Paula Pell

Summary

Good Hang with Amy Poehler — Paula Pell

The Ringer | May 19, 2026 | Guest: Paula Pell

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Episode Overview

In this lively, affectionate episode of “Good Hang,” Amy Poehler welcomes her longtime friend and legendary comedy writer/performer Paula Pell for an in-depth, laughter-filled conversation. The episode dives into Paula’s Midwestern roots, her formative years as a performer, her transformative time at SNL, and her love for writing “joyful losers.” Special guest Kim Kardashian opens the episode with heartfelt questions and observations about collaborating with Paula on their upcoming film. From comedy shop talk and showbiz war stories to honest reflections on identity, aging, and partnership, this episode is both a masterclass in comedy history and a warm celebration of Paula Pell’s endless creativity, generosity, and joy.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. A Surprise Introduction from Kim Kardashian

• [02:34–10:42]
  • Kim Kardashian shares her personal admiration for Paula and their experience working together on the upcoming film “Fifth Wheel.”
  • Kim describes the unexpected magic on set, how Paula creates “extra fairy dust” in her collaborations, and asks Amy to find out from Paula if she feels the same way.
  • “Anytime I mention [Paula’s] name, I get a text back ‘Just genius.’” — Kim Kardashian ([05:21])
  • Kim also wants to know: Who makes Paula break with laughter — “is there ever someone you just can’t control yourself around?” ([10:03])
  • Amy reflects on how Paula prioritizes the people and the process as much as outcomes—a key to that on-set magic.

2. Paula’s Comic Roots and Midwestern Upbringing

• [12:04–17:00]
  • Amy dubs Paula “the funniest people’s favorite person.”
  • Paula and Amy riff on Midwesterners—Paula calls them “pleasant liars,” sharing a story about her grandma’s polite soup criticism ([15:24]).
  • Paula recalls growing up in Joliet, Illinois (“Joliet—not the prison!”) and a comic misunderstanding with Lorne Michaels over a Blues Brothers reference ([17:05]).

3. Coming of Age & Early Performance

• [17:44–21:45]
  • Paula describes her “born at 50” caretaker persona and her early awareness as a closeted lesbian.
  • Vivid stories capture the secret heartbreak of growing up gay in a pre-acceptance era:

    “The most heartbreaking thing is to go home and not be able to be a heartbroken young person with your family.” — Paula Pell ([21:13])

  • Both Amy and Paula reflect on how different high school was in terms of LGBTQ visibility and support.

4. Family, Comedy, and Musical Theater

• [22:11–29:49]
  • Paula credits her instinct for comedy to her hilarious, supportive family (“My father is truly, genuinely... a comedy writer. He just waits.” [22:27]).
  • She shares tales of performing as “Mother Superior” in eighth-grade musicals, harmonizing as a choir kid, and developing her signature “joke voice.”
  • Amy and Paula geek out over their shared love of harmonizing and musical theater (“I love harmonizing... I weep when I watch them.” — Paula Pell [26:01]).
  • Paula recalls “Co-Op,” the Sondheim-parody episode of Documentary Now!, and the thrill of Sondheim’s approval ([27:58]).

5. Disney’s Pleasure Island and On-the-Job Training

• [30:01–38:25]
  • Paula vividly recounts working at Disney’s Pleasure Island as improv matron Pamelia Perkins.
  • She candidly navigates her “Penis Avenue” experiments during the Disney years (“Haven’t had the full girth, right?... and nothing stuck, except the semen. No, I’m kidding.” [36:52])
  • Performing nightly before live audiences was “a training ground”—Paula craved hearing real laughter, a need she brought to SNL.

6. Rise at SNL: Writer, Performer, and Joyful Losers

• [38:38–49:07]
  • The serendipitous path from theme park performer to SNL writer: “I was terrified... I’m a lot more boring here than I usually am.” ([40:33])
  • Paula describes being hired as a writer, not a performer, and the complex feelings around her “plus-size” identity and how it shaped her SNL journey.
  • Together, she and Amy dissect the recurring SNL character era, with Pell as a core creator of sketches like the Culps, Cheerleaders, and Debbie Downer.
  • On “joyful losers”: “My favorite thing is someone joyfully living their life, what they want to do.” ([46:23])
  • The validation of writing her first solo sketch: “It killed at the table... I deserve to be here.” ([48:35])

7. Breaking Barriers, Performing, and the Magic of Giving

• [49:11–67:01]
  • Paula discusses being SNL’s longest-tenured female writer, her complex adjustment moving from performer to “writer category,” and learning to shine amid shame.
  • Amy and Paula touch on the way Pell “broke protocol” and paved the way for others by embodying fearlessness and joy, especially in her interactions with Lorne Michaels.
  • On SNL’s evolution: “Now I see the writing staff and it’s so much more diverse... it just makes you feel so much better.” ([67:01])
  • On her partnership with Jeanine Brito: “It was a miracle... it taught me truly to stop always not believing that the happy ending can happen.” ([57:33])

8. Current Projects & Joy in Ensembles

• [52:58–56:21]
  • Paula stars in Peacock’s “The Burbs” alongside an ensemble including Keke Palmer and Jack Whitehall.
  • Sings the praises of Keke Palmer’s energy, leadership, and talent (“She was just cooked when she was born.” [54:55])

9. Aging, Body, and Humor

• [55:41–57:12]
  • Paula’s candid about weight fluctuations, depression, and the “racket” of dieting.
  • “I was not funny at all when I was skinny... that’s why I eat cream cheese on Pop Tarts now, to stay funny.” ([56:21])
  • Talks about recent health changes, and living for happiness with her much-loved younger wife, Jeanine Brito.

10. Animal Family & Sending Love

• [68:03–69:39]
  • Updates on Paula’s family of five dogs (one in a cart!), three cats, a donkey, a horse, and two snakes; a love of fostering elderly animals.
  • “A thousand good days in one day. Let’s just give him a great end of his life.” ([69:31])

11. Signature Harmony & Closing Joy

• [69:48–71:20]
  • Amy and Paula joyfully harmonize on “Amazing Grace” (public domain… but, oops, “It costs $150,000. Okay, great. We’re gonna cut it.” [71:17]).
  • The episode closes on mutual love and immense gratitude.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Comedy and Joy

  “My favorite thing is someone joyfully living their life, what they want to do.” — Paula Pell ([46:23])
  “People who love Paula are people who love comedy.” — Amy Poehler ([04:46])

• On Breaking Through at SNL

  “It killed at the table... I deserve to be here.” — Paula Pell ([48:35])

• On Coming Out in a Different Era

  “The most heartbreaking thing is to go home and not be able to be a heartbroken young person with your family.” — Paula Pell ([21:13])

• On Collaboration and People

  “She doesn't forget the people in any process... people are as important to her as outcome.” — Amy Poehler ([08:39])

• On Legacy and Influence

  “It made you feel like, oh, maybe he will think I’m funny... You being fearless made everybody else feel like there might be space for me here.” — Amy Poehler ([65:56])

• The No-Asshole Zone of Joy

  “I am in a no asshole zone of joy now. This is our only weapon is joy. That’s the only thing we can do now.” — Paula Pell ([63:16])

• On Ensemble Spirit

  “You are a leading lady in every way, but you also love that juicy ensemble thing.” — Amy Poehler ([53:02])

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Timestamps for Major Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |---------------|-----------------------------------------------------------| | 02:34–10:42 | Kim Kardashian intro, admiration, questions for Paula | | 12:04–17:00 | Paula’s Midwestern roots & childhood | | 17:44–21:45 | Sexual identity, coming out stories | | 22:11–29:49 | Family humor, musical theater, choir stories | | 30:01–38:25 | Disney’s Pleasure Island & performing roots | | 38:38–49:07 | Getting hired at SNL, writer/performer identity | | 49:11–57:33 | SNL legacy, shame & shine, writing “joyful losers” | | 52:58–56:21 | Current work: The Burbs, love of ensemble, Keke Palmer | | 55:41–57:12 | Body image, aging, happiness, and wife Jeanine Brito | | 68:03–69:39 | Animal family, care for senior pets | | 69:48–71:20 | Amy & Paula harmonize “Amazing Grace” |

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Tone & Style

The episode is loose, intimate, and full of inside comedy stories—with affectionate ribbing, “joke voice” asides, and sincere moments of vulnerability. Amy’s admiration for Paula is palpable, and the conversation playfully meanders through memory, advice, and laughter. It’s equal parts behind-the-scenes comedy history, personal biography, and mutual celebration.

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For Listeners: Why You Should Tune In

Whether you’re a diehard comedy nerd, an SNL fan, or just a lover of candid, joyful conversation, this episode delivers both deep insight and big laughs. Paula Pell’s life, from closeted choir kid to SNL legend and joyous ensemble player, is a testament to the power of humor, resilience, and community. Takeaways abound: from the healing power of performance and “joyful losers,” to the importance of owning your shine — and always, always leading with kindness and laughter.

