The Comeback (2005) s03e05 Episode Script
Valerie Lights a Candle
Patience, this is a possible
collab with Waymo.
- Don't you think?
- Yeah.
Well, we're in a Waymo,
which means "way-mo" time
for me to learn my lines.
While tackling a voice memo.
So, yeah, what do I do again?
- I forgot.
- Okay, yeah,
so you just scroll down from photos.
- Right?
- And hit "audio."
Yeah. Got it.
- Oh, it's going.
- Yeah, you can talk.
Oh.
Billy, leaving you a voice memo,
not a voicemail, per request.
Shout-out to Patience
for the tech support.
Just wondering if you heard anything
after you sent my voice to the studio.
Josh and Mary never said a thing to me
during the taping last night.
Did they say anything to you?
Well, maybe it's all
just normal, you know?
Worrying for nothing.
Or sent.
Maybe you forgot to hit send, though.
Sometimes I do that, too.
Yeah, so, all good.
FYI, your "Do Not Disturb" is on.
It's all good!
Sent. Alright.
Oh, what's in the bag?
Oh, I got everyone inspirational candles.
So, yours is right on top, here.
- Oh.
- For you.
Yours says "Strength."
Yeah.
What's that Band-Aid on your finger for?
Oh, I got bit by a rescue
that I'm fostering.
Aw.
What's happening?
Wonder where everyone is.
Hey, Bev, where is everybody?
I'm holding them in their dressing rooms.
There's somebody here
from NuNet to see you.
Uh-huh. Okay.
- Mm-hmm.
- Yeah. Thank you.
Oh.
- Valerie.
- Yeah.
- Hi.
- Hi, yeah.
- Brandon.
- Wallick, yeah.
Hi.
Oh, so this is the doc crew?
Oh, yeah. Yeah.
- Really exciting.
- Yeah.
Can we get some privacy, please?
Why? Sure, yeah. Why, sure!
Here you go, can you just take that
- I'm socials.
I know. As a favor to me.
Need some privacy.
Yeah. Right? Don't need you.
- Thanks, guys.
- You're gonna want this.
- Private.
- Thank you.
Okay, yeah.
- So, got your voice memo.
- Right.
Thank you for that. They're gone.
They're gone? Yeah, who's gone?
- The married couple.
- Oh, Josh and Mary?
Josh and Mary are gone, okay.
Because of what I said?
'Cause they weren't 100%.
- Okay.
- And they agreed to a buyout.
We own their names.
We own their silence, so.
So, it's all good. Money well spent.
Oh, alright, got it.
Great, so, now what?
We've hired someone new.
Hired someone else.
Already? Okay!
Yo, yo, yo. Good morning, good morning.
Yeah, I'm just gonna
need a minute, okay?
- Cool.
- Yeah.
Great. Thank you, yeah.
- Okay.
- Okay.
Thank you. Thanks, Marco.
- Oh, that's Marco? Oh.
- Yeah.
- That's who we hired.
The replacement is Marco?
Well, you said that Marco was the only one
who was helpful to you on this stage.
In heat of the moment, you know?
Probably shouldn't
Sure. You know, he's great
as a writer's assistant, you know?
Not a writer, right?
Just wants to be a writer
so he can get a nice house.
- Well, let's get him one.
- Uh-huh, yeah.
Yeah.
Makes me nervous.
- Mm-hmm.
The thing is, Valerie,
it doesn't have to be a writer.
You've got Allassist,
who's got all the greatest
writers at its fingertips,
from Shakespeare, to the Charles Brothers,
to whoever's great right now.
Right, right. Uh-huh.
It's just he's not done
this before, you know?
'Cause he's not a showrunner.
- Yeah?
we even need a showrunner.
You've got Allassist,
you've got a competent director.
- Uh-huh.
what were their names?
- Josh and Mary. Yeah. Yeah.
- Josh and Mary.
They did everything in their power
to make the show not run.
- And still, the pilot tested great.
- It did?
So, you tested it and it tested great?
It tested great.
- Oh!
- And you know more about sitcoms
than me or them,
or anybody at NuNet, right?
Really? Is that true? Okay.
And, you know, on a personal note,
I just wanted to thank you
for being the NuNet show
that's the least of my troubles.
Tested great,
and the least of your troubles!
How's that?!
- Right.
- So, keep it up.
Okay, yeah.
Will do. Will do.
- Alright.
- Alright, thank you.
Oh! Brandon? And,
yeah, so what do you want me
to tell the other actors about all this?
Do we need to tell them anything?
Well, actors can panic, you know,
when things change right out
Well, you know what not to tell them.
Okay.
Yeah. Thank you. Yeah.
- Alright.
- Alright.
Yeah.
Thank you!
- This is so nice.
- It is nice, isn't it?
Yeah, I know.
So, I just wanted to share
some news with you all.
Oh, I knew it.
Who's fired?
Not you. Okay?
Or any of you.
- Okay.
- Yeah, no.
But Josh and Mary are gone.
What? How can they be gone?
They created the show.
That's not fair.
I'll tell you what's not fair, okay?
They'd rather be doing animation.
And they said they hate actors.
You know what? Fuck them.
Yeah, I know.
You know, I asked for a muffin.
Oh, well, Patience is
just doing us a favor.
You know, she's my social media,
not Starbucks.
- Round of applause for Patience, right?
- Yeah.
So, anyway, yeah,
Josh and Mary are gone.
Should we try to get them back?
What? What are you saying?
We don't need that shit.
Even if they hate actors,
which I can understand,
they wrote some pretty good stuff
for my character.
- Oh, my God.
- What?
As far as I've been told,
most of the writing
has been done by a third writer.
Yeah, a third writer named Al.
Well, I've never seen any third writer.
Yeah, well, he works remotely.
Well, why is he working remotely?
Just, I don't know, one of those writers
who can't leave his house, I guess.
What, does he have emphysema or something?
Well, I'm not allowed to ask.
Right? HIPAA rules.
You know, could be a million reasons!
But, you know, maybe he hates driving,
or hates LA, or hates himself, right?
Did he write the episode
that we got this morning?
Because it was so funny.
Yeah, I think he must have.
A writer we've never even seen.
That feels suspicious to me.
Patience?
- What kind of muffin was that?
- Oh, any kind.
Well, except for banana,
or blueberry, or bran.
I don't think it's suspicious.
I have gamer friends
I've never met, we just play online.
You know, all those joke alts
from the floor?
All Al. Yeah.
Okay, Bo? Not Bo. Real name?
- Dean.
- Dean, yeah. No, I know.
Was just being funny.
Are we rehearsing at all today?
'Cause I'd really like to get in
a workout earlier if possible.
Uh-huh, yeah, we'll probably do something.
