Molly Shannon has got some unbelievable stories to tell

is afraid to tell her real aid. I had to kick scretch kick and Delicious Dish co host carry rialto please welcome the owner of Seasons Eatings, Pete Schwetty. But there's a lot about her story I didn't know, like how she dealt with loss at a very young age, her Zaney father and coming into her own as a comedian. She gets into all of it in her new book called Hello Molly, and we get into all of it in our conversation Hello Molly. Well, Hello Molly. That was

such a mom thing to do. But hey, what are you gonna do? Molly Shannon? I'm so happy to talk to you. Congratulations on your book and everything in your life. And just before we talk about what's in your book, how has it been, Molly? Have you been enjoying this book tour? Uh? You know, how was the process of writing it? Are you feeling super vulnerable? Just tell me what you're thinking and feeling these days. I do feel I have really been enjoying the process. I'm really proud

of myself that I wrote a book. And yes, you I do feel vulnerable, but I mostly I've just been enjoying it. I've been enjoying the process, and I think I just appreciate opportunities and show business. So I have a generally positive attitude. Yes, but it's very very like deeply profoundly personal obviously, and uh, it's full of, as one critic said, emotional truth and just burying your soul and kind of letting people into the deep dark places of your psyche. Um. Is it something that made you

at all trepidacious or does it feel liberating? What? Um? Yes? I think I thought about everything deeply and thought about it a lot, and would comb over stuff like is that okay? And is that? What about that? And what about that? I think deeply about each element. It's not like random or anything. I'm really thinking about it. Um. But I also think women should share their stories. And I think vague sentimental writing is kind of ring. And uh, I just was like, if you're gonna do it like

you know, you did it. It's like, if you're gonna do it, do it, you know what I mean. I feel like women need other women, people need people, you know. I think, um, sharing stories is important. So I just wanted to be brave and do it and honest and yeah yeah and vulnerable. Yeah are you sick of telling these stories over and over again? Are you enjoying the

publicity of it all? Um? I? I I guess I'm a comedian, so I don't mind telling the stories over and over again because I feel like I'm always like, oh, you can perfect how you tell it and set it up that way. I'm always thinking like as a writer. And also I had to do live book events, so I was like, oh, I've got my little you know, act together on the roads. You you get better at kind of knowing Oh that fits, that works, like, you know.

For those live book events, that made me nervous actually, because I felt like, are they expecting a comedy show or something? Is this. As a comedic actress, I felt like, oh, I better give them a thousand percent. And I said to my book publishers, I was like, do they know it's just like a Q and A because I get worried about, you know, being bor boring or something, you know, And did they tell you you don't have to do

a whole like stand up routine. They did. They said, yep, you don't have to when people know what this is, and it's okay. But as I continue to do them, I would still, you know, okay, that story, that story gets a laugh, Tell that one. That's a good story that gets a laugh. So I, as a performer who does comedy, of course I am conscious of that. You know, well, you don't have to. You don't have to tell the

stories that got to laugh. You can just have a s full on straight conversation with me about anything and everything you want to talk about. But wow, Molly, you know, I guess the tears of a clown. This is what I thought about when I read the part about your childhood, because I don't think that was particularly well known Molly, that you had a terrible loss when you were four

years old. You lost your mom you lost your sister and you lost your cousin in a car accident, and your your father was badly injured as a result of it. And have people been as shocked to learn this about you as I was. Yes, I think people were like, oh,

I didn't know that. And I kind of put it in context and I explained where certain characters came from, like Sally O'Malley, how she limps when she come on comes on stage, and how that's really me imitating my dad's limp after the accident, and then her kicking is really my wish for my dad to kick the braces off a lot of them. A lot of my characters

are impressions of my dad. But as women, um there's a lot of kicking, a lot of physical stuff, and um, sometimes when you're not even conscious of stuff, it just comes out. You pour it out into the art and it helps you heal and survive. So I think it's interesting because people knew me as a comedian, but then to give the backstory of kind of where this comes from is hopefully can put it into a context. You know,

