[Editor’s note: The following contains some spoilers for Leanne.]

Summary

• The Netflix comedy series ‘Leanne’ follows a woman navigating life after her husband of 33 years leaves her, seeking support and humor.
• The 16-episode series showcases hope, romance, and comedy amidst challenging life changes.
• The chemistry between TV sisters Leanne Morgan and Kristen Johnston adds authenticity and relatable dynamics to the show.

From co-creators Chuck Lorre, Susan McMartin and stand-up comedian Leanne Morgan, the 16-episode Netflix comedy series Leanne follows Leanne (Morgan) as her husband of 33 years (Ryan Stiles) shocks her by leaving for another woman. Leanne is a grandmother and Southern matriarch who is not ready to return to the single life, but her supportive sister Carol (Kristen Johnston) is in her corner and more than willing to embrace a little chaos if it gets Leanne out of her shell. Preferring to rely on love and laughter to find the strength she needs to start over, Leanne is ready to embrace what she wants now,

During this interview with Collider, co-stars Morgan and Johnston, along with executive producer Lorre, discussed Morgan’s journey from the stand-up stage to sitcom star, the experience of being in front of a live audience, Lorre’s faith that Leanne would deliver the laughs, finding hope in challenging times, the romance between Leanne and Andrew (Tim Daly), the instant chemistry between Morgan and Johnston, singing while eating lasagna, meeting the other woman, and that they’d like to see this series go on for as long as possible.

Leanne Morgan Just Wants to Give Hope to Women in Similar Situations as Her Sitcom Character

“If you went through being married for over 30 years and your husband left you, I’m sure that it would be hard to feel like you were desirable anymore.”

Collider: I’ve seen the first eight episodes, which is what I was sent before this interview. It stopped at the moment that Leanne finally gets up the nerve to go to Andrew’s house and finally kiss him. Leanne, what was it like for you to finally get to have that moment for your character? Did that feel like a moment of courage that she really needed to have?

LEANNE MORGAN: Yes. It was a big deal for me. I don’t even know if I can call myself an actor.

KRISTEN JOHNSTON: Yes, you can.

MORGAN: Thank you. But it was a big deal for me. I thought all these women in the United States of America are going to see that and have hope. If you went through being married for over 30 years and your husband left you, I’m sure that it would be hard to feel like you were desirable anymore. That’s what’s so sweet about it. Women can feel that and have that hope. If you’re going to have any romance in your life after something catastrophic has happened, or you’re going to go back to school, or you’re going to get a job that you’ve always wanted to have, or whatever it is, that’s what’s so special about this. That was one of the scenes that shows that.

Kristen, does Carol think that Andrew is a good match for Leanne, or does she just want her sister to get out there and have fun, however she chooses to do it?

JOHNSTON: I think she actually does. In that way where she’s die hard for Leanne, I think as long as Leanne’s happy, she’s cool.

Chuck, what did you love about seeing Leanne, the character, have that moment, but to also see Leanne, the actress, share that scene with Tim Daly?

CHUCK LORRE: I like that it’s a moment of hope that life goes on and you don’t know where it’s going. In this case, you certainly don’t know that it’s going to an FBI agent who is investigating Carol’s boyfriend. It’s such a convoluted path to get to Tim and that relationship, but it makes me, as a viewer, hopeful. The success and failure of a show depends on whether you care about the characters. You want to root for them to find happiness and peace, and that moment promises just that.

Leanne, how have you found this experience of jumping into your first series with this team, and doing so in front of a live studio audience? Does that make it at all feel similar to stand-up in any way, as far as getting that reaction?

MORGAN: That was the best part of all of this. It’s all been a challenge and a big learning curve for me. I’ve never done anything like that. It was very daunting. But I felt the confidence that, “Okay, maybe I can take this,” when I would get in front of that live audience. We had wonderful audiences come. It [was packed] every week. They gave us so much love, and I could tell they were loving it. I just thought, “Okay, I can do this.” This was a big deal for me. I’m 59 years old and I’ve done one little bitty part in a movie, and then had this happen to me. It was a lot, but it felt like home. By the time we got through it, I thought, “Okay, I’m settling in and it feels right.”

Chuck, as something of a sitcom guru, why were you sure that this was the right path to take for this series? On paper, a TV series about a woman whose life is turned upside down when her husband leaves after more than 30 years, feels like it could have easily been a weepy drama. What made you see the comedy in that?

LORRE: I knew that if [Leanne] was saying the words and giving the performance she ultimately did give, that it would work. My faith was in Leanne, not the premise. Premises come and go. If you don’t have the right actors in front of the camera, it doesn’t really matter what you write, it’s not going to work. So, my belief, out of the gate, was in Leanne and that the audience would root not for her and care for her. I knew she was going to make them laugh. I had no question about that.

Kristen, you’re a sitcom and comedy legend, doing over 100 episodes across six seasons of Third Rock from the Sun, your work on Mom, and the variety of comedy work that you’ve done. What do you love most about doing this kind of project? What have you most enjoyed about working with this team?

JOHNSTON: I love theater. That’s where I started. And it’s doing a one-act play every week. It’s flying by the seat of your pants, where it’s all been created in that one week. There’s no 700 takes. You’ve got to rehearse it so it’s tight. You get maybe two takes in front of an audience. To me, that is the terror and the joy of it, and it’s always been that way for me. I just love it.