I'd like to reach out to Josh and Mary.
Do you have their contacts?
No, I don't, 'cause that's how
detached they were, you know?
They fucking hate us, Frank.
Reach out to Al.
I don't have his contact, either.
Okay, you guys, okay.
Let's not cause trouble, alright?
Head of NuNet told me
we're the least trouble of all his shows.
So, in terms of
the new showrunner, alright,
Marco is gonna need our support at first.
Whoa, whoa. Who is Marco?
He's the writer's assistant.
The assistant is now the showrunner?
Oh, that doesn't make any sense.
No, I know. I know.
Man, what is going on here?
You know, don't panic. Right?
Lighting my Tranquility candle.
See? Says "Tranquility" right on it.
Yeah.
I think with everything so up in the air,
you know, just sit calmly
and do what I can do to help.
And learn my lines.
Yeah.
That'd be a really good counterpoint,
if there's a tense moment
Don't you think, Jane?
Yeah, oh. Ah.
Oh, you know what? I'm glad they're gone.
- Josh and Mary?
- More like Mary and Mary.
Okay, well, Billy.
What is that smell? Is that you?
Tranquility. Yeah.
Got candles for the whole cast.
Yeah, "Peace," "Calm."
Oh. Got one for you, too!
Ha-ha-ha! Here it is.
See?
- There you go. "Billy," see?
- Thank you.
His name's Billy.
- "Focus"?
- Yeah.
Everyone else gets Peace
and Calm, and I get Focus?
And you're giving it to me
in front of the cameras?
Would you rather "Relax"?
You don't think I'm focused, Val?
I'll take it. I could use Focus
to learn my 53 pages of lines.
I am focused, Val.
Do you know what I was doing
before I came over here?
- No.
- Focusing on booking you
on Finance Dudes tomorrow morning.
What? Billy, no!
I've got 53 pages of lines!
- You're not thinking.
- You're the one
who told me to do that
so that Mark won't get fired.
Maybe give Mark a candle
that says "Charisma."
Okay, let's not go down that road again.
You're right, yeah.
Please move Finance Dudes to another week.
My bad. You are focused.
I am.
I want Success.
And I'm sure you're gonna get it.
No, the "Success" candle.
Oh, sure! Yeah, no.
That's what you meant. Okay.
- Okay.
- I saw it on top.
Yeah, uh-huh. Oh, no.
No, I have to give this to Marco.
- He's our new showrunner.
- Who's Marco?
Exactly.
Okay, calm down, sir.
I found your reservation,
but check-in isn't till noon.
We know. We're early.
But my wife really wanted
to see the fall leaves.
- It's peak season.
- Mm-hmm.
What's all that yellin'?
Yeah, quiet!
You'll wake up the other guests.
Listen, lady,
I don't know how much
louder I can say this.
Move your lazy ass.
Get us a room or I'm taking this to Yelp.
Sir, could you please
stop yelling about Yelping?
It's not helping!
Okay, scene. Val?
Yeah.
- So killed that, that was good.
- Killed it.
- Because we're trained?
- Yeah, I don't know none of this.
Yeah. They're whispering a comedy scene.
I gave him that note twice.
He just keeps saying "thank you."
None of the jokes work
if he's not yelling.
So, now what?
Are you gonna talk to Marco about him?
Me? No. Yeah.
Right, but he's the showrunner.
- Yeah.
I don't wanna step on any toes,
but I know what I can do to help.
You do? What can you do?
I could step in and play the husband part.
Look.
Listen, lady,
I don't know how much louder
I need to say this,
but you better move your ass
and get us a damn room,
or I am taking this to Yelp.
Okay.
Mm-hmm, that was very funny.
But he cast them, right?
Can't just replace like that, right?
- Yeah.
- Also, who's gonna say "action"?
- Right, yeah.
- Yeah, so thanks for being a team player.
Okay. Juilliard. Just saying.
Five minutes, everybody!
Hey, Val. Funny, yeah.
Well, no, you know.
'Cause, well, those two, okay?
- Philip and Cupie?
- Oh, Cupie?
Yeah? Like Kewpie doll, aw.
They seem lovely.
- Yeah.
- Yeah, but
not right for these parts, you know?
Just too young to be
such an old married couple.
- Yeah.
- Mm, I think it's fine.
Okay. Well, "fine." Fine's not funny.
Even Zeke wasn't laughing.
He laughs at the lunch menu.
Well, I mean, it's just one scene, Val.
Well, okay, all the scenes
need to be good.
- You're good.
- Yeah.
- Yeah. You know, but listen,
you're the showrunner, right?
And they're miscast.
So, you're gonna have to let them go.
They're my roommates, though.
And, like, I know they can do it.
I saw a little movie they made.
- It was really good.
- Oh. Mm.
- I got this.
- Okay.
Showrunner. Yeah.
- Hey, Val?
- Yeah.
Were they good? I couldn't hear them.
Well, I was standing right next to them,
and I couldn't hear them either.
- Are they being fired?
- No, they are not.
No, 'cause Marco says he's "got this,"
and they think they've "got this."
That whole generation
thinks they've got this.
- Well, they don't.
But, you know, I don't know.
You know, maybe that kind of confidence
is a wonderful thing.
- It's not.
- Val, I am so psyched
for all these new jokes that Al just sent.
It's like 39 pages of alts.
I have 54.
Oh, wait, that's because
I went to the bigger font.
Well, are they better?
I'm pretty sure I did this sheriff's joke
way back on Mama's Family.
Well, Al's no Josh and Mary.
Is number 18 funny?
Hold up, I'm on 142.
Let me scroll back.
Okay, Marco? This is too much.
- Too much.
- Well, no, we always need alts.
So, I had Evan prompt for more alts.
For every single joke?
- Yeah, I told you, I got this.
no human could write that fast, okay?
It's suspicious. It's not practical.
You know, there's no time
to even try these all, right?
- Okay.
- So, maybe just pick the best two alts.
- Right?
- Okay, got it.
- Yeah.
- Which are the best two?
Oh, I could just highlight
the funniest ones.
- Could you?
- Yeah.
- Yeah, okay.
- Oh, I'm sorry.
Actually, I shouldn't be saying anything.
- That's not my job.
- Yeah, that's not your job.
And I was promised by NuNet
Shakespeare and Charles Brothers, okay?
None of this, isn't it!
What do you want me to do?
You want me to fire them?
- Could you?
- Okay. Okay.
I'll tell 'em we discussed it,
or not mention you, if you'd rather.
- Yeah, I would rather.
- Done.
That showrunner kid's
not gonna have me fired, right?
I mean, there's literally
nothing else out there for me.
I cannot lose this job, Valerie.
You won't. You know what?