We're gonna say one more thing, Katie. Yes, some people were asking, you know these interviews might be emotional, and this is hard, but you know, honestly, I don't mind being deadly serious. I am a more serious person in real life, and sometimes I find it harder to have to have to just be funnier, you know, do be on late night shows. You know, I'm so appreciative that, but that's really hard, Like I almost my true nature

is to be more serious. You know. Well, can you talk I mean, at the risk of making you talk about it again as you I'm sure you've you've done. I mean, it's a very harrowing story. Uh, tell us set the scene and what was happening, and then Molly, I can only imagine, and in fact, you write about all the emotional baggage that you and your father were left with. Can you give us the circumstances and what

happened with the accident? Um? Yes, Well, there was a graduation party, um for my cousin, and it was like an all day party that went into the evening, and there had been drinking. And I was four years old, my sister Mary was six, and my baby sister Katie was three, and um, yeah, so my dad's version of the story, and I believe my dad. He stuck to his story till his death. Um and never wavered. Um. So And I lay this out in the book in

the accident chapter. But basically, there was drinking earlier, he had taken a nap, and then they left much later at night, A group of people takes him out to the car, good bye, goodbye. You know. I guess my dad asked my mom to drive. She said, no, you're fine, you can drive. Yes, my cousin to drive, who was only five, And I think they let him drive, and you know people, a group of people are saying goodbye. Um, this is a different time now, I remember this is

nineteen nine. We have so much more awareness on the subject. Now. We have mothers against drunk driving, we have friends don't let friends drive drunk. This is you know, people didn't wear seatbelts. It was you know. So anyhow, so we left and then the card jaid crash. It was ninety minutes into the drive home. And I will never know exactly what happened, Whether he fell asleep nodded off because he'd driven for ninety minutes, and did drinking. Was drinking

involved in that? Yeah, I did drink. If he fell asleep, did drinking contribute to that, yes, probably, I'm not I'm not trying to bail him out of that, but there was never a blood alcohol report. So you know, my dad always stuck to that story till his death, like no, I had asked them to drive, and you know, so I chose to believe him. And I really admired my father and he was, like my mom, a gypsy rose.

And after that horrible, devastating accident, he pulled himself up by his bootstraps and went on to raise two girls in the seventies and did his best job. And you know, he was a really good father, you know, but that must have been gosh, Molly's just a crushing blow. How old was your mom when my mom was thirty three? Yes, it's a crushing blow, um to my dad, to me, to my sister Mary, who survived. It was I'm aged

four and life, as you know, it's just gone. Everything changed in a split second, and it was it was horrible, you know, And losing a parent at any age is extremely difficult, but losing a parent as a kid is just like a whole another thing. That's just you know, very sad. And you know it was I was in heavy grief. When I was little, really feeling like when I would do fun stuff, like my mom took my my aunt took me to the supermarket to buy, you know, toys,

I would be like, Katie should be here. She would love these toys. Like everything made me mad. And when we went to live with my aunt after the accident, and my aunt um would cut sandwiches, but she would leave the cross on. I was like, no, my mom cuts the cross off. Do it like my mom? You know. It was just mad and heavy grief, too much for a child, you know, And you were four years old,

and yet you remember so much. You talk about looking at Mary and having her sort of fall apart, your older sister h in the hospital, and it's it's amazing to me how how vivid those memories are for you still. Yes, they are so vivid and stuff you'll never forget. And it is interesting because it's such a you know, I remember that. I remember people coming into the hospital. Nobody would tell us what was going on. I was like, where is my mom? Where's Katie? And and then yeah,