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Explore More

• Paula’s essential sketches: Look up SNL sketches like Debbie Downer, The Culps, Cheerleaders, and more.
• Hudson Valley Ballers: Paula & James Anderson’s YouTube comedy (“two jerks in the Hudson Valley”—see [71:41]).
• The Burbs (Peacock): Paula’s newest ensemble murder-mystery-comedy.

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"I am in a no asshole zone of joy now. This is our only weapon is joy. That’s the only thing we can do now."
— Paula Pell ([63:16])

Transcript

[Amy Poehler]

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[Paula Pell]

Hi, Kim.

[Kim Kardashian]

Nice to see you.

[Amy Poehler]

It's really nice to see you. Thank you so much for doing this on a Saturday.

[Paula Pell]

Of course.

[Kim Kardashian]

I just left the gym so I look a little bit of a mess, but it is what it is.

[Amy Poehler]

What did you do in your workout?

[Kim Kardashian]

I do strength training, so I have, like, crazy bodybuilder trainer, and we do lots of. Like, today we did lower body, so squats and walking lunges.

[Amy Poehler]

And I'm feeling you because I know I have to up my weight stuff for, like, bone density.

[Kim Kardashian]

Do you ever get a Dex Dexter DEXA scan?

[Amy Poehler]

No. Tell me about it.

[Kim Kardashian]

I actually know a portable DEXA scan person that comes in a. In a van and you lay down. And each one of my sisters and my mom, we all live in the same gated community. So we have the van drive by, and we all jump in the van, and you just lay down and it scans your body maybe, like, three minutes, and it tells you all about your bone density.

[Amy Poehler]

Ooh, I love that.

[Kim Kardashian]

You know, over. We do it once a year, and just to make sure that you're still got it going on and you still have all of the bone density that is necessary.

[Amy Poehler]

I mean, it feels like something that our moms did not know about or talk about at all. I know. I feel like intake. I know there's so much stuff that we have to now take.

[Paula Pell]

It's a lot.

[Kim Kardashian]

Supplements. I take probably 35 supplements day, Kim. I spread them out three times a day. And I thought, okay, I can't do this fish oil right now, like, anymore. I have, like, pill fatigue. I have to stop these fish oil. And I got my blood work, and it was so evident that I stopped and I had to start again.

[Amy Poehler]

But it is tough to take fish oil because you. When you take it, you. You, like, taste it for a long time.

[Kim Kardashian]

The pills are just so big.

[Amy Poehler]

I know.

[Kim Kardashian]

I wish there was, like, an IV drip I could do every day, and I would just do it on my way to work.

[Amy Poehler]

I'm sure there is a portable. Another guy in a van can follow your car.

[Paula Pell]

Yes.

[Amy Poehler]

Well, you are on your way to work on the Fifth Wheel, which is the movie that you're in, starring in, that Paula Pell wrote. And I'm so. I was. Thank you so much for talking about her today, because to me, people that love Paula are people that love comedy.

[Kim Kardashian]

I have been fascinated by the comedy world and the people that I've been so blessed to meet over the last few years. And Paula, anytime I mention her name, I get a text back. Just genius.

[Paula Pell]

Yes.

[Kim Kardashian]

Just how we met was so funny, and it was so quick and fast, and it was maybe a year and a half ago, maybe two years ago. Here Filming a movie that we had an idea. Like the first time we spoke. And it was really crazy that someone wanted to connect us and thought this would be a really fun project. Would you guys ever want to. Kim, would you want to do a comedy? And Paula, would you want to write it? And we got on the phone and she hung up. Called right back within an hour with the whole idea.

[Paula Pell]

Wow.

[Amy Poehler]

And she's incredible.

[Kim Kardashian]

We had the funniest day yesterday on set.

[Amy Poehler]

What happened?

[Kim Kardashian]

So it's like Nikki Glaser Fortune theme Sir and I in this one scene. And I won't say what's going on, but Kristen Wiig is doing something perfect. So funny.

[Amy Poehler]

Perfect.

[Kim Kardashian]

And we're supposed to be laughing and reacting. I couldn't control myself. Like, almost peed my pants. Like, just every single time. Just being in a room with people that you want to be professional, you want to get the job done, and you just can't control yourself because it's so funny.

[Amy Poehler]

I can tell you are a big comedy fan.

[Kim Kardashian]

I've now gotten to meet some of the people that I've always looked up to and thought were so amazing. And it's just such a. It's such a community where everyone supports each other so much. And I experienced that for my. The first time when I hosted snl. It was like this group chat of so many comedians trying to help with my bit and with my. My monologue. And it was so fascinating just to see everyone's minds and to see how supportive everyone was and showed up that night when I was doing that and rooting for, like, everyone genuinely roots for each other in it. I've never seen that kind of connection and bond in any other genre in the entertainment business.

[Amy Poehler]

Okay, so you said you had a couple questions for Paula today. What are your thoughts for what we should ask her?

[Kim Kardashian]

I wanted to know when she was coming up with this idea for this film, is this everything that she thought it would be? To me, it feels like one of those magical. Like, there's a little extra magic in it that, like, we all knew. And I think this is how it was envisioned. But I feel like there's just a little extra fairy dust over this project, and it feels really good. And does she feel that fairy dust too?

[Amy Poehler]

And why is it important to you to ask that question to her?

[Kim Kardashian]

Why?

[Amy Poehler]

Why do you want her to? Why do you wonder if she's feeling that too?

[Kim Kardashian]

Because it's such a exciting time and an exciting feeling, and it just feels like. I just want to know if she feels the Same way that I feel about it, because I am really excited and passionate about it. And I don't know, maybe this. Maybe she's so accomplished and there's so many projects, and this is just one of those.

[Amy Poehler]

And, like, I. I think the exact opposite. Like, I think the best thing about Paula is that she has this. She creates momentum. She has energy, which is what, like, you're talking about as, you know, you need to get stuff started. But she also. I think one of the best things about her is she doesn't forget the people in any process. Like, people are as important to her as outcome. And she's a people person. You know, she really wants to connect in that way, like, with. Through the stuff that she makes. And so that magicy, sparkly stuff that you're feeling among each other. Like, I think that's kind of. If I was to say something about her, like, she is. I think she loves that stuff. I think that's why she's still doing it.

[Paula Pell]

Yeah.

[Kim Kardashian]

Yeah. I just, I. I hope she feels the magic, because I feel it.

[Paula Pell]

And then.

[Amy Poehler]

Anything else.

[Kim Kardashian]

I always wanted to know, is there ever someone that you just can't control yourself? You just see them in action and you just can't stop laughing. Like, you physically can't get through a scene or something because you find them so hysterical. And I love. I love watching snl and when you're trying to get through, you know,

[Amy Poehler]

a

[Kim Kardashian]

bit and you just. They break and they just start laughing. Like, to me, that's when I really start laughing because I can feel how much fun it is. And I can see. See that they're having such a hard time getting through it because they just want to laugh so, so hard. And I just wonder, like, who is that person for you?

[Amy Poehler]

For her? You know, like I said when we started, I feel like anybody who loves Paula's comedy, to me means that they know comedy. So it really means a lot that you got on a zoom today. Thank you. Of course, she's going to be so thrilled and excited that we talked.

[Kim Kardashian]

Good.

[Amy Poehler]

Okay, thanks so much.

[Kim Kardashian]

Have fun this weekend.

[Amy Poehler]

Thank you. Nice talking to you. Bye. This episode is brought to you by Visible. Ah, spring is in the air, which means it's time for some spring cleaning. We're decluttering the closets and finally tossing those mystery cords. But while you're cleaning out the junk drawer, take a look at your wireless bill. Don't fall for wireless traps, surprise fees, confusing bills, and empty promises. Join Visible and cut out the nonsense. With Visible, you get unlimited 5G data and hotspot on Verizon's network for one flat cost. Just $25 a month, taxes and fees included. It's everything you need and nothing you don't. Finish your spring cleaning by ditching the carrier clutter, head to visible.com and get started. Terms apply. See visible.com for plan features and network management details. Paula Pell, you look fantastic.

[Paula Pell]

Thank you. I've got a full denim suit on. Is that lesbian move or what?

[Amy Poehler]

Paula, you're probably one of the guests that we've talked about the most with other guests. Like, I was thinking today about us talking, and it was like, oh, we've brought up. I mean, I'm so lucky that we just get to talk to our friends on this.

[Paula Pell]

It's the dream job, isn't it? It is. It is.

[Amy Poehler]

It's a dream job.

[Paula Pell]

And the hours and wouldn't it be fun to have two people doing it? You know, the two. Two blondes. It could be called two blondes having a good hang. But, I mean, I' trying to infiltrate your good. Your good thing. But we'll talk.

