double the episode count this season. Why? As Sean stated to me, “it’s the amount of episodes we needed to tell the story.” It became a larger season organically, which, honestly is core in how we work. We take joy in letting the creative solutions appear rather than chasing them. This is why we love improvisation and open ended scenes because magic lies in the gaps between what’s already conceived intellectually on the page.
CH: What other comedies — be they movies or TV shows — would you compare Greg in L.A. to?
GL: What makes Greg in L.A. special is it allows the audience that loves a full-length narrative TV show to hopefully express the same level of emotional investment in story and character in a short form, bite-sized series. It’s been called “Curb Your Enthusiasm for millennials”. It has been compared to Seinfeld and Louie and it is inspired by a lifetime admiration for John Hughes movies and romantic comedies. It’s Seinfeld with heart and edge. It’s a comfortable family watch with unexpected turns and genre switches. We (had) fun making it and hope the audience has fun watching it.
CH: What do you feel makes this show unique from existing comedies — especially “slice of life” sitcoms like Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm and others?
GL: It’s our voice, plain and simple. Many influences work on (Sean and I) constantly when creating Greg in L.A. but we hope that what we’ve created has taken those influences into a new territory that represents our own unique brand of comedy and heart. It differs from the typical “slice of life” (comedies) because it’s raw and human and we like to think that it plays a little deeper into people’s souls. It’s a comfortable watch that makes you ponder life. At least we aim for that.
CH: What have you and Sean learned about and taken away from the experience of making Greg In L.A. over the past 4 seasons, and how have audiences responded to it?
GL: (We’ve learned) that we are capable of things we could have never imagined and that if you remain open, honest and vulnerable in your work you will give everyone around you permission to do the same which is the seed of healing. We have received hundreds of messages from all over the world from people who have related to the human emotional elements of Greg in L.A., the connection people feel to the characters and how the comedy and situations have helped through hard times. We couldn’t ask for anything more, we have a beautiful audience, we are thrilled.
CH: In what ways has working on this show helped you to grow as an actor?
GL: I’ve been rogue for a long time, meaning (that) I cut myself away from the systematic aspects of pursuing this career by doing my own thing and finding my own process long ago. This experience has solidified that. I’m more willing than ever to fall flat on my face to find the best expression of the story we are trying to create. The ego is creative poison and it needs to remain outside of art. (That’s) always been my philosophy, and this experience has helped me get closer to that end.
CH: How did Greg In L.A.’s association with 800 Pound Gorilla Media come about, what specifically convinced them that this show would be a great addition to their content library, and how has your deal with this company benefited the production and distribution of your show?
GL: 800 Pound Gorilla Media actually found (Sean and I). This entire situation was kismet as far as I’m concerned. Imagine making a show with no money and no crew that you hope will get a wide reach based on its content alone. We visualized that eventually it would get so big that it would get across the eyes of someone with power who saw what we were doing, and that maybe if comics and comic actors got involved (with Greg In L.A.), we could expand the cast and reach of the show, and even get a small budget (for the show).
Then the phone rings. It’s Damion (Greiman, company co-founder) and Marcus (Lustig, creative development chief) from 800 Pound Gorilla and all of those exact things started happening. Multiple people had shown them clips and that’s how they found us! They had decided as a company to move into narrative content for the first time so our show was a perfect fit (for them).
One thing is for sure: 800 Pound Gorilla Media is a brilliant company with a brilliant team. They not only helped us with a budget, but they gave us access to brilliant performers and wanted no part in messing with our story or process. They are truly a creative’s dream and (Sean and I) can’t thank them enough. Because of 800 Pound Gorilla, our audience will expand even wider and that’s all you can ask for at this stage.
CH: What do you hope audiences take away from watching this show — and how, if at all, will it help them not only to deal with life’s ups and downs but also to find humor in them?
GL: You’re not alone. We all suffer, we all fall off and get lost, and when you’re lost you’re lost. It’s dark, but there is always light and comedy and laughter in other people and our mutual struggle. If you look around and see just how similar we all are as human beings it’s actually quite comedic to see what a mess we are capable of making with our decisions, fears and insecurities. The coolest, most famous or most privileged person you’ve ever met in your life has felt as deeply alone as you have ever felt. Also, get a dog!
NOTE: All episodes of the series are closed-captioned.
Watch the entire fourth season of Greg In L.A. on 800 Pound Gorilla’s YouTube channel:
New episodes of Greg In L.A. drop each Sunday and Wednesday on the show’s own YouTube, Facebook and Instagram pages:
On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greginlaseries/