I thought, well Mary will be my guide posts. But she was just so upset and looking out the window and you know, crying, and so it was just like I was like, where is my mom and where is Katie? And nobody's telling us what's going on. They're just bringing us all these presents, and we just had our beds filled with toys, and I was just like, uh, must have been so confusing too, just for a little four year old girl to even attempt to process everything that

was happening. It must have been so overwhelming. And this was, of course, you talk about a different time where people weren't that conscious about drinking and driving and all the things that were aware of today. They also weren't that knowledgeable about green and about processing grief and helping kids with grief. And I think in many ways we still aren't,

of course. You know. I think about my girls who were six in and two when they lost their dad after a nine month illness, so kind of a different set of circumstances and six and ten, you six and two, six and two so little. So yeah, of course I relate to them, you know. And did you I know that you've you've talked about going to therapy, but this was much later when you went and and and talked about these issues. Did you get any help, any kind of counseling as a little girl to help you deal

with this. No, I did not have any counseling. And I think people were like, don't talk about it, I'll make her sad, you know, And teachers didn't know what to do, and you know, nobody talked about you know, people didn't talk about it, and I think I didn't. I probably didn't want to talk about it because I think you don't want to stand out in school. You don't want to feel different. You want to just blend in and be normal. You know. It's so true. That's

what kids do. They want to be normal. They don't want to have they don't want to be different than the other kids. And it's interesting when Ellie, Ellie's dad

was sick, because Carrie was just so little. Ellie was in kindergarten and I I had this social worker come in and do this thing called the worry cup, and everybody put one of those plastic sort of fake gemstones into this cup in the middle of the circle and they all talked about what they were worried about, and what it did is Ellie obviously said she was worried

about her dad who was sick. But other people said, I'm worried about my grandmother, I'm worried that my dog is going to die, and I'm worried about this that or the other thing. But it basically it made it made Ellie's pain and anxiety. It normalized it because it showed that she wasn't alone and that other kids were really worried about things too. And I remember her teacher telling me it was one of the most profound experiences

she had ever had as a teacher. But you know, there obviously that wasn't around when you were a little girl, and you just were Obviously people didn't know what to say, and you just felt weirder and weirder. I'm sure, yeah, I although I did have a priest at St. Thomas who did when we moved back to our family home after my dad recuperated. We lived in my aunt for a year, and we did have a family priest when we went to church one day who knelt down and

acknowledged the loss. He was like, no, Molly, you've lost your mother and your baby sister, and this is very sad. And he held my hands and looked deep into my eyes, and I really appreciated it. I was like, I felt seen mean and understood, and I was so happy he said something, and I just I loved him for it. He had big, thick eyebrows and and irish brogue. I was like, you know, I just I loved Father Murray

for for that. You know, did your dad talk about it much or was he sort of of the school let's not bring it up because it'll make Molly and Mary sad. He had a picture of her by his bedside night table, with her in her wedding dress with a rosary draped over the photographs. So I grew up always seeing that in her mask card. And he would

talk about her, yes. And when he would clean the house, you know, he was a single father after that, so he would he would get stressed out cleaning and and then you know, he would take sometimes he would take Dexi mill to clean the house, a combination and embeeming and tranquilizer. He would stay cleaning and clean all the next thing in the house was sparkling, clean and even play Judy Garland. And then we would sit on the

floor in the kitchen on the carpet. It was like nineteen's kitchen and we would eat He's like, don't get crumbs on the ground. But we would be like angel of God, my guardian, dear to whom God's love commits us here. God bless Mommy, Katie and France. Every day we did that every every day. Yeah, so he kept their memory alive for you and your sister. He really did. And he would talk about her, and yes he did,

he did. Yes, yes, he would talk about We'll be right back with the ever Charmie often hilarious, Molly Shannon, right after this, your dad sounds like such a character, um, not only taking speed to do the housework, but also also just how much funny was. And you describe him as as your mama June, you know, and and um, tell me a little bit about him, because he sounds like he was so much fun to be around. He really was. He was just like very silly. He was

a frustrated performer. He always said that he wished he would have gone to the Cleveland Playhouse and been an actor. So everything around the house like it was like games. Or if you went to the candy store like staffers on Stopain Boulevard and Cleveland. O, how he go, Molly, how about if we go into candy store and I'll putend like I'm blind, and I was like okay, Like everything was like a scene or a sketch. And he would knock boxes of chocolates over and then he would

take samples and go, is this chocolate? Like very silly? And then um. He would also undress the mannequins or he would if a lot of times he didn't want to pay because he worried about money. So if we went to the amusement park Giaga Lake, he would say to Anne Rampton, you know, I'll tell you what. Why don't you speak around the back and hop over the fence and then come meet me in the front. So