[Amy Poehler]

We've. We've talked about. Well, we talked to you. The Anna Gastire episode. You very nicely gave Anna a question. Thank you for that. And I feel like anybody who knows comedy knows you. Anybody who is paying attention to who has done what over the past 25 years, they know you. And I just want to say. I want to start by saying something I say to people all the time, which is, Paula Pell is the funniest people's favorite person. And you are often in a room of hugely funny people. You are usually the funniest.

[Paula Pell]

Thank you. I'm very competitive that way.

[Amy Poehler]

I know. I like that. I like. You are a little competitive. I like that. And. And in a good way. And also, anybody who likes you and likes your comedy, to me is like an indicator that they know comedy, you know?

[Paula Pell]

That's really nice, Amy.

[Amy Poehler]

Well, it's true, Paula, because.

[Paula Pell]

Really nice. You know, I'm gonna pretend to drink.

[Amy Poehler]

Let's pretend to drink.

[Paula Pell]

I'm embarrassed about that.

[Amy Poehler]

What do you got going on in there? A delicious water. Los Angeles water.

[Paula Pell]

You can taste the tap. I really appreciate that. I love cracking up. Hard to crack up people. That was always. Well, that was always our fun. And obviously with Lauren, I used to like to. I like breaking through someone who's tough. A tough. Like, someone's like, I'm a hard lad. Like, it's hard to amuse me. I love to find the little Crack.

[Amy Poehler]

You do. And you want to keep working it. And that's why, like, with, like, especially, like, quote unquote, like, Alphas, you're really, really good at getting them to laugh.

[Paula Pell]

Well, I was new a few times when I was little in school, and I hated people that were on immediately when they were new. Of like, hi, I'm.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah.

[Paula Pell]

What do you like? Oh, I like this, too. My biggest fear was that I would be that kind of person. Cause I never, like, inauthentic love coming towards me. I don't like when people are. You know, I just like to believe that it's real, that it's not gonna hurt me on the other end or they're making fun of me or something. So answering your question that I created in my head.

[Amy Poehler]

Did I ask one?

[Paula Pell]

You didn't, but it's that feeling like, with Lauren is just like, I want to feel more comfortable with him, so I'm gonna sit on him, which is what I used to do.

[Amy Poehler]

I was gonna talk about this later, but let's talk about it now.

[Paula Pell]

We can talk about it later. You used to go, this is three hours, right?

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah.

[Paula Pell]

You guaranteed me contractually. Cause I said, I'm not driving over here. Not getting on the 405 for an hour. I know how fast that goes.

[Amy Poehler]

Well, we all know that pods need to be almost.

[Paula Pell]

I know it's important.

[Amy Poehler]

You are a mid. Do you consider yourself a Midwest girl, even though you.

[Paula Pell]

Oh, God, yes.

[Amy Poehler]

Anyhow, what would you. How would you describe a true Midwesterner? Like, what are they like?

[Paula Pell]

A pleasant liar. A deep liar. Just like Southern women. Midwestern women usually are big liars. And my grandma used to always go to. She loved to go have a little diner food with me. And I would take her to the Pine cone and over by the interstate in La Salle, Peru, and she would start eating the soup. And I have a big. Midwesterners love soup, too. Midwestern women. And she's. Oh, and is this soup ever good? Oh, and how. Oh, I love this soup. Oh, God. And then the guy would come by. This soup is fantastic. She would talk about the soup. And then as we're walking out, she would go, I didn't care for that soup. And I would look at her like, why the fuck didn't you. I didn't say why the fuck to her. But I'm like, why didn't you just tell him you didn't like the soup and get a different soup? Oh, I'm not gonna do that. You know, I came from that kind of People that you don't tell the truth. Because that's not. And what I like about it is based in kindness, that you don't wanna hurt people's feelings. But, yes.

[Amy Poehler]

You grew up where specifically for most people, Joliet. Yeah, Joliet. And for people who don't know, Joliet, Illinois. What's that town like?

[Paula Pell]

I haven't been there in a long, long time. I know they have a casino. I haven't been there since they have a casino. Which really revived, I think revived Joliet, but it was kind of a suburban town outside of Chicago. Probably about 45 minutes outside of Chicago. And there's a prison nearby. So my was always like, where are you from? Joliet. Not the prison. I always had it loaded up.

[Amy Poehler]

Was the Joliet prison where Blues Brothers, they go to Joliet.

[Paula Pell]

So Joliet Jake was Ackroyd's name, I think, in Blues Brothers. And when I came into my meeting with Lauren, he said, so where are you from? Or he said, tell me about yourself. And I said, well, I'm from Joliet. And he said, whether that's true or not? And he thought I was doing a Joliet Jake reference, maybe. And I didn't even know his name was Joliet Jake at the time. And I was like, well, it is true. I mean, I'll have to send them some proof of that because they're really raking me over the coals.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah, that's a little bit of a mind fuck to be like, nice try.

[Paula Pell]

When it isn't even anything that you thought you were snowing them on.

[Amy Poehler]

But we've talked about this a lot, and I love this. And I'm curious now, as we're getting older, if, like, you always say that you felt as. And I know from you letting me read your journals. I got to read Paula's journals and is. You know, you always felt kind of like wiser than your years as a young person.

[Paula Pell]

I was a very. Caretaker, I always say, born at 50. Very. I remember I started my period at nine. And I remember telling all my friends how it works and, like, how to put it. You know, how to put a pad on and how to. And they gather around me like I was like Julie Andrews, Sound of Music. And I'd be. Let's start at the very beginning. There's a string and an applicator. I just would always have the in of like, I'm an older. You know. And I had an older sister who taught me to read. Patty was like, incredible. She always was very nurturing to me. But to them, to my friends, I was the wise one. I had a very old soul and I think it was. Cause it was withering from lack of any sexual interest from anyone. So by the time I was 15, I was like, well, I'll never be touched. So I. But I was also silently and quietly looking at women and feeling weird.

[Amy Poehler]

So you grew up in the 80s.

[Paula Pell]

You were.

[Amy Poehler]

You. You were a lesbian. You knew it, but you couldn't.

[Paula Pell]

I knew it, but I didn't really know it in quotes until I was just out of high school. And so my best friend and I were basically madly in love with each other. And we ended up always like sleeping over each other's house during the week for the last couple years of high school in the same bad, like, just. It was a very. Florida high school was like so affectionate, like in the public school. And I came from like a Catholic girls school that was so not. I mean, we'd hug each other if somebody died or something, but it was just like. Or if you had something on your coat, you know, let me do that and get it off. But like, it was. I got to Florida and I was like, what is going on? Why is everyone hugging each other? And. But it was perfect for a closeted lesbian because we'd go to like a choir trip and we'd be just like, you know, 69ing each other in the bus, just sleeping. Like, I'm sleeping on her ankles and she's sleeping on my ankles. And it's just. But we didn't know at the time. We did know, but we didn't know. It was like, your soul knows, but you are not saying it. You're not acknowledging it. And then we started having all these fights at the end of high school. Like a lot of dramatic, drunken fights. We'd drink like a lot of white wine and big football cups and we'd be like, I don't know. Well, what do you want? Well, what did I do? And just like fights. And then it was like. And then it just. The world. And I was like, but it was a world. You couldn't do that.

[Amy Poehler]

That's what I was gonna say is I think people don't really remember or understand that in our generation. I mean, I had no openly gay students in my high school. Not one. Not one.

[Paula Pell]

Not even the super gay ones exactly. Like the super gay guys, where you're like, there is no doubt.

[Amy Poehler]

Like I was saying to my kids, there was no gay and lesbian alliance in My high school.

[Paula Pell]

Oh, hell no.

[Amy Poehler]

There was no openly gay teachers or students. Everything was, you know, nothing was spoken of. And it was this time where you really did have to live this secret double life that you could not share with most people that you loved.

[Paula Pell]

And I mean, the most heartbreaking thing about it was that when we went to college and we ended up together for a few years in college, and then there was a big heartbreak. The most heartbreaking thing is to go home and not be able to be heartbroken young person with. In front of your family.

[Amy Poehler]

Yes.

[Paula Pell]

So you have to manipulate all the reason you're heartbroken of like, oh, she's gone away to school and I'm not. And it's just, I miss having a friend. I miss someone to hang around with and go troll for dick. You have to, like, you just have to.

[Amy Poehler]

You don't get the aftercare.

[Paula Pell]

It's so heartbreaking because you just want to look at your. Oh, I'm crying already. Guys, this is supposed to be light hearted, right? But, like, you want to look at your mom and go, like, it's my first time. I have my heart broken, you know, and my parents were very kind, sweet, wonderful, supportive people. And at the time, if I would have had the balls to do it, I could have maybe explained it to them and they would have been loving to me.

