Thursday, March 28, 2024

TV Titan Chuck Lorre & Michael Douglas to Explore Love, Loss and the ‘Decay of Flesh’ in New Netflix Series

Chuck Lorre and Michael Douglas of ‘The Kominsky Method’ speak onstage during Netflix TCA 2018 at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on July 29, 2018, in Beverly Hills, California.

*Fans of Academy Award winners Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin, get ready for a comedy adventure starring these two acclaimed performers about love, loss and the “decay of flesh,” courtesy of Netflix.

“The Kominsky Method” centers on once-famous actor Sandy Kominsky (Douglas) and his longtime friend/agent Norman Newlander (Arkin). Together, they attempt to navigate the youth and beauty-obsessed culture of Los Angeles in their later years of life. The single-camera comedy series hails from sitcom titan Chuck Lorre (“The Big Bang Theory,” “Two and a Half Men”) and the first season, which consists of eight episodes, will be released on Friday, Nov. 16.

“I just love the fact that Chuck finds aging a humorous process and he’s given me new insight and new philosophy, said Douglas during the streaming service’s portion of the Television Critics Association summer press on July 29.  “We talk a lot about prostates on this show,” Mr. Lorre added.

“The show began with my desire to write about what  I’m living, which is getting older. And entropy and the dissolution of form, the decay of the flesh and it has to be funny, otherwise it’s heartbreaking,” he said. “And there’s loss of loved ones and how it affects your relationships and friendship and how you respond to a culture that feels like it’s moving away from you. So that was the impetus for the show, to do all  that and hopefully — and have some comedy involved.”

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Chuck Lorre and Michael Douglas of ‘The Kominsky Method’ speak onstage during Netflix TCA 2018 at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on July 29, 2018, in Beverly Hills, California.
(Source: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images North America)

Mr. Douglas didn’t hesitate to accept the role of Sandy Kominsky, as comedy is something “I  don’t normally get a chance to do often in a format like Netflix,” he said during TCA.

“It was a  great opportunity and having a chance to do a series like this with Chuck and Alan has been really a treat,” he added. “ I got  this script from Chuck Lorre, who I’m  just a tremendous fan of in all of his  series, going back to “Dharma and Greg”, “Two  and a Half Men” and even earlier than that, and  then “The Big Bang Theory” was something my family  and I really enjoyed. So when the script came to me,  just to take a look at it, and it was just great, great writing, and I thought what a wonderful opportunity. Here’s a  chance to play some comedy, which I don’t normally get a chance  to do that often in a format like Netflix, streaming, where there  are no commercials and it’s a 25 to 35-minute movie.”

For years, Mr.  Lorre has craft successful comedies that introduce subjects many people might not initially find funny, so when a reporter asks Chuck if “aging” is the one thing you can’t do on broadcast TV, he explained: “ I  don’t know. I didn’t even try to take it to broadcast TV. I  really wanted an opportunity to tell this story in the Netflix universe,  where we did it without commercial breaks, where there were no time constraints.  You have no idea what a joy it is to not worry that it’s too long and you have to cut things that you really care about because — I think a network show is now under  22 minutes and the pilot of “Kominsky” was 32,” he said. “And what a luxury to not have the time of the story determined by an arbitrary number, really. I mean, Netflix says, “Make it the  best episode possible, and that’s the time limit.”

Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin

Fans wondering if these men are taking on this project because they want to embody the fears of men at a certain point in life, Douglas had this say about that: “I’m just attracted to the foibles. I  think one of the things that really attracted me to  “Kominsky Method” and to Chuck is stories that fluctuate between comedy, and tragedies, and difficulties.  And I think that’s one of the unique qualities of all the shows that Chuck has done that I find really kind of unique here. But I read the newspapers and follow stuff, so I can’t say I’m picking the issues or themes. But I do try to pick pictures or projects that resonate with me or have some things that I can understand, and  I certainly understand Sandy Kominsky and some of the stuff that he’s going through,” he explained.

When a reporter asks Chuck about his style and process for writing punchlines, the award-winning creator, executive producer and writer explained,  “I do appreciate that getting an audience to truly laugh, not a mercy laugh, not the chuckle, but a real laugh — is a wonderful  thing, to be able to get it done. But there are so many more opportunities in making a small film to change the tempo, change the rhythm, change the balance of comedy to pathos to just have a moment be there and trust it, and trust in silence too. There’s not a  lot of silence in a four-camera show and there’s no scoring. There’s no underscore. You don’t put music in a four-camera show, you wouldn’t.  I needed to learn a lot in a hurry, in order to make this adjustment.”

“The Kominsky Method” marks Lorre’s second series with Netflix, following the Kathy Bates pot comedy “Disjointed.”

 

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