I don't want to pay for you. So we were like, you know, we're like eleven and ten or eleven, and we climb over and hop over barbed wire fence and get scratched, and then he wouldn't have to pay, you know. Um. But then he could equally turn and get mad too, Like he would have to take us to you know, get us our clothes for school. And we went to this local place called the Lollipop Shop, and my dad was buying dresses. You know, he had very good taste.

He was like, classics are the best. He bought all the dresses to the counter and then the woman said, oh no, I'm sorry. He had pulled him off the sales rap sales rack. She said, no this, these dresses aren't on sale, and he was like what. Then he would kind of blow up and like, well, that's false advertising, and he would go and knock all the clothes down off the rack, one rack, two racks, and push the racks over. Then come on, girls, and then he would

like you weren't mortified. We were mortified, And then he would hurl an insult at the sales person like on the way out, like and fix your teeth. Come on girls, you know, like terrible. We'd be like, oh no, yeah, so um yes. So he was charismatic and funny, but then he could also you know, get stressed out and with all responsibilities of shopping and cleaning and cooking and

you know, um. But but overall though, he was very loving and I felt like he always had my back and he believed in me and you know, accepted me. So you know, I wanted to tell a real, you know, truthful portrait. It was, yeah, sometimes complicated, but I had deep love for my father, and was he the one that encouraged your theatrical creative side, Molly? How did that blossom? And how did he? Um, gosh, I guess nurture that? Well?

He was he He loved movies. We grew up watching Judy Garland and Easter Parade and Rously and Russell, and he loved those strong dames. So I grew up watching them thinking oh, maybe I should be like them. And then we were always doing skits in the house. We

would do like a telephone game. I call it the Gym Shannon School of Acting, where we would take phone calls and my dad we had to be really real, so I would answer the phone, Hello, Shannon rests his Molly, and you go, no, no, that sounds fake, or you would start the call like you you want to uh huh yeah, And so you had to do it really real, so much to the point where when friends were over,

we would fake ring the call. And if say you were at my house and I was, you know, Katie's over for a play date, I'd be like, hello, Shannon rests Molly. Yeah, yeah, Katie's right here. Uh huh yeah, right, okay, yes, I can put it on you know, I'm trying to pull you in so much that we could really trick our friends. And I really do use that acting technique now.

I used it in White Lotus. I always try to use the Gym Shannon School of acting in my you know, professional Well, how does that how does that translate to like the roles you're playing the Gym Shannon School because you it gives a natural performance. It does give it not It's not like some caricature. It's real. So if you're playing you know, like Kitty and White Lotus, I'm not doing like and Darla and come over here. I'm doing Oh he's so cute. I'm doing it real. But

she's making it real. But she's that type of person. But I still hope to do it grounded and real. I'm not doing I mean that is from my dad. It wasn't that interesting. And then and then in l A, I remember struggling and I was like, oh, it's so hard. I'm not blonde and beautiful. I'm never gonna make it. He was like, well that's not a good attitude, Molly. You're never gonna make it if you have that attitude.

And he's like, what you need to do is you know, put on your high heels, doll yourself up, put on some lipstick, and you march in there to those Hollywood agents and casting directors and you say, hey, hold the phone, I got talent and use your singing voice. And I was like, okay, I don't know if that's gonna work. But when I had my first meeting with a talent manager, Barbara Jarrett in um New York City, who represented an up and coming freckle faced Jerry O'Connell, and stand by me,

I did do that. I sang the song Chica Go, Chica Go. I sang at Judy Garland song like my dad liked. And I got up on the desk and Barbara Jarrett was like, you got a kid, and she signed me and I was up. You know. So it's like his advice work. Did you call your dad and say, hey it worked, dad, I did. He knew it. He was like I told you, you know, he was always like, all yourself up, jump on the desk, and usually you know, and use your voice. Is that what he said exactly?