[Amy Poehler]

And, you know, I know your family so well and, you know, you talk about your sister and your parents. You come from such a funny. Like, your parents are hilarious. They're all right. Your sister's hilarious. You guys tease each other. You love a good joke. Like, comedy was so important to you growing up.

[Paula Pell]

No, all of them. My father is truly, genuinely, like, in his next life, will be a comedy writer. He is a comedy writer. Like, he is still. He's 87 and he is still so ungodly funny. My mother was having gastro problems recently when she got really sick. And I texted my dad and I said, is she still having diarrhea? And he said, not since Saturday and spelled it T U R D Saturday, like immediately. But he does it. He does it without being desperate for you to laugh. Sure, sure. He just does it and waits.

[Amy Poehler]

And that's you too.

[Paula Pell]

I also have a really good skill of freezing and pretending I'm freezing. You want me to do it?

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah.

[Paula Pell]

Okay. I'll just do it while we're talking.

[Amy Poehler]

Okay. So I know that there was a lot of musical theater that you were into when you were a kid.

[Paula Pell]

Yes, I love. The only reason I had to stop is That I was just choking on my spin during the pandemic. I used to do it all the time on zooms and it. And I would go so long and just be. But, like, you know, it has to be in the middle of something. You can't just like, yeah, sure. So it's just like, when you.

[Amy Poehler]

People are gonna think their YouTube is.

[Paula Pell]

And then they'll be like, no, I'm gonna. I'll watch that later.

[Amy Poehler]

You were a musical theater. Like, you were doing all your plays in high school. You were like, I want to be a performer. Like, did you know anyone that was an actor? Did you think that was gonna be your job?

[Paula Pell]

One of my biggest gifts in life was I grew up in the Midwest, where I had a little teeny Catholic high school. They had the most glorious theater and music departments always. All my schools always had the most glorious. And nobody had money. It wasn't like these rich schools at all. And I was in full with orchestra Oklahoma, when I was, like, in fifth grade. Full orchestra, Music man, where, like, a full band comes in at the end with 76 drum. Like, but really talented people. But, like. And when I was in eighth grade, infamously with all my friends, I was Mother Superior born at 50. Mother Superior in the Sound of Music. And I have video and many photos of me looking into the shaft of light. Like, Maria, you shall be led forth with peace, climb every mountain. And it's like, my pubes have not come in. And I'm like, the oldest woman. I am the oldest woman. And I'm looking like this earthy matron just singing in my nun outfit.

[Amy Poehler]

I hear that you claim you should.

[Paula Pell]

Yeah, you do have, like, great other eras, for sure.

[Amy Poehler]

But you're too. You love sex too much, babe.

[Paula Pell]

You can't do it.

[Amy Poehler]

You can't.

[Paula Pell]

I should have done the nun thing. Oh, wait, I did. Hi, Sister Christine. She's not a sister anymore. Wait, I was going to try to drink that like a cat.

[Amy Poehler]

You claim. You claim that you're an alto, but I are you. You're not an alto.

[Paula Pell]

I'm an alto. And then I can do, like, soprano as a joke voice.

[Amy Poehler]

But I was talking to Anna about Ana Gasteyer about this at some point. What is joke voice? Like, joke voice is voice, like, you know.

[Paula Pell]

Well, I mean, when you sing high, like, alto, I'm a big blender. I love harmony. I love harm. Harmonizing those new things where you can go and just for the day, harmonize with a bunch of people. I weep when I watch them. Like, where you can go in different cities and they have that group that you learn it in one day and then you go and they're all singing like the song from Rent. And everyone is just walking around with their parts and their singing. That's my joy of all. Like, I grew up with a lot of choirs, a lot of show choirs, a lot of groups, and I love to harmonize. So when I did Girls five Ava and I was with these like, like insane singers like Sarah Bareilles and Renee Goldsberry. And then Busy Phillips was a great singer, like secretly. And then we would sing. It was just like to blend and sing with them.

[Amy Poehler]

What have you been listening to lately?

[Paula Pell]

I'll just every so often I'll listen to, you know, I'll listen to Company because I did a parody of that.

[Amy Poehler]

Let's talk about that for a second. We're all over the place. But it doesn't matter. You did a documentary now for people who don't know. Documentary now was a bunch of fake documentaries that Bill Hader and Fred Armisen. Brilliantly done. Seth Meyers did. Brilliantly did. And John Mulaney was in some and wrote some. And there was a very famous one based off of the film and musical company. The Making of the Broadway album.

[Paula Pell]

Yes.

[Amy Poehler]

And you guys did one called Co Op.

[Paula Pell]

Co Op. Co Op, the musical. And it was of the era. We were in that era and I was in Elaine Stritz type. And it was based on an actual documentary that was very iconic black and white documentary about the night that they recorded Company cast album, which was a hot mess. But then it turned out incredible. And I listened to that and when I got to do that with them because they were all fictional songs but like Sondheim actually heard them and talked to Mulaney about them and was like, I love. You know. Cause it was.

[Amy Poehler]

Oh, he did.

[Paula Pell]

Yeah, he watched. I didn't know that. He went to some screening of it and then talked to them and they all, I think, met, like, kind of.

[Amy Poehler]

He kind of gave his blessing. Like, these are good.

[Paula Pell]

Yes, he gave his blessing because they were such well done songs. Eli. Eli Bolen was so good at writing the music and the. They're so funny and, you know, Seth wrote some of those songs, but they're all so funny. And I just love being able to sing and emote at the same time. Like any musicals that I grew up with, I loved the ones that you could just be in the. You know. One of my favorites. I'm not gonna. I know you probably do. You have to pay for songs.

[Amy Poehler]

Well, I mean, I feel like we should do.

[Paula Pell]

I could do what we used to call at snl, a sound delight.

[Amy Poehler]

Let's do a sound. But. But you can sing the regular.

[Paula Pell]

The song Losing My Mind from Follies. It's like. It's those kind of songs that, like, Liza Minnelli would explain.

[Amy Poehler]

So can you sing the sing part of it, the real thing, and then show people what a sound alike would be?

[Paula Pell]

It's one of the saddest songs on earth. The sun comes up, I think about you. The coffee cup, I think about you. You said you loved me. Or were you just being kind? Or am I losing my mind? Damn. GUNSHOT sound effect okay, now can we

[Amy Poehler]

get a sound alike, please?

[Paula Pell]

Yeah. So if we can't afford it all. And then they were like, we can't do that. You're gonna have. It would be like, when I wake

[Amy Poehler]

up,

[Paula Pell]

you're in my mind. When I wake up, you're not here. My heart's cracking, you're in my mind.

[Amy Poehler]

And then just off. Enough. Okay. Florida, affectionate Florida. You get there as a high schooler, you go to Disney, you work at Disney.

[Paula Pell]

I work at Disney.

[Amy Poehler]

How did you get the job at Disney? Which is a job everyone must want.

[Paula Pell]

I got my degree in theater. I left University of Tennessee because I barely finished. I did finish, but that's really interesting

[Amy Poehler]

because you're such a good student and you're so smart and studious.

[Paula Pell]

I was also a theater student and it was the 80s. And my best friend James Anderson, who. Who wrote at SNL for 20 years and wrote every funny thing you've ever seen, he and I were classmates and we were gay and we used to go to the gay bars and dance all night and then we would do plays constantly that rehearsed all night. And then we would have like a 7 o' clock biology class in the morning and it was no parking, so I was always making up incompletes all the time. And my parents came for my graduation and I looked for my final. I went to the hall of Science to look at my final. My final grade the night before. They all got there with my grandparents and everything, and it was an F. And I called James crying and it was pouring rain in a phone booth and he goes, call the teacher. It's 11 o' clock at night, but call the teacher. I called the teacher and I just blubbered. And he ended up giving me like a D or a C and I could graduate. I had to write a paper that night, had no Sleep. The night before my graduation, I wrote a paper called that I still look for in boxes called plagiarized 100% from a bunch of stuff cobbled together on microfiche. And it was called Galileo the Courage to Wonder. And I came up with this theory because I read one line that he said he had a frost relationship with his dad or something. And I was like. And it was just all about his internal world with his father and all this shit.

[Amy Poehler]

Oh my God, Paula, I did not know that. That you graduated by the skin of your teeth. Would never have guessed that.

[Paula Pell]

But I got to Florida, you know, was broke as hell. A lot of my friends went to New York, like James, to have the dream. And I went back to Florida and then they built Pleasure Island. And it was this nighttime crazy 80s, giant, like phallic island of clubs for the adults. It was brilliant. It's like your kids are here and you're sick of them and you want to go out and let it rip and get drunk with your wife and make out. And every night was New Year's Eve. So every night at like right before midnight, all the drunks from all the clubs and the theaters and the Comedy Warehouse, which was improv, all of them came out. And then there'd be these hot dancers and then they'd have conf. They'd do a big countdown. It was like Times Square. And it was so 80s and so good. And so I ended up being in the original cast of the Adventurers Club. So I was Pamelia Perkins, once again, a matron, a comedy matron. I was 22. Amelia Perkins, the president of the Adventurers Club. Congaloosh. You said this place was steps from the water.