Call their agents.
They don't have agents because they stink.
- Right.
- Ooh! Valerie, the candle.
Oh! Oh, right. Okay.
God, really burned
through my Tranquility fast.
Alright, have a good lunch.
Val, my feelings are really hurt.
How could you do this to me?
What? What did I do?
Marco told me that you told him
to cut all my new jokes.
Okay, no, it wasn't like that.
Not just your new jokes.
Everybody's new jokes.
- There were too many.
- Hi.
- Oh, good, you're both here.
- I never even got to try them.
'Cause there's 39 pages
of alts, PDP, okay?
- It's too many. It's a mistake.
- You're not funny.
Right? I told him to keep two.
Only two?!
I could have made them all funny.
I just wanna make this show great.
I do, too. That's all I've ever wanted.
Okay, then why do you keep
cutting all my great jokes?
- They're not all great.
- I could have made them great.
- Okay, we're back here again.
- I need this to be
my breakout role. I'm gonna be 40!
Well, I hear you,
'cause I'm gonna be 60.
And it's the star's show,
and she doesn't think you're funny!
I can't believe you took
material away from me.
I didn't think you were
that type of actress.
It's not about me, okay?
I'm frustrated, too, okay?
We're in the same boat.
A boat without a captain.
Why don't we have a captain?
We're a network show.
We need to have a captain.
Agreed, we should have a captain.
And I will get us a captain, okay?
Listen, lady!
I don't know how much louder
I can say this!
Move your lazy ass and give us a room,
- or I'm taking this to Yelp!
- I'm going over here, thanks.
about Yelping isn't helping!
It's peak season!
And scene! Yeah!
Yeah, that was so good.
- Why is Paulie G. here?
- Oh, just having lunch.
Bev, can we take lunch now?
- 'Kay, that's lunch people!
- Thanks, yeah.
Good. Okay.
Imagine my surprise.
I'm over at the Coffee Bean
and Tea Leaf on Riverside.
- Uh-huh.
- My usual haunt, when ding!
I get your text.
I could not stop shitting myself.
Seriously, I just rose up.
Shit just lifted me
right the fuck up off my chair.
Oh, God.
Look who's back together.
I thought you two split up.
- Batman and Robin.
- Mm.
What are you filming, Jane, The Cameback?
That's my opening hunk.
What do you think?
Good to see you. Yeah.
- Yeah. Aw, yeah.
- Yeah.
So, what the fuck am I doing here?
Three months ago.
Yeah, well, yeah.
- When the show was announced, but yeah.
- Mm.
Should have been top of mind
'cause I had no chance
of getting hired by anyone else
- Okay.
- Hey! You know who's depressed?
- Who?
- Everyone.
- Okay.
- I am the mascot for the depressed.
Are you gonna keep talking,
or can I say something?
Is there another option?
Well, I do have something to say.
- Let's just step over here.
- Over here?
- Yeah.
- Away from Jane?
- Why, is she packing?
So just wanted to
feel you out.
Feel me up? Is that why I'm here?
Will they, won't they?
A very special episode.
I'm not letting you talk.
- Right.
- I think I'm nervous.
Okay.
I don't know why I'm here.
Because I need a writer for this show.
'Kay.
Who's running it now?
He is.
That kid in the sweater?
- Mm-hmm.
- What has he done?
Nothing. Yeah,
he was a writer's assistant.
They promoted a writer's assistant
to showrunner?
Who the fuck did he blow?
All of show business?
No. There's another writer,
he works remotely.
Can't be around people.
Is it me?
- What's his name?
- Al.
Don't even know his last name.
Mm-hmm. What's my last name?
- G.
- Mm. "G" what?
Whiz?
Yes.
Anyway, I've made a reservation at
the commissary, if you want to have lunch.
- Cool.
- Yeah, okay, yeah.
Yeah, let's go have a show business thing.
- Okay.
- I mean, seriously, that kid?
I mean, good for him, I guess.
- I really wish he was dead.
- Well, he's nice.
Just wants to buy a house.
You could pick up
the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf
and shake it, and get five
Emmy winners who need a job.
"You're a Good Showrunner, Charlie Brown"
over there gets to work?
Funny?
Sober?
Yes.
- paying?
- Oh, yes, I am.
- Ah, good for you.
- Hey, hey!
- What's up, buddy?
- No way.
- Oh, yeah.
- Alright. Hey!
This is your captain?
This is who you called?
I thought you were gonna call the studio.
This is the worst decision
that you can make.
Jane, you're always "worst-case scenario."
No. You need a candle that says
"Not the End of the World."
Alright? It's just lunch.
It's not healthy.
Well, then I'll have a salad.
Okay.
Is Paulie coming to today's taping?
He is, yeah. Just to see it, you know?
Did you tell him about AI
at lunch yesterday?
I did not. No.
He thinks there's a remote
writer named Al, you know.
I can't tell him the truth, you know?
First, I gotta talk
to that Brandon Wallick.
And before that, I have to see
if it's even a good fit, you know?
It's not. Valerie, there are
so many good writers out there.
- He said so himself.
- Okay, good isn't enough, Jane.
The show needs to be great,
and Jimmy said you need
bruised and broken to get great.
Oh, he certainly is broken.
Well, I need a captain.
He'll sink your ship.
He won me an Emmy.
It's green. Let's go.
- You won you an Emmy.
- 'Kay.
You loved her on I'm It!
You loved her on Room and Bored.
You loved her on Seeing Red.
You loved her on The Traitors.
- Here she is!
- Forgot Mrs. Hatt again.
Star of How's That?!, Valerie Cherish!
What the fuck?
- Yeah!
- Whoo!
Have a good one, Mrs. Berman!
Uh-huh, yeah. No, I see you. Okay, great.
Places, everybody.
She woke me up before dawn
so she could get here,
go out, and enjoy this stupid
freaking New England fall!
It's peak season!
What's all the yellin'?
Did someone else
stick their finger in the live socket?
My teeth are still chatterin'.
Please keep your voices down.
You'll wake the other guests.
And the dead.
Listen, lady, I don't know
how much louder I can say this.
Move your lazy ass, give us a room,
or I'm taking it to Yelp!
Ooh.
Your yelling about Yelping's not helping!
- Hm.
- And cut! Let's go again.
Alright, looks like we're gonna go again.
And you know what?
This is what's so exciting
about attending a live taping.
- Okay, now what?
Worked during rehearsal and what?
I downloaded 45 more alts.
I can't go through 45 jokes
- in front of an audience.
Can you pick the best one?
He told me not to.
He's tech, I'm the showrunner.
- Ugh.
- Hey, what's going on?
- Yeah, no, I'll tell you what's going on.
The show's being written by AI, right?
- No. No.