He did use your singing voice. Yes, that's so funny. I know, it's so crazy. Um, so I have to ask you about there was a time in Cleveland when when you hopped on a plane wearing with a friend wearing ballet to twos after your dad dared you, Yes, my dad dared us. He said, you know what would be the greatest stunt if you hopped on a lane, boy, that would bind you up in the front pages of the papers, and so and and I one summer day,

right before Labor Day, decided to do it. We told my dad, I think we told her brother and he was like, we're never gonna get do that. And we we took the rapid transit out to the airport Cleveland, hopping at the airport, and we figured if the hopping on the plane didn't work, we would go take a ballet class. Yeah. Anne was eleven, I was thirteen. So we had pink leotards on, our hair pulled back in buns, and um pink skirt and pink tights and we looked

like a little innocent prima ballerina's. And we went to the airport and we saw two flights, one to San Francisco, went to New York. And I was like, let's go to New York. We just went up to the gate. This is before security. This is nineteen seventy six, and uh, we just said to the Sertis committee, get on and just go. Say goodbye to my sister. She's on the flight. She was like, oh sure, you sweet girls, go ahead.

And then we went and the plane was and I crowded, and we ducked down in the seat and then um the plane start. She forgot about. The plane starts backing up and then going towards the runway and we were like, oh god. We start saying Hail Mary's were like, Hail Mary for the gracefulders wip me, blessed our the almost blessed frough them justicing room to go, and then the planes up in the air and we couldn't believe it.

And then that same woman came around to ask us for our drink orders, and she looked like she was in shot. She was like, and I getting lady something to drink. And we were the coat Galipinus. And then we had the best flight. Then we when we landed, we thought we're gonna get busted, and we're walking down the aisle and then we got to the front of the plane. We see that same stewardess and she just

went fie, ladies, have a nice trip. She was in like a like a she was she looked like she was about to So what what did you all do? Then we went and we asked people, you know, how do you get So we were at JFK. We didn't know anything about New York City. I just said, well, we had to get to the to the subway station in the airport. So we walked. We were just like, how do you get to the subway? And that We walked for twenty minutes and then we topped the turnstile.

We only had a few dollars, and then we went and we dined and Dash had a little diner, and then we went and we stole I Love New York t shirts and and we just were tooling around the streets of New York like how did you get home? We called my dad and then he was like, oh my god, we're like we're in New York. And he was like he couldn't believe it, and he couldn't be mad at us since he'd given us permission, so he uh,

he was like, oh my god, oh my god. And then he called anne rams mom and she immediately broke out in cold sores. And she was like, oh my god. And then my dad thought, well, maybe Mary and I will drive to New York City from Cleveland and meet you. So he called a couple of hotels to see if we could wait in the lobby till he got there, and they no hotel wanted to be responsible. They wanted

an adult with a credit card. So he was like, all right, well you gotta come back home, and you know, come back home tonight and you know, try to hop on a plane back home. I'm not paying for it. So we went back to the airport and we tried to help on three and it didn't work. He kept getting caught, and then we called him and he put it on his credit card and we eventually had to pay him back with our babysitting money. But it was the greatest day ever. That is such a funny story.