[Amy Poehler]

We just haven't found the steps yet.

[Paula Pell]

How much did we save? Enough. Enough to get lost.

[Kim Kardashian]

Or you could book a stay with Hilton.

[Paula Pell]

Welcome to your oceanfront room just steps from the water.

[Amy Poehler]

The Hilton sale is on. Now book on Hilton.com or the Hilton

[Kim Kardashian]

app and save up to 20% to get the stay you expected. When you want savings, not surprises, it

[Amy Poehler]

matters where you stay. Hilton for the stay. This episode is brought to you by Ultima Replenisher. You know what? No one has time for over the top wellness trends. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for taking care of yourself, but being healthy should make your day better, not harder. And that's where Ultima comes in. With all six essential electrolytes, Ultima provides balanced hydration that fits right into your day. Available in delicious plant based flavors with no sugar, calories, or carbs. Shop Ultima on Amazon or in store at Target and Whole Foods Market. This episode is brought to you by Subaru. Most cars just stick to the asphalt, but hybrids can be found on dirt roads, back roads, and everything in between. Because the Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid and Subaru Forester Hybrid were built for adventure. With up to 597 miles per tank in the Crosstrek Hybrid and 581 miles in the Forester Hybrid. Love goes the extra mile in the Subaru Forester Hybrid and crosstrek Hybrid. Visit subaru.com hybrid to learn more. Maximum range based on EPA. EPA. Estimated combined fuel economy and a full tank of fuel. Actual mileage and range may vary. This episode is brought to you by Kerastase. So, you know, your hair ages just like skin does, right? Well, good news. Kerastase has dropped their new Chronologist line. It's like a revitalizing spa day for your hair that reverses those pesky signs of aging, like lack of thickness and volume, dullness, dryness, and frizz. Use the full range of Chronologist shampoo mask and overnight serum and you'll wake up to visibly fuller, smoother, healthier, and thoroughly pampered hair. Let your locks feel young again. Try the new Chronologist line by Kara Stoss.

[Paula Pell]

Oh, the other fun thing about Pleasure island was all these guys would come. Now, this is when, after I got my heart broken, I wanted to have a baby. And I was like, never really been with a man. I've been a little bit here and there. Just sneaky, wiki, whatever, touchy, watchy, pokey, wokey. But, like, nothing. Haven't had the full girth, right? And so I was like, you know, maybe I need to go down Penis Avenue. So I. At that club, they'd let the employees party after work.

[Amy Poehler]

Oh, my God. I was hoping so. That's what I was hoping.

[Paula Pell]

I was two hours.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah.

[Paula Pell]

So when the club would close, we had, like, at least an hour and a half to go to these other great bars right there. So we'd be with these cute ass boys, and we'd just be like, you know, a bunch of cute Brits or cute, like, Irish boy. And now I looked literally like br. I mean, I had, like, a bouffant, and I'm like, like, you want to meet us over at the thing? And then I would go in the bathroom and I would, like, blow out my long hair. I'd take all my hair down. I'd put a bunch of Makeup. I'd put a bunch of makeup. I'd come out, I was still fat, but I would put all the other stuff on, bring the eye up, put earrings, lots of stuff up here. Look at me up here. And then I'd show up. And then I started fooling around with these guys that were like these fun. There to have fun.

[Amy Poehler]

And they were like, she's so cool. She doesn't even really seem into me. I'm like, so.

[Paula Pell]

And I would fool around and nothing stuck.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah.

[Paula Pell]

Except the semen. No, I'm kidding. But like, nothing, you know?

[Amy Poehler]

And so Disney was like. Felt like a training ground for you.

[Paula Pell]

Yeah, Disney was. Every night you got to have a large group of people laugh at what you did. Even if it was like stupid that night or you weren't feeling it, or you weren't. It's that energy that we all love, that we loved at snl, that we all crave since we were little, that we do shtick in front of our parents on a couch. You got to hear humans look at you and go, oh, she's really funny. They'd laugh at you. And then I went over to work at Murder She Wrote, the post production show during the day for my next job, I moved out of Disney and I just did part time there. And I pretended I was a like in these wheels. I pretended I in. And some of it, you're an editor. And it was all about the making of Murder She Wrote. And I would talk to Jessica Fletcher on the screen. So I'd go, you know, it was all timed so it was like fake. But you know, she'd come and go, oh, dear, I think we're going to do this episode. We better go, there's murders to. And I go, I know Jessica well, we're gonna make sure that we're gonna. And you'd have to talk. And one day I was so hungover that I looked up at her and I turned and I went, let's see what big. I said, big old Jess. I go, let's see what big old Jessica has to say. And then I turned like this and it was just like I could not stop laughing. Like my whole. I missed like three cues. So she was just talking with like 10 seconds in between, because I was

[Amy Poehler]

just hangover Church singles this. So that felt like a.

[Paula Pell]

That's where I got my SNL job.

[Amy Poehler]

Okay, so that. How do you go from talking to Jessica Fletcher to get auditioning for snl?

[Paula Pell]

Because I. That year, all those talented people that worked for SAC Theater, that also Performed at Disney were great writers, great performers, and they had a theater. And I would go and do characters at the theater sometimes on sketch night. I wasn't an improviser. I was, you know, I never really have had improv training ever in my life except theater.

[Amy Poehler]

Sure. And every day at Disney.

[Paula Pell]

That's true. So I did these characters and then that got to snl.

[Amy Poehler]

Wow.

[Paula Pell]

And then I'm sitting in the dressing, I mean, green room with all the people that worked at Murder She Wrote post production. And I was sitting there waiting for the next them to load the next audience. And everything was a corded phone, of course. And it was like, somebody's calling you. And I answered the phone. It was my local agent that I had done commercials for and stuff. And she was like, are you sitting down? And I said, yeah. And she said, lauren Michaels wants you to come to New York and. And meet him. And I was like, is it. What is it? Like, is it an audition? Because, I mean, spent my whole life, you know, tape recording snl doing Rosanna. Rosanna Dana in high school for my school assemblies. Like, I was so snl. And they were like, no, it's not an audition. And I was like, what? What is it? And I just got off the phone and they flew me there that week for two nights or one night. And I just got there and was terrified. And I went in. He was like two hours late. And I sat down with him and he started talking. Like we had been talking already. Like, he started in the middle of a sentence, like, the show is, you know, a phoenix rising, and this year we're gonna rise again and blah, blah, blah. And I'm like rising above my body. And at one point, I remember saying to him and Steve Higgins, I am a lot more boring here than I usually am. I just remembered, like, calling out. Cause I was so scared. And so. And he had already dissed my. Now telling him I'm from Joliet. So I was a little off.

[Amy Poehler]

You were basically hired without knowing and no one told you you were hired, which is what SNL does, right?

[Paula Pell]

So then they just said, I think. I think we. And then I left.

[Amy Poehler]

Lauren notoriously does not hire or fire.

[Paula Pell]

And then I caught. And then they, you know, Steve Higgins was like, okay, we'll fig. You know, we'll call you. It has to be in about four days, five days. I went and gave my cats and my dog to my mom and dad. I ran and called. Like it was the most. I remember crying in a closet and calling my nieces and nephews and crying and being like, I know. And they're like, can you take us to the opera? Like, they didn't know New York City. Like, it was so exciting, but it was terrifying. And I remember my mom just finally looking at me and going, what is the worst case scenario? And I'm like, I fail at a place that I've worshiped my whole life. And she's like, but then you do, and you had the experience. You got to go there.

[Amy Poehler]

Wow, Paula. So they saw your characters and they were like, we want her as a writer. They didn't really make it clear why you were coming in, but you knew you were coming in for writing and not performing. But you were a performer. What is it like to like. And obviously you're a performer who's writing all the time. You're creating these characters. But back then especially, I feel like the lines are way more blurred now. Yes, but when, when, when you get to snl, you kind of get like put into a category.

[Paula Pell]

Absolutely.

[Amy Poehler]

And you're put into the writer category, even though you not. And, and you are this super strong performer who's been performing.

[Paula Pell]

Yes.

[Amy Poehler]

So what was that adjustment like?

[Paula Pell]

Well, I don't want to assume, you know, I've heard here and there little things and I. Who knows? Because we've all been in there when they're picking people and it's like so random. I mean, not random, but like there's reasons that you don't think are the reasons and all this. But I do suspect that I was a big lady. I was a big plus size person. There was just not that in any TV anything. Like there wasn't. There were starting to be Roseanne Barr, like people that had more real looking bodies. But I was just not of the aesthetic of that place whatsoever. This was late 90s, mid-90s, mid-90s, so it was 95. And I do suspect that it wasn't even like, like, oh no, like, but her writing, like, I like her writing because that fits with us.