Come on, Val.
You got no one on the floor
pitching jokes.
You got Ren and Stimpy here
pushing around what looks like a prop
from Doctor Who.
Okay.
It is AI, but it's a secret.
That's not cool.
I wouldn't be here if I knew.
I'm sorry, alright?
Forty-five new jokes,
and no captain to help.
Right? I need a captain.
What, Captain Crunch was a hard pass?
Paulie, listen, please.
The AI's not enough, alright?
That's why I called you.
I need a showrunner.
I'm the showrunner.
Alright, yeah. Please.
- Come on!
- Fuck.
Look, we're boxing. It's Tae Bo.
We're boxing.
Okay.
It's not the jokes. It's the scene.
The audience likes Beth,
they don't want
the husband yelling at her.
- Right?
- No.
But your "higher intelligence" here,
it's not sentient,
it doesn't have feelings.
So, it can't feel when an audience
fucking hates something.
- You gotta change the scene.
You gotta get rid of the guy.
An audience doesn't like it when a man
is mean to a woman they like, right?
What if it's two women?
Like two best friends who love the fall,
and they came here to live out their own
Hallmark Channel movie fantasy?
- That's good.
- Yeah?
- You a writer?
- No. No, I wanted to be.
But then I saw where the industry
was going, so I went into coding.
Oh, fuck you for being smart.
Okay. Out of the way, Sweater.
- Okay.
the one that, you know, the tourists.
- Yeah.
- They had the toast joke earlier.
- Oh, she was funny.
- Yeah, she could do it.
- Yeah, yeah.
- Yeah, she's real funny.
We're writing, Val. Make yourself useful.
- Okay.
- So she could do it.
He looks like that meme
- Yeah, look, I know.
I know what I'm doing, okay?
Yeah, sure you do.
No, in a shocking turn of events,
this isn't about him, it's about me.
- Oh.
- Now, wait till you see this.
Oh, did Greg text you back finally?
Oh, no. Fuck him.
That was not a great idea of yours.
No, it's Fernando's Airstream.
He rents it every year
to go to Burning Man.
You're gonna love it!
Not really our thing.
Well, you're not invited, Val.
Okay, I can't talk about this now.
There's nothing to talk about.
Okay, Mark, this is not a smart decision.
- Turn it up!
- You gonna tell me about smart?
Look who you got here.
Well, okay, but he's saving the show.
- Great, he's saving the show.
- That's what I'm talking about!
That's great.
He's having a good time!
- Yeah! Yeah!
- Alright.
Okay, what is happening right now?
- He's helping, Billy, okay?
- No, not Paulie.
- Oh, yeah!
Oh, yeah,
that's his midlife crisis friend.
Should he be on Finance Dudes?
- Yeah! Yeah!
- I mean, I don't know.
Oh, what is Mark doing? Alright.
That turned out to be a really funny show.
Oh, I know.
- So much great new stuff, yeah.
- Yeah. Yeah.
And all without Josh and Mary, huh?
- I've been thinking about that.
- Yeah.
Why am I always defending people
who don't have my best interests?
You know what? I have a candle for you
in my dressing room.
Yeah, you should stop by before you leave.
- Okay. Okay.
- Right? I'll get that to you.
- Val!
- Ah.
There he is!
Thanks so much.
Don't know what we would
have done without you.
Well, I had help.
That Evan kid is pretty good.
- Okay, yeah.
- Little fucker.
- Yeah.
- Here's the pitch.
- Okay.
You clearly need a showrunner.
- I know.
- Yeah, I mean, that machine
is fast, but it needs guidance.
It's like a staff writer on coke.
Oh.
And I clearly need to do this again.
- Mm-hmm.
- Man, it was fun.
Fuck, I hate myself, but that was fun.
you'll talk to your studio guy about me?
Yeah, will do.
Sorry for how I was on Room and Bored.
You know, caused all that trouble.
Just, so pissed at you
with that fucking reality show.
But you weren't
responsible for reality TV,
any more than you're responsible for AI.
- Yeah.
- I thought reality TV was coming for us.
That AI? Fucking scary.
Yeah.
Yeah.
- So, guess I'll see you soon.
- Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
Thanks for thinking of me, Val.
Bye, Jane.
I think that was your DVD extra.
Wow.
So vulnerable.
- Yeah.
- He seemed really scared.
You saw that, too? Yeah.
Nothing more dangerous
than a scared animal.
That's when they bite, right?
Hey. Evan told me
that that guy has an Emmy
for writing on The Simpsons.
Yeah, he does. Uh-huh.
Okay, are you hiring him and firing me?
No, I can't hire him.
No. NuNet made you
showrunner, Marco, right?
- Yeah.
Like, just remember that I know things.
You know, like, like things that people
- Yeah.
Yeah, right. You're the showrunner, yeah.
You and Evan make a great team.
- Excuse me.
We're not a team. We're not a team.
Well, you are now.
Yeah, we're all a team.
Right? You saw what happened here tonight.
All of us pulling together?
That's how you make a hit show.
Right? You wanna get that house, huh?
- I'll see you tomorrow, okay?
- Okay.
Oh, Marco!
I have a "Success" candle for you.
Jane, I forgot to give
everyone their candles.
Careful, dear.
And Walter.
"Relax."
If he gets any more relaxed,
we should call for help.
Oh. That's fine.
- Thank you.
- Gabrielle, darlin'.
"Persistence."
'Cause you're just starting out.
Oh, thank you. I need this.
And Val, next time you need candles,
please let me know.
I have my own soy candle brand.
- Aw.
- And they're available on Goop.
So, if anyone needs a candle, let me know.
It's 100% soy.
- Nice.
- Yeah!
Wow. Look at that.
Frank.
For you, "Self-Love."
I love myself.
But you picked these before that.
Hi, Bev said you wanted to see everyone?
Evan!
- Oh!
- What's up, man?
for you, I'm sorry.
I had an extra "Serenity,"
- Oh, that's okay.
I actually just came here
- What? No, no.
- Oh, is there any food here?
It's not a party, dear.
It's just a ceremony, you know.
But you know what?
Yeah, I have a blank one here
I was gonna give to
But, yeah. Here you go.
- Oh, thank you.
- Yeah.
I don't care for this fragrance.
You know what? You all have 'em,
and you can trade, or you know best.
Like Halloween candy. Yeah.
- Thank you.
- Aw. You're welcome.
- Thanks, Val.
- Thank you so much. Thank you.
- Sure.
- So thoughtful.
Sorry, I had to give him yours,
just 'cause he did such
a good job tonight, you know?
Not that you didn't,
'cause you did, you know?
And I'm gonna bring you one tomorrow.
Okay? All good.
You're right there.
Hi. Sorry. Aw.
