Chicago Party Aunt marries a wild idea for a Twitter account to the tried and true formula of Netflix animation series for adults. The new comedy, which premieres September 17 on the streaming platform, follows the hard-partying ways of Diane (Lauren Ash) as she gets herself into messes with the most well-meaning of hearts.
Ash spoke to Screen Rant about her own history with the parody account, the heart beneath Diane’s heathen ways, and which superstar she’d kill to have on the show.
Screen Rant: How familiar were you with Chris Witaske's Chicago Party Aunt parody Twitter account?
Lauren Ash: You're going to love this story. That account started and, very early days, it followed me on Twitter. I, of course, read some of the tweets, and I was like, "This is hysterical." I lived in Chicago for a few years when I was doing the Second City main stage there, so I was like, "Okay, clearly, this is somebody I know."
I started writing a DM saying, "Unmask yourself. Who are you?" and I deleted it because I loved the tweets so much that I went, "Don't ruin the magic for yourself. Try and pretend like it's a real lady."
So, no joke, I didn't find out until my dear friend Jon Barinholtz revealed that he was working on this show, Chicago Party Aunt, inspired by Chris Witaske's Twitter feed - also with Katie Rich. I died laughing. I screamed because of course, I know all of them from my time in Chicago. It was just the best reveal. After all this time of me, an adult, tricking myself into believing Santa was real. I just felt like he captured her voice so well that I was like, "I'm going to pretend she's a real lady." And now she kind of is!
For as wild and raunchy as Diane is, she has a really good heart at her core. What were some of the qualities that you wanted to bring to Diane that weren't necessarily on the page?
Lauren Ash: I think the big thing is they did a really great job of writing all of these characters. I've got to tell you, being able to balance the super funny - the stuff that really made me clutch my pearls a little bit, the comedy that kind of pushes the envelope - with the heart that's in this show is not easy. Being able to tonally shift and have both feel earned and real and organic, I think is amazing.
But I think for me, it was really exploring those acting moments and the opportunities that were written for me, where we did get to see Diane perhaps be a little bit more emotional or have those moments of introspection. I really pushed it, and it was so lovely because everyone was so open to seeing how I was going to play those moments. I'm always of the mindset of, "Just try something. What's the worst?" They're probably going to either tell you, "No, do something else," or it might work. And this was a great exercise in that.
Especially in the more poignant moments, I was really trying to infuse it with some real acting, which was great. I was very lucky that they were so receptive to some of my stronger choices.
A lot of those moments come with your nephew, Daniel (Rory O'Malley), who's amazing. Can you talk to me about their relationship throughout the course of the series?
Lauren Ash: What I think is amazing is that Diane and Daniel are probably the quintessential odd couple. We have a lady who is of a certain age, who's a hard-partying, life of the party that does not care what anyone thinks of her. Then we have her 18-year-old gay nephew, who is very unsure of himself, self-conscious, so sweet and lovely, but also shy and unsure of how to fit in the world. I think we meet them at a very interesting time because although Diane is all of those things, she has some similarities to Daniel.
Over the course of the season, I love getting to see their friendship grow and how they're kind of learning from one another. As much as Daniel needs to learn how to not really care what other people think of him, which Diane is the best teacher at, I think Diane also goes on a little bit of a journey into realizing who she is and what her place is in the world a little bit better. The relationship between the two of them is just so lovely and beautiful.
I keep saying that I think people are going to come to this show for the comedy, but they're going to stay for the heart. And that relationship is really the pinnacle of that.
Can you talk to me about Diane's new boss Gideon? RuPaul is amazing on this show.
Lauren Ash: Oh my gosh, I know. Gideon, of course, is Diane's brand-new boss from New York - which she has some fairly strong opinions about. Voiced by RuPaul, who is so amazing on this show, I can't even stand it. I love the relationship between those two as well. The adversaries that, over time, we see them trying to find common ground - sometimes maybe succeeding a little and often failing at finding the common ground. But it is such a joy to get to play off of that performance.
All of the performances on this show are so spectacular, it really is unbelievable. And him as that character - it's so funny because I know RuPaul, and it sounds like RuPaul. But now when I hear RuPaul's voice anywhere, I just think of Gideon. I close my eyes and I see the cartoon of Gideon.
I just love that the relationship between the two of them so much, and I think people are really going to love him being that foil to Diane's character on the show.
"Stay positive but test negative" and "If life gives you lemons, turn that into Mike's hard lemonade," are iconic lines. What are some of your favorite Diane quotes?
Lauren Ash: I mean, those are pretty up there. It's so hard to remember, because a) there's so many, and b) they all start to blur. I'm like, "What did we record last? What did we record recently?" There's so many things, and everything that she says and does is hilarious to me.
I think for me, there's a moment early on where - and this isn't necessarily a quote, but to me this sums her up. She goes to visit Bonnie [Jill Talley], her sister, to talk to her about something. Daniel, Bonnie's son, was at the door and she has a cigarette. She hands it to Daniel and goes, "Finish this off for me, sweetie," as she goes into the house. You learn so much about Diane in that moment.
That to me is what's so brilliant about how that moment plays. You've learned that this is a woman who has a heart of gold, has the best intentions, but just misses the mark. She wants the best for people; she is loyal to the point that she would step in [front of] a bus for her family members, especially her nephew. But, yeah, often she's a little off. The execution isn't always there.
Which famous Chicagoan would you like to see on the show that isn't there already?
Lauren Ash: This is so tough because there's so many that I'm like, "Wow, am I spoiling something?"
There's so many Chicago Second City people, and for me being someone who came up through that world - that is kind of the pinnacle. The Chicago Second City is what it's all about.
I know this person is not from Chicago, but I think we could maybe claim them to Chicago: maybe Oprah Winfrey, I feel it would be a great option. I would love to how would Diane react to Oprah? Does she think Oprah's amazing? Or does she think Oprah is kind of overrated? I think it could be a hilarious episode to get to see her being like, "She's not so great." Then, of course, over the episode, she learns that she is great. "I can't fight it. I don't want her to be so amazing, but everything she touches literally turns to gold."
Chicago Party Aunt is now available to stream on Netflix.
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