[Amy Poehler]

Did you ever talk to anyone at the show about that specifically?

[Paula Pell]

Or like, I mean, I, you know, I really was such a good Catholic girl of, of a rule follower when it comes to when, when a, when a actor who, because I had only acted, I got there and told them I'm not a writer. I, even though I'd written like short stories and different. I don't know how to do, I don't know how to do any of this. Yeah, I really, I was so afraid to ever show any desire to perform and it's why I'm so gloriously happy to be able to perform and later in my life because I finally let that out of the cage. Well, just go. The shame.

[Amy Poehler]

The shame. And it also. The shame and the shine right next to each other.

[Paula Pell]

Yes. Oh, I like that. The shame and the shine.

[Amy Poehler]

Shame and the shine. Because you might have been feeling that, right? Like, I just want to be grateful for what I have. But your shine, just it without you even trying, like, it could not be dimmed. Like you there, you became the performer that you are now because it was such a strong, undeniable thing. People put you in sketches because they knew how funny you were. You were funny in the room. You just like, without. To your point, you didn't say, fuck this, I'm not gonna write. I only want this. You took the opportunity, you did an incredible job writing for other people. And you slowly knew and believed in yourself and others saw what kind of performer you were.

[Paula Pell]

Well, I felt like everything. And it was a bigger picture of codependency and caretaking that in my life, in my whole life, I was making the pie and then giving all the pie away.

[Amy Poehler]

Okay, so for people who don't know, who are listening. And we talked about this a little bit with Anna and we've talked about it with Rachel and talked about with Tina, and we talked about it with Seth and we talked about. But like Paula Pell has written some of your favorite sketches, including Bobby and Marty, the Culps, including Debbie Downer, including the cheerleaders, including.

[Paula Pell]

With those actors.

[Amy Poehler]

Of course. Of course. But the actors get all the credit. They do. They always. It's like whoever is saying the lines, people assume that they've written the lines. And as we. I mean, people understand that there are writers on that show, but the public facing cast always gets the first kind of love. Amount of love. Appalachian emergency room, Tony Bennett, talk show, all this stuff. When you're writing, what was the first time you wrote something and you were there where that terror went away a little bit, where you thought, okay, I might not get fired. Okay, I'm.

[Paula Pell]

Well, there's two kinds of terror, because I was in that era of recurring characters and I was lucky enough to get in that first year with Will and Sherry for cheerleaders and with Ana and Will for. For Bobby and Marty. And they were so up my alley. I was the person that tried out every year for cheerleading. Never, ever made it. Worked on my backhand springs in the summer. And then I would. Because I was fat and I would Stand with holding everyone's purses during the basketball games. And I knew every cheer and all my friends were cheerleaders. Like, all of them were on the squad. And then I'd be up there like a dance mom, like. But once again, matron at 12, going

[Amy Poehler]

and gathering them around to talk to them about life.

[Paula Pell]

Do you need a cough drop? And so the idea of. I loved writing Joyful Losers, that was my favorite thing, is someone who is joyfully living their life, what they want to do. Because when I read that journal, that's what I was. You know, I got a new. I got my rock tumbler. And I have. I changed the grit. And my amethyst is looking gorgeous. My God. And I was like a Victoria. Like a crazy bra. As this little person, like, talking about what lights me up. My plants, my stuffed animals, all those things. And when I got there and met them, they were my people. Like, I would cry, laughing till five in the morning, writing those things with them. But the other thing you have to get there is to prove that you're actually good by yourself. And that is a terrifying thing because you can always hide behind those characters that once they're hit, you got that to ride on. It's the best thing ever. And my very first one, remember, was doing Wilford Brimley with John Goodman. And I wrote it. I used to do this thing where I was the last one almost always at writing nights.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah. So Paula stayed the latest.

[Paula Pell]

So one night I wrote John Goodman as Wilford Brimley, and he was on a fake horse. And because it always used to make me laugh when he was a big guy. And he would. I mean, Wilford Brimley was a big guy. But then he'd do this commercial for this. This, like, health stuff, and he'd be like, I take care of my blood sugar. And I was like, no, you don't. And so I. I had him say, like, you know, I take care of my blood sugar. Well, I don't. And it was just this slowly descending conversation in this commercial. And John was so funny. But it killed at the table. It absolutely killed. And it was the first time I could really look and go, I deserve to be here, because I didn't feel like I deserved to be there. I didn't think, you know, I in. If I was writing with other actors, it's like, yeah, but they're so funny and they're so good. And that was the first time I said, you are a writer. Like, you sat down and you wrote words that no one Else saw. Cause they all went home and they could read this. I mean, they read this and they laughed.

[Amy Poehler]

How long did you write for SNL?

[Paula Pell]

I wrote full time for like 18 years. And then I started slow. You know, I did that slow exiting out where I. I came to Lauren and was like, I'm gonna do half the season spread out. So I would do like one or two shows. Then I would have a break for a while. It was really trying to get away from the team.

[Amy Poehler]

And he didn't want you to leave.

[Paula Pell]

It was slow. And Lauren, you know, one of the things I love the most about him is he doesn't want people. He doesn't want his family to leave. You know, and then you are the long.

[Amy Poehler]

Do you know that you are the longest tenured female writer in SNL history?

[Paula Pell]

Female? Oh, yeah. Cause I was gonna say James beat me by two years on the writing side, but yeah, Fe, that's really nice.

[Amy Poehler]

Is that cool?

[Paula Pell]

Why haven't I gotten a plan for that?

[Amy Poehler]

And before I get off snl, two things. One is Debbie Downer.

[Paula Pell]

Yes. Most fun ever. I mean, that first Debbie Downer is. We've talked about it. The antidepressant of all antidepressants. I remember us all standing in one of the dressing rooms just looking up at the screen and just. We could not believe. It was like a house of cards falling down. But it was the best house of cards. And we just wanted to go on and on.

[Amy Poehler]

And I mean, you created a cultural language. Like, people use the term Debbie Downer now. As if it was just.

[Paula Pell]

It was on my soaps the other day, and I was like, good Lord. It was. Yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

What soap are you watching right now?

[Paula Pell]

All the CBS soaps. Love them all. If you ever want me on there, I'd love to do an hour.

[Amy Poehler]

You should definitely be on a soap opera.

[Paula Pell]

That would be so fun. That would be so fun.

[Amy Poehler]

Okay, so we've worked together on so many things. After snl, we worked together on Sisters, an incredible movie that you wrote that is, like, kind of nice.

[Paula Pell]

Were incredible.

[Amy Poehler]

And me and Tina got to play some versions of you and your sister

[Paula Pell]

and read my actual journal in a bathtub. They were in the bathtub reading pages from my actual journal.

[Amy Poehler]

Beautiful. And so fun. And that shoot was so fun with Ike and John Cena. Your buddy who loves John Cena. He loves you.

[Paula Pell]

I love John Cena. I know. I see him to this day. I have a couple ideas for John Cena I'm gonna hit him up for. I have some.

[Amy Poehler]

He is he just. And that shoot was just. And Kate, there were so many fun people that came in on that. Diane Wieson, James Brolin.

[Paula Pell]

James Brolin playing my par.

[Amy Poehler]

Do you want to tell the story about when Barbara came by set?

[Paula Pell]

So my mom has lived to, like, worship Barbra Streisand her whole life. I took her to the Millennial Millennium concert. That was supposed to be Barbara's last concert, and that was at the millennium. That was like, 2000, whatever. 2000, right?

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah. Yes.

[Paula Pell]

And I spent all this money to fly her to Vegas to go to that concert at, like, New Year's Eve. It was this huge surprise. And I took her. And then she comes to Sisters married to J. James Rowland. She comes to Sisters. The day before, my parents came to set to visit from Florida. And if I would have known, I would have, like, immediately flown her there. But, you know, I sent pictures, which is like, great. She looks cute from this blurry picture.

[Amy Poehler]

I don't know if you remember, my parents happened to be there and in a different way. You're flying my parents. You're flying your parent, your mom out to Vegas. I'm always telling my parents, I'm not gonna fly you out to Vegas, okay? I'm doing the opposite.

[Paula Pell]

Vegas is. There are strides.

[Amy Poehler]

Well, they're always like, why don't you take me to the Academy Awards? And I'm like, relax. So my parents arrived on the set, and my mom was like, oh, James Brolin is here. I wonder if Barbra Streisand's gonna show up. And I go, barbra Streisand is not gonna come to our set, mom, give it a break. Like, let it go. And she just came to visit.

[Paula Pell]

She is. And she was the cutest.

[Amy Poehler]

So cute.