- Excuse me.
- Yeah.
collab with Waymo.
- Don't you think?
- Yeah.
Well, we're in a Waymo,
which means "way-mo" time
for me to learn my lines.
While tackling a voice memo.
So, yeah, what do I do again?
- I forgot.
- Okay, yeah,
so you just scroll down from photos.
- Right?
- And hit "audio."
Yeah. Got it.
- Oh, it's going.
- Yeah, you can talk.
Oh.
Billy, leaving you a voice memo,
not a voicemail, per request.
Shout-out to Patience
for the tech support.
Just wondering if you heard anything
after you sent my voice to the studio.
Josh and Mary never said a thing to me
during the taping last night.
Did they say anything to you?
Well, maybe it's all
just normal, you know?
Worrying for nothing.
Or sent.
Maybe you forgot to hit send, though.
Sometimes I do that, too.
Yeah, so, all good.
FYI, your "Do Not Disturb" is on.
It's all good!
Sent. Alright.
Oh, what's in the bag?
Oh, I got everyone inspirational candles.
So, yours is right on top, here.
- Oh.
- For you.
Yours says "Strength."
Yeah.
What's that Band-Aid on your finger for?
Oh, I got bit by a rescue
that I'm fostering.
Aw.
What's happening?
Wonder where everyone is.
Hey, Bev, where is everybody?
I'm holding them in their dressing rooms.
There's somebody here
from NuNet to see you.
Uh-huh. Okay.
- Mm-hmm.
- Yeah. Thank you.
Oh.
- Valerie.
- Yeah.
- Hi.
- Hi, yeah.
- Brandon.
- Wallick, yeah.
Hi.
Oh, so this is the doc crew?
Oh, yeah. Yeah.
- Really exciting.
- Yeah.
Can we get some privacy, please?
Why? Sure, yeah. Why, sure!
Here you go, can you just take that
- I'm socials.
I know. As a favor to me.
Need some privacy.
Yeah. Right? Don't need you.
- Thanks, guys.
- You're gonna want this.
- Private.
- Thank you.
Okay, yeah.
- So, got your voice memo.
- Right.
Thank you for that. They're gone.
They're gone? Yeah, who's gone?
- The married couple.
- Oh, Josh and Mary?
Josh and Mary are gone, okay.
Because of what I said?
'Cause they weren't 100%.
- Okay.
- And they agreed to a buyout.
We own their names.
We own their silence, so.
So, it's all good. Money well spent.
Oh, alright, got it.
Great, so, now what?
We've hired someone new.
Hired someone else.
Already? Okay!
Yo, yo, yo. Good morning, good morning.
Yeah, I'm just gonna
need a minute, okay?
- Cool.
- Yeah.
Great. Thank you, yeah.
- Okay.
- Okay.
Thank you. Thanks, Marco.
- Oh, that's Marco? Oh.
- Yeah.
- That's who we hired.
The replacement is Marco?
Well, you said that Marco was the only one
who was helpful to you on this stage.
In heat of the moment, you know?
Probably shouldn't
Sure. You know, he's great
as a writer's assistant, you know?
Not a writer, right?
Just wants to be a writer
so he can get a nice house.
- Well, let's get him one.
- Uh-huh, yeah.
Yeah.
Makes me nervous.
- Mm-hmm.
The thing is, Valerie,
it doesn't have to be a writer.
You've got Allassist,
who's got all the greatest
writers at its fingertips,
from Shakespeare, to the Charles Brothers,
to whoever's great right now.
Right, right. Uh-huh.
It's just he's not done
this before, you know?
'Cause he's not a showrunner.
- Yeah?
we even need a showrunner.
You've got Allassist,
you've got a competent director.
- Uh-huh.
what were their names?
- Josh and Mary. Yeah. Yeah.
- Josh and Mary.
They did everything in their power
to make the show not run.
- And still, the pilot tested great.
- It did?
So, you tested it and it tested great?
It tested great.
- Oh!
- And you know more about sitcoms
than me or them,
or anybody at NuNet, right?
Really? Is that true? Okay.
And, you know, on a personal note,
I just wanted to thank you
for being the NuNet show
that's the least of my troubles.
Tested great,
and the least of your troubles!
How's that?!
- Right.
- So, keep it up.
Okay, yeah.
Will do. Will do.
- Alright.
- Alright, thank you.
Oh! Brandon? And,
yeah, so what do you want me
to tell the other actors about all this?
Do we need to tell them anything?
Well, actors can panic, you know,
when things change right out
Well, you know what not to tell them.
Okay.
Yeah. Thank you. Yeah.
- Alright.
- Alright.
Yeah.
Thank you!
- This is so nice.
- It is nice, isn't it?
Yeah, I know.
So, I just wanted to share
some news with you all.
Oh, I knew it.
Who's fired?
Not you. Okay?
Or any of you.
- Okay.
- Yeah, no.
But Josh and Mary are gone.
What? How can they be gone?
They created the show.
That's not fair.
I'll tell you what's not fair, okay?
They'd rather be doing animation.
And they said they hate actors.
You know what? Fuck them.
Yeah, I know.
You know, I asked for a muffin.
Oh, well, Patience is
just doing us a favor.
You know, she's my social media,
not Starbucks.
- Round of applause for Patience, right?
- Yeah.
So, anyway, yeah,
Josh and Mary are gone.
Should we try to get them back?
What? What are you saying?
We don't need that shit.
Even if they hate actors,
which I can understand,
they wrote some pretty good stuff
for my character.
- Oh, my God.
- What?
As far as I've been told,
most of the writing
has been done by a third writer.
Yeah, a third writer named Al.
Well, I've never seen any third writer.
Yeah, well, he works remotely.
Well, why is he working remotely?
Just, I don't know, one of those writers
who can't leave his house, I guess.
What, does he have emphysema or something?
Well, I'm not allowed to ask.
Right? HIPAA rules.
You know, could be a million reasons!
But, you know, maybe he hates driving,
or hates LA, or hates himself, right?
Did he write the episode
that we got this morning?
Because it was so funny.
Yeah, I think he must have.
A writer we've never even seen.
That feels suspicious to me.
Patience?
- What kind of muffin was that?
- Oh, any kind.
Well, except for banana,
or blueberry, or bran.
I don't think it's suspicious.
I have gamer friends
I've never met, we just play online.
You know, all those joke alts
from the floor?
All Al. Yeah.
Okay, Bo? Not Bo. Real name?
- Dean.
- Dean, yeah. No, I know.
Was just being funny.
Are we rehearsing at all today?
'Cause I'd really like to get in
a workout earlier if possible.
Uh-huh, yeah, we'll probably do something.
I'd like to reach out to Josh and Mary.