I'm surprised you haven't used that in a movie or done a skit about that. Yeah, I know I've told the story orally, but it's just it's crazy. And I'm still very close to Anne Ramped, the girl in the story. More with Molly in just a minute. I know that when you were at n y U you had a very formative experience. That kind of I think opened your eyes and simultaneously opened doors as well. Can you tell us about that in your final project? N y U

Drama School was great. Uh. Yeah. We had to do the exercise where it was like where you have to be the our Laquino and it was the only grade for the semester, and students were renting out warehouses to practice their and our Laquino is basically like the comic relief in the Italian uh theatrical experiences. It comes out

he's the clown. And I'm thinking, oh my gosh, you're renting out at warehouse to practice your arloquino and I hadn't done that, and it was getting closer to and and I think for the for the class, maybe only two people have performed the ar laquino for the class because they were just like a long, kind of long routine and you had to sew a fake penis with the sock because it's a boy character. That part was fun.

I was like, I sewed up my little fake penis, but but I did not practice at all, and then the day came right to perform and I was like, oh god, I'm so scared. Um. I knew that they wanted beats of three, like you had to if you did a gimmick like come through the jory had to try once, try twice and then you know, you know, maybe you you know, and then the third time you succeed. So there had to beat jokes with beats of three and but and you had to make a long story short,

I just went crazy. I just committed with my full heart because I figured, you know this, this is a big comic performance, and I think I know what this is. I think it just has to be spontaneous and big and broad and take chances. And I just went crazy and I used the acting teacher. I kind of improvised in character as you are Lakino, kind of playing around with him and like you think you're such a big deal,

you big acting teacher. And the kids loved it. To make a long story short, the performance brought the house down. I fell in the trash can. I did beats of three,

I you know, came through the door. I did all the physical things and I got a standing ovation and it was like kind of a turning point, m YU where I was like, oh my gosh, maybe I'm onto something like this, you know, this kind of organic, um, big comedy performance where you stick with the basic beats but then let yourself be really free within those parameters. And I think I did use that years later on

Saturday Night Love. I know, like a lot of people, Molly, you didn't get the gig after your first audition, right, what happened? No SNL came around and they asked for a tape, and all these women in town very funny comedy when we're all making you know, five minutes VHS tapes, And I spent all my waitressing money on my tape

and had this editor do it. And I had no money after that, and I was I was on a pay phone outside of my apartment on the corner of Fountain and Vine across the Elpoyo Loco, when I found out that Lauren Michaels had passed or you know, I don't know if you ever saw it. And I cried on the pay phone and I I was broke and

and I was so disappointed. But then I thought, you know what, I'm just gonna take a deep breath, and I'm gonna continue to perform and write and do my stage show and write characters and developed more new characters so that if they come back around, I'm going to be locked and loaded and ready. And they came back around five years later and they said, can we have a tape again? And I said, no, I'm not getting

my tape. You gotta come see my live show and um, because I thought it teems too easy for them to say no. And Marcy Kleine flew out and saw my live show. She was like, you're coming to New York to audition for Saturday in It Live and so and the rest, as they say, is history. But during those five years, so you just stayed at it. You just did your show you wrote you did, but you also did something I guess, the ma'm at scam. M. Yes, well we were back during that period. That was before

I got Saturday in It Live. That was probably a little bit after drama school. My friend Eugene Pack and I were in l a Um having a really hard time getting agents. We would I would walk up and down, Sen said boulevards, slit my head shot under agent stores. Nobody was calling, and we thought we gotta figure something out. So we I called it the mam At Scam. We had studied with David Mammon at n y U You. Gene Peck studied with him more than me. I took

a few classes. But we just decided that we would uh call agents and um agents that we were interested in meeting. Like I wanted to meet the agent that represented Joan Cusack. I was like, that's somebody that might like comedy girls. So we did our research and we each had a list of people we wanted to meet. I wanted to meet Bernie Brillstein. I wanted to be on Twin Peaks, so I wanted to meet the cast

member of Twin Peaks. So so basically what we would do is we would Friday nights at about four o'clock, we would call different agents offices. My my character was Liszt Stockwell, Jean's fake Eugene's character was Arnold Katz, and I would call these agents and I would say, Hi, this is list Stockwell calling for X agent and UM listock Well from David Mammont's office, and they would put the agent right on the phone and I would say, listen, Barb or whatever. I have this kid in town. He's

