The Hulu series marks her first starring TV role in a scripted project since 'Inside Amy Schumer.'
Amy Schumer is making her anticipated return to TV in Life & Beth. The Hulu series, which debuted the first images and trailer, marks her first scripted project since starring on Inside Amy Schumer, which last aired in 2016, and follows a string of recent films, including The Humans and I Feel Pretty. Since then, the comedian has appeared in a number of standup specials and unscripted looks at her life out of the spotlight.
Life & Beth sees Schumer, who also wrote, directed and executive produced the series, as a woman named Beth doing her best -- living in Manhattan, working as a wine distributor and in a long-term relationship with her boyfriend -- before a sudden incident and subsequent loss turns her life upside down.
As she journeys back home, Beth revisits her past and realizes that she wants to drastically change her future while going on a “journey towards building a bigger, bolder and more authentic life.”
“Beth is based on a side of me,” Schumer said during the Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour, explaining how she is quite similar to the character. “One thing that surprises many people is that I’m an introvert. I feel supremely confident and also I do consider myself as someone with really low self-esteem.”
Schumer echoed that sentiment later, when she explained how they balanced the comedy and drama on the series. “It was really important to all of us to play it completely real and live it out truthfully,” she said. “Any show that evokes emotion and thought is worth people’s time. We wanted to make something special and grounded.”
Adding to that is some of the experiences that Schumer has gone through in real life, which have been channeled into the series. As seen in the trailer, when the doctor asks if Beth has any pre-existing conditions, she quips that she’s a woman.
“That’s a very loaded statement,” Schumer said, explaining that “women have been such an afterthought in everything.” She added, “I had hyperemesis. When I was pregnant, I had endometriosis. There’s no studies on any of that… You can look at it in that way.”
Rounding out the ensemble cast is Michael Cera, Susannah Flood, Violet Young, Kevin Kane, Yamaneika Saunders, Laura Benanti, Larry Owens, Michael Rapaport, Rosebud Walker and LaVar Walker.
All 10 episodes of Life & Beth debut March 18 on Hulu.
RELATED CONTENT