Do you have their contacts?
No, I don't, 'cause that's how
detached they were, you know?
They fucking hate us, Frank.
Reach out to Al.
I don't have his contact, either.
Okay, you guys, okay.
Let's not cause trouble, alright?
Head of NuNet told me
we're the least trouble of all his shows.
So, in terms of
the new showrunner, alright,
Marco is gonna need our support at first.
Whoa, whoa. Who is Marco?
He's the writer's assistant.
The assistant is now the showrunner?
Oh, that doesn't make any sense.
No, I know. I know.
Man, what is going on here?
You know, don't panic. Right?
Lighting my Tranquility candle.
See? Says "Tranquility" right on it.
Yeah.
I think with everything so up in the air,
you know, just sit calmly
and do what I can do to help.
And learn my lines.
Yeah.
That'd be a really good counterpoint,
if there's a tense moment
Don't you think, Jane?
Yeah, oh. Ah.
Oh, you know what? I'm glad they're gone.
- Josh and Mary?
- More like Mary and Mary.
Okay, well, Billy.
What is that smell? Is that you?
Tranquility. Yeah.
Got candles for the whole cast.
Yeah, "Peace," "Calm."
Oh. Got one for you, too!
Ha-ha-ha! Here it is.
See?
- There you go. "Billy," see?
- Thank you.
His name's Billy.
- "Focus"?
- Yeah.
Everyone else gets Peace
and Calm, and I get Focus?
And you're giving it to me
in front of the cameras?
Would you rather "Relax"?
You don't think I'm focused, Val?
I'll take it. I could use Focus
to learn my 53 pages of lines.
I am focused, Val.
Do you know what I was doing
before I came over here?
- No.
- Focusing on booking you
on Finance Dudes tomorrow morning.
What? Billy, no!
I've got 53 pages of lines!
- You're not thinking.
- You're the one
who told me to do that
so that Mark won't get fired.
Maybe give Mark a candle
that says "Charisma."
Okay, let's not go down that road again.
You're right, yeah.
Please move Finance Dudes to another week.
My bad. You are focused.
I am.
I want Success.
And I'm sure you're gonna get it.
No, the "Success" candle.
Oh, sure! Yeah, no.
That's what you meant. Okay.
- Okay.
- I saw it on top.
Yeah, uh-huh. Oh, no.
No, I have to give this to Marco.
- He's our new showrunner.
- Who's Marco?
Exactly.
Okay, calm down, sir.
I found your reservation,
but check-in isn't till noon.
We know. We're early.
But my wife really wanted
to see the fall leaves.
- It's peak season.
- Mm-hmm.
What's all that yellin'?
Yeah, quiet!
You'll wake up the other guests.
Listen, lady,
I don't know how much
louder I can say this.
Move your lazy ass.
Get us a room or I'm taking this to Yelp.
Sir, could you please
stop yelling about Yelping?
It's not helping!
Okay, scene. Val?
Yeah.
- So killed that, that was good.
- Killed it.
- Because we're trained?
- Yeah, I don't know none of this.
Yeah. They're whispering a comedy scene.
I gave him that note twice.
He just keeps saying "thank you."
None of the jokes work
if he's not yelling.
So, now what?
Are you gonna talk to Marco about him?
Me? No. Yeah.
Right, but he's the showrunner.
- Yeah.
I don't wanna step on any toes,
but I know what I can do to help.
You do? What can you do?
I could step in and play the husband part.
Look.
Listen, lady,
I don't know how much louder
I need to say this,
but you better move your ass
and get us a damn room,
or I am taking this to Yelp.
Okay.
Mm-hmm, that was very funny.
But he cast them, right?
Can't just replace like that, right?
- Yeah.
- Also, who's gonna say "action"?
- Right, yeah.
- Yeah, so thanks for being a team player.
Okay. Juilliard. Just saying.
Five minutes, everybody!
Hey, Val. Funny, yeah.
Well, no, you know.
'Cause, well, those two, okay?
- Philip and Cupie?
- Oh, Cupie?
Yeah? Like Kewpie doll, aw.
They seem lovely.
- Yeah.
- Yeah, but
not right for these parts, you know?
Just too young to be
such an old married couple.
- Yeah.
- Mm, I think it's fine.
Okay. Well, "fine." Fine's not funny.
Even Zeke wasn't laughing.
He laughs at the lunch menu.
Well, I mean, it's just one scene, Val.
Well, okay, all the scenes
need to be good.
- You're good.
- Yeah.
- Yeah. You know, but listen,
you're the showrunner, right?
And they're miscast.
So, you're gonna have to let them go.
They're my roommates, though.
And, like, I know they can do it.
I saw a little movie they made.
- It was really good.
- Oh. Mm.
- I got this.
- Okay.
Showrunner. Yeah.
- Hey, Val?
- Yeah.
Were they good? I couldn't hear them.
Well, I was standing right next to them,
and I couldn't hear them either.
- Are they being fired?
- No, they are not.
No, 'cause Marco says he's "got this,"
and they think they've "got this."
That whole generation
thinks they've got this.
- Well, they don't.
But, you know, I don't know.
You know, maybe that kind of confidence
is a wonderful thing.
- It's not.
- Val, I am so psyched
for all these new jokes that Al just sent.
It's like 39 pages of alts.
I have 54.
Oh, wait, that's because
I went to the bigger font.
Well, are they better?
I'm pretty sure I did this sheriff's joke
way back on Mama's Family.
Well, Al's no Josh and Mary.
Is number 18 funny?
Hold up, I'm on 142.
Let me scroll back.
Okay, Marco? This is too much.
- Too much.
- Well, no, we always need alts.
So, I had Evan prompt for more alts.
For every single joke?
- Yeah, I told you, I got this.
no human could write that fast, okay?
It's suspicious. It's not practical.
You know, there's no time
to even try these all, right?
- Okay.
- So, maybe just pick the best two alts.
- Right?
- Okay, got it.
- Yeah.
- Which are the best two?
Oh, I could just highlight
the funniest ones.
- Could you?
- Yeah.
- Yeah, okay.
- Oh, I'm sorry.
Actually, I shouldn't be saying anything.
- That's not my job.
- Yeah, that's not your job.
And I was promised by NuNet
Shakespeare and Charles Brothers, okay?
None of this, isn't it!
What do you want me to do?
You want me to fire them?
- Could you?
- Okay. Okay.
I'll tell 'em we discussed it,
or not mention you, if you'd rather.
- Yeah, I would rather.
- Done.
That showrunner kid's
not gonna have me fired, right?
I mean, there's literally
nothing else out there for me.
I cannot lose this job, Valerie.
You won't. You know what?
Call their agents.
They don't have agents because they stink.
- Right.