[Paula Pell]

So cute. And I just remember whenever I would get up to go to anything, she'd go, are you going? You going to the craft services? She goes, just give me a little plate of something. Just give me. Just give me a little something. I don't care what it is. Just a little something. And I'm like, that's fucking Barbara Stress. I mean, a star is born with Kristofferson. And her is like, I know every moment of that movie. I used to lay on the shag carpeting and ball and sing to that movie. And not ball sexually, like ball, B,

[Amy Poehler]

A W, L. But we've worked together on Wine country, on Parks and Rec, on Sisters. You have been more and more, like you said in front of the camera, you got a new show on Peacock called the Burbs.

[Paula Pell]

Yes. So excited.

[Amy Poehler]

Yes. Which looks so fun.

[Paula Pell]

So fun and creepy.

[Amy Poehler]

Tell me, like, what you love to be part of an ensemble. I mean, you are a leading lady in every way, but you also love that juicy ensemble thing. And Keke Palmer.

[Paula Pell]

Kiki Palmer leads the pack. Julia Duff, Mark Proach, Kapil Talwalkar, and Jack Whitehall, who is also in the movie we're shooting that Jeanine and I wrote. And they are so funny and so weird. Like their characters have so many twisty, weird secrets. I've never done this kind of genre. I've never done a mystery murdery. Like, some things are serious, some things are funny, you know, because that we grew up with comedy or drama. You know, you're either watching ER or you were watching. No, like in between.

[Amy Poehler]

Can we talk about Kiki for a second?

[Paula Pell]

So unbelievable. We just did the press, press for it and the premiere for it. And she can just, she can just lead anything and just be the kindest, funniest, most energetic. And then she's like in hair and makeup getting like elaborate stuff done while she's doing like a podcast thing. Also talking to a choreographer about a music choreography for the music video she's doing for her album that's coming out the next week. Like, I would just look at her and go, like, I get exhausted and a two year old child.

[Amy Poehler]

I know she's a pro.

[Paula Pell]

She's so great. I was getting my hair blown out and I a couple weeks ago and I just looked up at the TV and they play the, you know, they play the movies on the screen at the hair place and it was her and Akeelah and the Bee and she just had little braces and she was just. And she was such a great actress. I was just watching her do this whole monologue and I'm like, oh my God, she was just cooked when she was born. Like, it was just.

[Amy Poehler]

I don't want to skip over the fact that you were getting your hair blown out because I would say that next to Tina Fey and not a competition. But I'd love to have you both in here and we can touch your hair. You have the best hair. You have incredible hair.

[Paula Pell]

Thank you very much.

[Amy Poehler]

People should know this is all your hair.

[Paula Pell]

It's all my hair. I took very good care of my hair because when I was plus size in that era, this is not like a pathetic fact. It's a true fact. If you had good hair, it was like something that you could use because there was no good clothes. It was like big shirts and leggings. That was all you had when I was young, all the pictures of me, if I ever felt good about how I looked, it was always just right here because everything else I wanted to forget about.

[Amy Poehler]

What is your relationship now? To neck down?

[Paula Pell]

It's good. I lost some weight this year for health reasons, a little bit like £25. And it made me feel a lot better. Cause I have knee replaced replacements, so it was much better for that. But I lost close to £100 three times in my 20s and it really devastated me because I gained it back each time. I gained it back more. It was such a racket. All those diet things were such a racket. I would go into deep depression, which I'd always struggled with. I would go into that cycle of suddenly people want to talk to me because I'm skinny and pretty looking and then like, and I'm not funny. I was not funny at all when I was skinny.

[Amy Poehler]

Right.

[Paula Pell]

Um, and so that's the only reason that I eat cream cheese on pop tarts now to stay funny. But, but, but now I feel like.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah, I mean, well, I think you speak to, you're speaking to a lot of people who are listening, who understand and you're really honest and very compassionate about how that can be a lifelong struggle. Yeah.

[Paula Pell]

And I have been on the, the, the shot. I, I've been on the shot this year on a very microd that helped me a lot with inflammation, pain, everything. And it got me, I had kept gaining again and it got me down to this kind of like, I just want to live a long life. And so I'm. Now it's not about. Because I have a younger wife. She's 22, she's not, she's 42.

[Amy Poehler]

Gorgeous, sexy wife. And you're so in love. Jeanine Brito and hilarious writer, actress, incredible

[Paula Pell]

writer, incredible person, incredible performer.

[Amy Poehler]

I mean, Paula, your relationship for most of us that know you felt like not only a miracle to come into your life, but just like aspirational for us to think about wanting to have a partner.

[Paula Pell]

It was a miracle and it taught me truly to stop always, you know, not believing that the happy ending can happen. And that's why I'm. The world is dark right now and I still, no matter how sad it makes me, I wake up and I go, it will right itself, it will write itself. Because that's the nature of life. It's. You look at nature doing it. You know, there's a disaster and then there's the green coming up. And I really do believe that and that I saw it in real time with finding her.

[Amy Poehler]

Well, when we were trying to figure out who to talk to about this podcast, who we should have talk to

[Paula Pell]

about Paula, like, is it Michelle Obama?

[Amy Poehler]

Close, but no, but we were like, we have so many. I want you to know, I know you know this, but I just want to say out loud, like, I can think of a dozen people that would in five minutes notice, get on a zoom to talk to me about you. But we decided to go with your newest best friend, and that was Kim Kardashian.

[Paula Pell]

And the new spokesperson for skims. She's size inclusive.

[Amy Poehler]

She is.

[Paula Pell]

She really is. She's a sweetheart.

[Amy Poehler]

Boy, what a.

[Paula Pell]

Drawing the hell out of her.

[Amy Poehler]

I know. And I really wanted to talk to Kim. Kim, because two things. I don't know, Kim, but her wanting to talk to us about you, I was like, I love this lady. Because people who love Paula and people. I'm speaking about you in the third person. People who love you and know how funny and talented you are. To me, I'm like, okay, that's a smart person who's paying attention. That's a smart part. And I remember you saying that you worked with her. You had started to work with her and her mom and. And you were like, she's really fun and easy to work with. You guys are doing a movie together?

[Paula Pell]

We're doing a movie together. We're mid shoot. We're like about two weeks in, and it's with a bunch of other comedy. It's a bunch of comedy ladies that we all know and love. Fortune Feimster, Nikki Glaser, Casey Wilson, Brenda Song. And she is so blending in with them in this group. And just her existing was like an inspiration for it because we knew that she wanted to do this kind of idea. And we were like, what would If Kim was just a normal person with a normal life and normal living situation and she was around girls that she grew up with, like, what would be that thing? And anyone I talked to, including Lorne Michaels when she hosted, were like, she's really nice. You know, there's the. Fame is always equated with someone's an asshole.

[Amy Poehler]

Right?

[Paula Pell]

And that is often true. And our next episode, which is only available on another website, the two of us will list those to you. But what I love the most about her is she's an extremely kind, gentle person. Really doing a great job playing her part. What I love the most about her after all those years at SNL having all those hosts, is that she is always aware of what she's really good at and what she wants you to be great at that she knows you're good at.

[Amy Poehler]

That's a good scale.

[Paula Pell]

And it's like, let's meet. Let's meet and do something fun. And that is so valuable to me at this age because I just can't be with people, people that think they can do my job better than me.

[Amy Poehler]

Oh, Paula.

[Paula Pell]

I can't do it.

[Amy Poehler]

Say, Paula.

[Paula Pell]

I cannot.

[Amy Poehler]

I'm gonna put the chair around while you say it. Say it again.

[Paula Pell]

I cannot. Yo, yo, yo, yo, yo. I cannot be with people who think they can do a better job than I can. In the situation that we're doing right then, now, they might be just as good at something that I'm doing. I'm not saying I'm better than in them, but when people come in, when a host would come in, and they have never written something in their life, and they're telling you how to write the sketch. I have done that so many times in my life with people, and I'm so spiritually exhausted with it. And the first time we met with her, Janine and I wrote this movie together. We came up with it together, drinking, eating soup on a winter day. And Janine and I just started, like, spinning it, like, wait, what if this? And what if this? And then we really loved it because it had a lot of heart, and it was about female friendship, and it was. We were like, oh, my God, I love this. We ended up, like, zooming with her. She came there. I thought she'd have, like, a entourage of people with her on the zoom. A lot of squares. It was just one square of beautiful Kim Kardashian just going, hey, guys. You know, just being a lovely person. And she's been so great on the set. We have had so much fun.

[Amy Poehler]

You're absolutely right. People who know what they're good at and also like, working with people who are good at what they do, that is a skill. And I. And also, you know, it is. When we were talking to her, one of the questions she has, which is such a sweet question, is also told me a lot about maybe what I sometimes forget or hopefully don't take for granted, but sometimes do, which is she was basically saying, do you think Paula is feeling the magic, the sparkly magic of what we have? Like, I am. You know, it was basically like, I'm. And she basically said, I'm having such a good time. I'm like, I can't believe I'm there. I'm a. I'm new to doing comedy, but I've loved it forever and I'm having fun. Is Paula having fun? Like, it was such a sweet, cute

[Paula Pell]

question and the answer is hell yeah. And I am in a no asshole zone of joy now. This is our only weapon is joy. That's the only thing we can do now.