the star of David d play. He's like the hot up and comer and you got to meet him. David speaks so highly of your agency, and they were like, squeep, please give David my best and um, we knew that the legendary playwright, uh screenwriter David Maammitt Gary Glenn Ross wasn't in a llay a lot. He was more of Vermont, New York, so we kind of knew there wouldn't be a cross check. So if people were excited, they were

excited to do that. David Maammont thinking about them Friday afternoon and they would say, great, you know, why don't you have Eugene call me and what's out at the appointment. But we had a rule since Eugene Pack and I had worked in sales together. We worked at Park Avenue Squash in Fitness in New York and we had a role we were selling health club memberships that you could not hang up the phone, so you had the credit card, you have to have sale. So we did the same

thing with the mam and skin. You couldn't hang up until you have the appointment in the book. So whatever obstacle there was, we had an answer. So they said, have have Eugene call me. Liz, I'd say, this kid is so busy, he's just meeting everyone, he's in rehearsal, So why don't we just get the appointment in the books. And then we would crack up with Jane would pass me a little notes and and then they would say great, you know, and then he'd have them meeting and then

they say, Liz, we should have lunch. I'd say, I love it. I'll have my assistant call you. I was just a positive gal, very positive, happy, so funny. And that's how we got in. And I got casts on Twin Peaks through the Mammit scam. Geane Pat called the legendary casting rictor Joanna Ray. She was like, I would love to meet Molly. Give David my best. And then she met me and she was like, you Twin Peaks, you must meet David Lynch and she cast me on

Twin Peaks. That was through Arnold Cats. I met Bernie brill See and Bernie was like, yeah, my best to David. You must meet my daughter Molly. You know nich I mean, so it was just like we met everyone did did they Did they ever find out it was a total scam? Um? No? Actually, now they'll know, yes, And now they'll know. Yes, um no, Joanna Ray does does know now and she was like, oh my god, that is so funny. She was just

such a wonderful cast regetter. But Katie, what I have to say is we felt like we're doining them like a favor to their meeting this talent. They're meeting talented, they're meeting us, yes, meeting us. And I feel like sometimes women do need to push the envelope a little to even out the biased playing field in Hollywood. Maybe more women need to do that sometimes. Yeah, they need a friend like Eugene. Really you need a partner in

crime because otherwise it's no fun, right, exactly exactly. I mean it was fun and people, it was very good energy and the brilliant David Man that people were delighted that he's on their mind. It was all very positive. You know, it's all very positive, lying right, yes, yes, yes, but you know you talk about Hollywood and kind of compensating for the bias that exists. I do feel like there are many more opportunities opening up where there weren't before.

But I'm curious about for for a woman as she gets older. You know, women used to be considered washed up by thirty right back in the day. And and do you feel like that's that's changing. I mean I could only speak for myself, I hope, so I just think, um, yeah,

it's it's interesting, like as far as comedy goes. I I remember being like, I really feel like I have to write for myself because I felt like if I'm just gonna be in these like boys shows, I'm going to be reduced to these like little parts of like yes, doctor or I don't not to make a generalization, but I felt like as a woman, I feel like if you could write, you should write for yourself. Um, it's going to be better if you can. But and I also feel like I never wanted to react against men.

I just wanted to be a woman or be a girl and right from a girl's point of view and such kind of like I can be like that, didn't. I don't think reacting against something is good. I think just come from within and be yourself. It's so exciting to see you and in a lot of these roles these days. Talk about some of the recent roles that you've had, because I'm always so delighted, Molly when I see you, and I think Oh, I'm so happy Molly is in this. So let's talk about some of the

roles that you've done in in recent years. Promising Young Woman, How was that? That was so fun? Emerald Fennel is so talented. I read that script and I was like, oh my god, this is so good. It's one of those things that just you close that script and I was like, I have to be in this movie. Um. Originally she offered me a different part that I couldn't do because the kids and my husband I were going to Tokey took a vacation. But then she gave me another part. Yes, I'm so excited to be in it.