- Ooh! Valerie, the candle.
Oh! Oh, right. Okay.
God, really burned
through my Tranquility fast.
Alright, have a good lunch.
Val, my feelings are really hurt.
How could you do this to me?
What? What did I do?
Marco told me that you told him
to cut all my new jokes.
Okay, no, it wasn't like that.
Not just your new jokes.
Everybody's new jokes.
- There were too many.
- Hi.
- Oh, good, you're both here.
- I never even got to try them.
'Cause there's 39 pages
of alts, PDP, okay?
- It's too many. It's a mistake.
- You're not funny.
Right? I told him to keep two.
Only two?!
I could have made them all funny.
I just wanna make this show great.
I do, too. That's all I've ever wanted.
Okay, then why do you keep
cutting all my great jokes?
- They're not all great.
- I could have made them great.
- Okay, we're back here again.
- I need this to be
my breakout role. I'm gonna be 40!
Well, I hear you,
'cause I'm gonna be 60.
And it's the star's show,
and she doesn't think you're funny!
I can't believe you took
material away from me.
I didn't think you were
that type of actress.
It's not about me, okay?
I'm frustrated, too, okay?
We're in the same boat.
A boat without a captain.
Why don't we have a captain?
We're a network show.
We need to have a captain.
Agreed, we should have a captain.
And I will get us a captain, okay?
Listen, lady!
I don't know how much louder
I can say this!
Move your lazy ass and give us a room,
- or I'm taking this to Yelp!
- I'm going over here, thanks.
about Yelping isn't helping!
It's peak season!
And scene! Yeah!
Yeah, that was so good.
- Why is Paulie G. here?
- Oh, just having lunch.
Bev, can we take lunch now?
- 'Kay, that's lunch people!
- Thanks, yeah.
Good. Okay.
Imagine my surprise.
I'm over at the Coffee Bean
and Tea Leaf on Riverside.
- Uh-huh.
- My usual haunt, when ding!
I get your text.
I could not stop shitting myself.
Seriously, I just rose up.
Shit just lifted me
right the fuck up off my chair.
Oh, God.
Look who's back together.
I thought you two split up.
- Batman and Robin.
- Mm.
What are you filming, Jane, The Cameback?
That's my opening hunk.
What do you think?
Good to see you. Yeah.
- Yeah. Aw, yeah.
- Yeah.
So, what the fuck am I doing here?
Three months ago.
Yeah, well, yeah.
- When the show was announced, but yeah.
- Mm.
Should have been top of mind
'cause I had no chance
of getting hired by anyone else
- Okay.
- Hey! You know who's depressed?
- Who?
- Everyone.
- Okay.
- I am the mascot for the depressed.
Are you gonna keep talking,
or can I say something?
Is there another option?
Well, I do have something to say.
- Let's just step over here.
- Over here?
- Yeah.
- Away from Jane?
- Why, is she packing?
So just wanted to
feel you out.
Feel me up? Is that why I'm here?
Will they, won't they?
A very special episode.
I'm not letting you talk.
- Right.
- I think I'm nervous.
Okay.
I don't know why I'm here.
Because I need a writer for this show.
'Kay.
Who's running it now?
He is.
That kid in the sweater?
- Mm-hmm.
- What has he done?
Nothing. Yeah,
he was a writer's assistant.
They promoted a writer's assistant
to showrunner?
Who the fuck did he blow?
All of show business?
No. There's another writer,
he works remotely.
Can't be around people.
Is it me?
- What's his name?
- Al.
Don't even know his last name.
Mm-hmm. What's my last name?
- G.
- Mm. "G" what?
Whiz?
Yes.
Anyway, I've made a reservation at
the commissary, if you want to have lunch.
- Cool.
- Yeah, okay, yeah.
Yeah, let's go have a show business thing.
- Okay.
- I mean, seriously, that kid?
I mean, good for him, I guess.
- I really wish he was dead.
- Well, he's nice.
Just wants to buy a house.
You could pick up
the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf
and shake it, and get five
Emmy winners who need a job.
"You're a Good Showrunner, Charlie Brown"
over there gets to work?
Funny?
Sober?
Yes.
- paying?
- Oh, yes, I am.
- Ah, good for you.
- Hey, hey!
- What's up, buddy?
- No way.
- Oh, yeah.
- Alright. Hey!
This is your captain?
This is who you called?
I thought you were gonna call the studio.
This is the worst decision
that you can make.
Jane, you're always "worst-case scenario."
No. You need a candle that says
"Not the End of the World."
Alright? It's just lunch.
It's not healthy.
Well, then I'll have a salad.
Okay.
Is Paulie coming to today's taping?
He is, yeah. Just to see it, you know?
Did you tell him about AI
at lunch yesterday?
I did not. No.
He thinks there's a remote
writer named Al, you know.
I can't tell him the truth, you know?
First, I gotta talk
to that Brandon Wallick.
And before that, I have to see
if it's even a good fit, you know?
It's not. Valerie, there are
so many good writers out there.
- He said so himself.
- Okay, good isn't enough, Jane.
The show needs to be great,
and Jimmy said you need
bruised and broken to get great.
Oh, he certainly is broken.
Well, I need a captain.
He'll sink your ship.
He won me an Emmy.
It's green. Let's go.
- You won you an Emmy.
- 'Kay.
You loved her on I'm It!
You loved her on Room and Bored.
You loved her on Seeing Red.
You loved her on The Traitors.
- Here she is!
- Forgot Mrs. Hatt again.
Star of How's That?!, Valerie Cherish!
What the fuck?
- Yeah!
- Whoo!
Have a good one, Mrs. Berman!
Uh-huh, yeah. No, I see you. Okay, great.
Places, everybody.
She woke me up before dawn
so she could get here,
go out, and enjoy this stupid
freaking New England fall!
It's peak season!
What's all the yellin'?
Did someone else
stick their finger in the live socket?
My teeth are still chatterin'.
Please keep your voices down.
You'll wake the other guests.
And the dead.
Listen, lady, I don't know
how much louder I can say this.
Move your lazy ass, give us a room,
or I'm taking it to Yelp!
Ooh.
Your yelling about Yelping's not helping!
- Hm.
- And cut! Let's go again.
Alright, looks like we're gonna go again.
And you know what?
This is what's so exciting
about attending a live taping.
- Okay, now what?
Worked during rehearsal and what?
I downloaded 45 more alts.
I can't go through 45 jokes
- in front of an audience.
Can you pick the best one?
He told me not to.
He's tech, I'm the showrunner.
- Ugh.
- Hey, what's going on?
- Yeah, no, I'll tell you what's going on.
The show's being written by AI, right?
- No. No.
Come on, Val.
You got no one on the floor
pitching jokes.