[Amy Poehler]

Okay. And so the other question that Kim had was, who is someone that even you like, you know, is so hilarious that you can't barely get through a scene with them? Like, who really tickles you?

[Paula Pell]

I like that old time true classic, like without the meanness under it.

[Amy Poehler]

Well, I feel like I saw you do versions of that all the time. And what comes to mind is, especially in Lauren's office where we would have this big meeting where between dress and Air or after a read through where all of us would be packed in and Paula would come in and you just do some version of that with Lauren. And he would, he would just. He. He's kind of a quiet laugher. He would laugh like this. And you don't see Lauren laughing at. I mean, when you're in comedy, you almost can't laugh anymore.

[Paula Pell]

You're tired of it. You're almost.

[Amy Poehler]

And he. No one would make him laugh harder than you and Paula. Would you put two oranges in your bra?

[Paula Pell]

Yes, I would always. He had oranges always in a bowl at his little tangerines. And I would always put oranges in my bra or I would. I've done a lot of.

[Amy Poehler]

And there's a picture in Lauren's arm office. Do you want to describe what that picture?

[Paula Pell]

It's my 1980s headshot. And I think it's one of the times that I lost a lot of weight. And it's just that dreamy. It almost looks like an 80s soap star.

[Amy Poehler]

It is very soapy.

[Paula Pell]

And I have my hair flipped and I have a very metallic, almost like alligator print, like, which now would probably be like a beautiful outfit because everything has come back. But it's very 80s and I gave it to him. I framed it in a very heavy crystal frame and I wrote on it. I'll never forget our time in San Tropez. And it's just this woman, heavily filtered looking off. And he has it over by when everyone's sitting there picking the show.

[Amy Poehler]

It really does look like his old love.

[Paula Pell]

It looks a little like a corpse. It's just like this. But when you're new to the show

[Amy Poehler]

and Paula would do that. It was like watching. I mean, it was like watching. How would I. How Do I describe this? It was like, honestly, it was thrilling. Honestly, it was thrilling to watch a woman come in and just make the big honcho laugh it. Honestly, Paula, it made you feel like, oh, maybe he will think I'm funny. Like, it.

[Paula Pell]

It.

[Amy Poehler]

You being fearless in those moments and earning all of the laughs and being the funniest made everybody else feel like, oh, there might be room for me here. Like, there might be space for me here.

[Paula Pell]

I mean, if I analyzed it, I probably was always trying to get him to know that I was performatively funny, because I. That was something I hid. And so for years, it was very painful for me to be in rooms and just be very serious with him. And while we worked on that, and I put the joke in. Okay, great. Thanks. Thanks, Lauren. And just walking out, always very contained. And once I broke through that with him, I felt much better about that. You know what? I didn't get to be in the cast here. But, like, he knows that I'm a funny person.

[Amy Poehler]

It's really interesting as we started this interview, like, Midwestern girl doing the right thing. You keep breaking social protocol, and you did it in that office at a time when we were all. You really did keep breaking barriers for us. That did make it feel really safer and safer for us in every way. And you still do that.

[Paula Pell]

I hope so, because now it feels so much better. I mean, all of it is. Some's worse, some's better. But I do feel like in comedy, the women in rooms. When I go to SNL now and I see the writing staff, I'm like, oh, my God, it's so much more diverse, and, like, there's queer people, and thank God. Like, it just makes you feel so much better. And one last thing I just wanted to say about who makes me laugh is Janine is one of those people that I never thought in a million years I would ever be with a comedy person. My ex was not a comedy person. Lovely person and funny, but not by trade. But she makes me laugh in that stealthy way that I enjoy so much.

[Amy Poehler]

I mean, the two of you guys are so matched comedically. I've never. Cause sometimes, you know, people are like, my partner's so funny. And you're like, when? Now. We are at three hours, as you requested. So I have two last quick questions for you. One is, how are the dogs?

[Paula Pell]

The dogs are great. I haven't seen them in a month and a half. Jeanine just went home to see them. We have an old donkey, a very big white horse that I Used to ride Verbena and five dogs, one in a wheel cart. Who hauls ass? Little tiny paralyzed dog. And three cats.

[Amy Poehler]

And. And. And they're all two snakes.

[Paula Pell]

I'm not done.

[Amy Poehler]

Two snakes. I was like, when did you get those snakes?

[Paula Pell]

I can't get other. Other classes of animals because they'll start eating each other.

[Amy Poehler]

Reptiles are a whole thing.

[Paula Pell]

Well, I couldn't feed them the live animals.

[Amy Poehler]

Exactly. You have to start.

[Paula Pell]

And birds. I hate cages. I love birds, but I can't unless I can afford someday an aviary of rescue birds where I can walk in and they can all land on me. Like.

[Amy Poehler]

And you don't want something that's going to outlive you. Like a parrot will outlive you.

[Paula Pell]

True. Well, our donkey could live to be like, 50. He's old. He's older now, but like, I. We. We were like our old horse. We're like, let's get her. She lost her partner horse. Let's get her a little donkey. We'll adopt an old, older donkey. And then the donkey's like 18. How long do they. 50 years. Oh, 50 years. We get the rescue old dogs all the time. And they'll call and they'll go, you know, we did bring her to the cardiologist. And. And Noni is. You know, Nino is actually gonna probably not make it for a few weeks. Do you still want him? Of course we want him. A thousand good days in one day. Like, let's just give him a great end of his life. He lives like seven years.

[Amy Poehler]

Because he's too much love.

[Paula Pell]

Lots of expensive medications.

[Amy Poehler]

Too much love.

[Paula Pell]

Too much love. And medication, which is the name of my book.

[Amy Poehler]

Too much love. And then the last thing is I wanna find a public domain song that we can harmonize to.

[Paula Pell]

Yes.

[Amy Poehler]

Cause you' good at it. Okay.

[Paula Pell]

Oh, my God, I love it.

[Amy Poehler]

What's a good public domain song? Let's see that We. We don't have to.

[Paula Pell]

That is Amazing grace.

[Amy Poehler]

Yes, it is. Amazing grace.

[Paula Pell]

Okay, I have a good one in that.

[Amy Poehler]

Okay, Paul, that's a high amazing. What one should I sing?

[Paula Pell]

I'll do the higher. So you just sing the melody.

[Amy Poehler]

Amazing grace how, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch

[Paula Pell]

like me. I once was lost

[Amy Poehler]

but now

[Paula Pell]

I

[Amy Poehler]

am found

[Paula Pell]

Was blind

[Amy Poehler]

but now

[Paula Pell]

I see. Was great. That duck, Paula. So good. We did not rehearse that.

[Amy Poehler]

We did not.

[Paula Pell]

It's not public domain. Great. It's getting cut. What is it?

[Amy Poehler]

It costs $150,000. Okay, great. We're gonna cut it.

[Paula Pell]

I will put $20 towards it.

[Amy Poehler]

Paula, I love you so much.

[Paula Pell]

Thank you. I love you so much. I love this.

[Amy Poehler]

Thank you so much for doing this.

[Paula Pell]

It's such an honor to be at the. At the table with you.

[Amy Poehler]

I'm kidding. Paula, you're the best at the beige table.

[Paula Pell]

This is like, I love watching this

[Amy Poehler]

and hearing expensive table.

[Paula Pell]

Big honor. It's a big honor.

[Amy Poehler]

Paula, love you so much.

[Paula Pell]

Thank you. I love you so much.

[Amy Poehler]

Thank you for everything. Paula Pell, you're just so fun to be around. Thank you for doing that. And, you know, for this polar plunge, there's just so many things that Paula mentioned that she wrote on great sketches that you should check out at SNL if you're looking to laugh. But. But I want to remind you about a little YouTube show that she did not little big. A big YouTube show called Hudson Valley Ballers that her and James Anderson, another writer at SNL who was mentioned in this interview, worked on. And Paula and James just play two jerks, two funny, lovable jerks who live in the Hudson Valley. And there's a lot of really funny cameos. Stupid people being with other stupid people doing stupid things. So check out Hudson Valley Ballers if you haven't checked that out. And check out Paula on the burbs and keep listening to good hang. We love that you're here. Thanks for being here and see you soon. Bye. You've been listening to Good Hang. The executive producers for this show are Bill Simmons, Jenna Weiss Berman, and me, Amy Poehler. The show is produced by the Ringer and Paper Kite. For the Ringer, production by Jack Wilson, Cat Spillane, Kaia McMullen and Alaya Zaneris. For Paper Kite, production by Sam Green, Joel Lovell and Jenna Weiss Berman. Original music by Amy Miles.