I love watching these two women together. There’s something just so relatable and believable about their relationship. Did that dynamic and rhythm come very naturally. Did you guys have to feel each other out at all, or was that there from the beginning?

JOHNSTON: It was instant. Not to blow smoke up my boss’ butt, but his genius really is in understanding the dynamics between people and what will work. The Gods of Chuck Lorre Town put us together, and it was immediate love and instant adoration. It was very sisterly.

MORGAN: Now we dress alike, buy the same pants, and eat the same food.

Even if there are things they disagree on, the love between them is apparent.

JOHNSTON: That’s the writing. A lot of that is the writing.

According to Chuck Lorre, Leanne Morgan and Kristen Johnston Are the Perfect Comic Pairing in ‘Leanne’

“There’s Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello, Ren and Stimpy, Pinky and the Brain, and Leanne and Kristen.”

Chuck, you have a knack for putting great ensembles together. What have you most enjoyed about watching Leanne and Kristen together?

LORRE: The joy of watching them is seeing that this perfect comic pairing was correct. It is a gamble. There is a roll of the dice when you do this. But there was a feeling that I had early on that Kristen would be a perfect comic foil. There’s Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello, Ren and Stimpy, Pinky and the Brain, and Leanne and Kristen. It was a gut feeling that this would be a great comedy duo. We just had to get the words right on the page. The fact that they love each other and are supportive of each other, no matter what, supports the whole show. No matter what, you know they have one another, and that’s a critical part of this series.

I noticed that this series has its fair share of scenes where someone seems to be eating. One of my favorite moments is in episode three when Leanne sings “Don’t You Want Me” by Human League. How did that come about? Who chose that song? Leanne, how did you feel about singing that song?

MORGAN: I love the song. That was from my era. Somebody came up with that. Was it one of the writers?

LORRE: I don’t remember.

MORGAN: He’s the music person.

LORRE: I don’t remember where the song idea came from.

MORGAN: I’m not a singer.

LORRE: She was singing and eating lasagna. Her saying, “I’m taking this to bed and watching Dateline,” tells you everything you need to know about her emotional stability at that point.

MORGAN: I did dance to that song in a club in the eighties.

Kristen, we learn that Carol has a boyfriend and that he has quite a colorful backstory. What did you enjoy about that relationship and why do you think it affects her as much as it seems to, when she clearly didn’t know him as well as she thought she did?

JOHNSTON: She has this great line where she talks about how she’s a bad picker. She does not know how to pick relationships. I feel like that relationship is the beginning of the end for Carol having a bad picker. She’s got to figure it out. What is going on with her and men, and why does she screw it up every time? That’s what I loved about it. It’s a jumping off point for Carol to try to grow up a little bit when it comes to relationships. It’s not always the guy with the biggest motorcycle or best car, or whatever. That’s what she was going off of initially.

LORRE: I think she’s going to have a bad picker forever.

JOHNSTON: From Chuck Lorre’s mouth to God’s ears, I’m screwed.

LORRE: A good picker isn’t as funny.

JOHNSTON: That’s true. There’s a hint of her being a good picker at the end of the season, but I’m sure she’ll probably blow it.

LORRE: Yes.

I really appreciate that Leanne doesn’t want to know the other woman that split up her marriage and is being very up front about that. What was it like to actually bring them together and figure out what that dynamic would be?

LORRE: I just thought, despite her anger at the betrayal and all the dark emotions, Leanne can’t help but feel empathetic because this woman is not a demon. She’s not the cardboard cutout evil villain. She’s a human being who has made a mistake and owns it. The fact that she has empathy for her in that scene is very telling about her character.

JOHNSTON: The writing is deeper because the new girlfriend isn’t evil or a bombshell. She’s trying to figure her stuff out too. I love that scene with them. I really do.

MORGAN: I thought it was very sweet. I did want there to be some forgiveness, or at least not so much anger and bitterness because you can’t live in that. I don’t want the character to live in that.

She punched her husband. He was the one that deserved it.

MORGAN: I think I’m a pretty good fighter.

JOHNSTON: That’s a huge credit to Ryan Stiles because that is a tough character to come in with and know the audience is already mad at you. He’s so talented and so charming. I loved working with them.

It’s interesting to watch how Carol interacts with Bill because of what’s happened with the relationship between him and Leanne.

JOHNSTON: Carol had a 30-year relationship with him too. She was basically his sister. I thought that they explored that really well. I loved that.

Leanne Morgan, Kristen Johnston and Chuck Lorre All Hope to Keep Making More of ‘Leanne’

“We absolutely want to do more.”

This feels like a series that has a lot of life in it. Is the goal to keep doing this for as long as possible? Have you thought about how long you’d like to keep this going?

MORGAN: Forever.

JOHNSTON: We want to do more.

LORRE: We absolutely want to do more. We’ll see how it goes.

Chuck, you’ve had TV shows that have gone on for many years, and you’ve also had series that have ended before it felt like their time was done. Do you ever get discouraged, or do you not get discouraged by that?

LORRE: Oh, your heart gets broken all the time. One of the great things about television is, if you’re fortunate enough to have some longevity and the show carries on for more than a season or two or three or four, a family evolves around the making of the show. When it ends, that family disperses. You get together every once in a while and have a meal. You don’t have that in film, where you spend three months on a movie, and then never see those people again. With television, it’s a really tribal, community-based kind of work, and when it goes away, it hurts. It hurts. When Big Bang ended after 12 seasons, there was still a lot of crying.