You got Ren and Stimpy here
pushing around what looks like a prop
from Doctor Who.
Okay.
It is AI, but it's a secret.
That's not cool.
I wouldn't be here if I knew.
I'm sorry, alright?
Forty-five new jokes,
and no captain to help.
Right? I need a captain.
What, Captain Crunch was a hard pass?
Paulie, listen, please.
The AI's not enough, alright?
That's why I called you.
I need a showrunner.
I'm the showrunner.
Alright, yeah. Please.
- Come on!
- Fuck.
Look, we're boxing. It's Tae Bo.
We're boxing.
Okay.
It's not the jokes. It's the scene.
The audience likes Beth,
they don't want
the husband yelling at her.
- Right?
- No.
But your "higher intelligence" here,
it's not sentient,
it doesn't have feelings.
So, it can't feel when an audience
fucking hates something.
- You gotta change the scene.
You gotta get rid of the guy.
An audience doesn't like it when a man
is mean to a woman they like, right?
What if it's two women?
Like two best friends who love the fall,
and they came here to live out their own
Hallmark Channel movie fantasy?
- That's good.
- Yeah?
- You a writer?
- No. No, I wanted to be.
But then I saw where the industry
was going, so I went into coding.
Oh, fuck you for being smart.
Okay. Out of the way, Sweater.
- Okay.
the one that, you know, the tourists.
- Yeah.
- They had the toast joke earlier.
- Oh, she was funny.
- Yeah, she could do it.
- Yeah, yeah.
- Yeah, she's real funny.
We're writing, Val. Make yourself useful.
- Okay.
- So she could do it.
He looks like that meme
- Yeah, look, I know.
I know what I'm doing, okay?
Yeah, sure you do.
No, in a shocking turn of events,
this isn't about him, it's about me.
- Oh.
- Now, wait till you see this.
Oh, did Greg text you back finally?
Oh, no. Fuck him.
That was not a great idea of yours.
No, it's Fernando's Airstream.
He rents it every year
to go to Burning Man.
You're gonna love it!
Not really our thing.
Well, you're not invited, Val.
Okay, I can't talk about this now.
There's nothing to talk about.
Okay, Mark, this is not a smart decision.
- Turn it up!
- You gonna tell me about smart?
Look who you got here.
Well, okay, but he's saving the show.
- Great, he's saving the show.
- That's what I'm talking about!
That's great.
He's having a good time!
- Yeah! Yeah!
- Alright.
Okay, what is happening right now?
- He's helping, Billy, okay?
- No, not Paulie.
- Oh, yeah!
Oh, yeah,
that's his midlife crisis friend.
Should he be on Finance Dudes?
- Yeah! Yeah!
- I mean, I don't know.
Oh, what is Mark doing? Alright.
That turned out to be a really funny show.
Oh, I know.
- So much great new stuff, yeah.
- Yeah. Yeah.
And all without Josh and Mary, huh?
- I've been thinking about that.
- Yeah.
Why am I always defending people
who don't have my best interests?
You know what? I have a candle for you
in my dressing room.
Yeah, you should stop by before you leave.
- Okay. Okay.
- Right? I'll get that to you.
- Val!
- Ah.
There he is!
Thanks so much.
Don't know what we would
have done without you.
Well, I had help.
That Evan kid is pretty good.
- Okay, yeah.
- Little fucker.
- Yeah.
- Here's the pitch.
- Okay.
You clearly need a showrunner.
- I know.
- Yeah, I mean, that machine
is fast, but it needs guidance.
It's like a staff writer on coke.
Oh.
And I clearly need to do this again.
- Mm-hmm.
- Man, it was fun.
Fuck, I hate myself, but that was fun.
you'll talk to your studio guy about me?
Yeah, will do.
Sorry for how I was on Room and Bored.
You know, caused all that trouble.
Just, so pissed at you
with that fucking reality show.
But you weren't
responsible for reality TV,
any more than you're responsible for AI.
- Yeah.
- I thought reality TV was coming for us.
That AI? Fucking scary.
Yeah.
Yeah.
- So, guess I'll see you soon.
- Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
Thanks for thinking of me, Val.
Bye, Jane.
I think that was your DVD extra.
Wow.
So vulnerable.
- Yeah.
- He seemed really scared.
You saw that, too? Yeah.
Nothing more dangerous
than a scared animal.
That's when they bite, right?
Hey. Evan told me
that that guy has an Emmy
for writing on The Simpsons.
Yeah, he does. Uh-huh.
Okay, are you hiring him and firing me?
No, I can't hire him.
No. NuNet made you
showrunner, Marco, right?
- Yeah.
Like, just remember that I know things.
You know, like, like things that people
- Yeah.
Yeah, right. You're the showrunner, yeah.
You and Evan make a great team.
- Excuse me.
We're not a team. We're not a team.
Well, you are now.
Yeah, we're all a team.
Right? You saw what happened here tonight.
All of us pulling together?
That's how you make a hit show.
Right? You wanna get that house, huh?
- I'll see you tomorrow, okay?
- Okay.
Oh, Marco!
I have a "Success" candle for you.
Jane, I forgot to give
everyone their candles.
Careful, dear.
And Walter.
"Relax."
If he gets any more relaxed,
we should call for help.
Oh. That's fine.
- Thank you.
- Gabrielle, darlin'.
"Persistence."
'Cause you're just starting out.
Oh, thank you. I need this.
And Val, next time you need candles,
please let me know.
I have my own soy candle brand.
- Aw.
- And they're available on Goop.
So, if anyone needs a candle, let me know.
It's 100% soy.
- Nice.
- Yeah!
Wow. Look at that.
Frank.
For you, "Self-Love."
I love myself.
But you picked these before that.
Hi, Bev said you wanted to see everyone?
Evan!
- Oh!
- What's up, man?
for you, I'm sorry.
I had an extra "Serenity,"
- Oh, that's okay.
I actually just came here
- What? No, no.
- Oh, is there any food here?
It's not a party, dear.
It's just a ceremony, you know.
But you know what?
Yeah, I have a blank one here
I was gonna give to
But, yeah. Here you go.
- Oh, thank you.
- Yeah.
I don't care for this fragrance.
You know what? You all have 'em,
and you can trade, or you know best.
Like Halloween candy. Yeah.
- Thank you.
- Aw. You're welcome.
- Thanks, Val.
- Thank you so much. Thank you.
- Sure.
- So thoughtful.
Sorry, I had to give him yours,
just 'cause he did such
a good job tonight, you know?
Not that you didn't,
'cause you did, you know?
And I'm gonna bring you one tomorrow.
Okay? All good.
You're right there.
Hi. Sorry. Aw.
- Excuse me.
- Yeah.