She's so talented, and I was so happy to work with Mike White and White Lotus recently. That was such a blast. And Chris Kelly, who I do the other two with on HBO Max. And then Chris wrote a beautiful movie for me called Other People where I play. It's based on his mother who died of cancer, and uh, I play you know a wonderful part in that It's it's It's one of my favorite performances. And then Mike

White wrote movies for me like You're the Dog. I did Enlightened with Mike, a TV series with Lord Dern and My love that show. It's so good. Yeah, I played Mike White. Is on fire, isn't he? He's on fire? He is? He is. He takes chances. He's really like you know, it's funny too. When I was writing my book, Katie, he was like, Molly Vague, sentimental writing is not good writing. So you know, make it rich, don't make it big.

You know. He was really encouraging um. But yeah, he takes chances, and I think it's great because he ups the game and writing. You know, people are like, what you know, he really he's brave. Meanwhile, Molly Shannon, you have a new show on Showtime. Yes, show tell me it. Don't give it away, baby, Okay, great baby. It's called I Love That for you. And my character is Jackie Vanessa Bear created a show. It's about her childhood and

overcoming child with leukemia and um. Basically, I play the top saleswoman Jackie and it's it's all about the world of home shopping network and it's fantastic and premieres at the end of the month on Showtime. And Jennifer Lewis is in It's all great cast and uh and I love Vanessa too, by the way, And it's so exciting because I guess in some ways, when you leave SNL, you probably there's a part of you that thinks, is that all there is? My friend? Yeah, little Peggy Lee

there for you, Molly. I like that. I like what I mean. You probably worry, like what's going to be next? And you know, is this as good as it gets? Hype thing? Oh? Sure? Yeah, But I had to say getting that job so far exceeded my expectations for life that I was just like I could actually like freeze myself right there and just be so happy. Um, but yeah, you do worry about that. But I also really wanted a personal life and I didn't want my whole life to just be working. I wanted to have kids, and

so I I just love being a mom. So I am pretty laid back about that because my main focus is like my kids and acting as more secondary to me, and I think that gives that that's made it. Really I'm pretty relaxed because that's a great that's a great way to be in a great attitude to have because sort of it's the it's gravy, right, because You've got your priority straight. I met your daughter um at a party this past summer. Remember we ran into each other

where Chris Martin was singing. I think he was singing to me, Molly, I'm kidding. No, I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I'm kidding. Okay, But how are your how are your kids doing? My kids are so great. Stella is my eighteen year old. She's going to college. She wants to be an actress. I'm so proud of her. And my son Nolan is just fantastic seventeen. He's a amazing uh skate skater, surf He's gotten into surfing lately. He's very athletic and just adorable. And they are the apple of

my eye. And I think I really appreciate it so much because my mom didn't get to see us grow up. So I get to watch my kids grow up, and I just don't I really don't take it for granted. I'm like, this is the best, you know, Yeah, I'm really enjoying it. And I feel like you learned so much about yourself as a mom. You know, I really am enjoying it. I love learning and reading books and I try to become a better parent, and I tried

to work on myself and become better every day. I think the loss of your mom at such a young age, I think obviously has given you this Jouis d avive and and this appreciate ation of everything good in your life, which is a really wonderful thing. Thank you, Katie, It's true. Thank you. I appreciate you saying that. Yeah. Once again, a big thank you to Molly Shannon. Her new book is called Hello Molly, and it's out now. You can also capture on her new excellent TV show called I

Love That for You on Showtime. So until next time and my Next Question, I'm Katie Curry. Next Question with Katie Couric is a production of My Heart Media and Katie Couric Media. The executive producer's army Katie Curic and Courtney Litz. The supervising producer is Lauren Hansen, So see producers Derek Clements and Adriana Fasio. The show is edited and mixed by Derrek Clements. For more information about today's episode, or to sign up for my morning newsletter wake Up Call,

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