Lisa Kudrow

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0:20Lennie Ware: It lets me leave It's Mr. Right

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1:10Lennie Ware: Hello and welcome to Table Manners. I'm Jessi Ware and we are in spring. Here we are. daffodils all around sun shining very exciting i love it i'm quite tired and my eye is twitching a lot why are you tired darling anything on with you no no just haven't got a record coming out um but no i but my eyes twitching so sorry for the people on youtube because i'm i'm gonna look like i'm winking to this guest a lot um we are so excited forget the intro let's just launch straight into the guest just wonder who she loves more phoebe or valerie i have to say i think I think I love Valerie each generation more.

1:49Lennie Ware: Lisa Kudrow is coming on Table Manners to talk about the third season of The Comeback. It's on HBO Max and I've binged it. Yeah. And I'm completely mad about it. This is a series that started in, I think, 2005. It's had stops and stops. It's kind of been every decade. So the next season was in 2015, I think. And the new season, 2026. Yeah. with her and it's really fascinating to watch it's about a sitcom actress that has this kind of fly on the wall documentary crew following her while she is also making a comeback into sitcom tv and and it's really really brilliant and she's amazing just go and get your guitar out smelly cat i mean not just smelly cat you know i also watch like a youtube of 50 minutes of phoebe guitar songs.

2:47Lennie Ware: I have to say, quite a lot of the chords are the same, and I want to ask her about actually playing the guitar. Get the guitar. Where is your guitar? I don't know, mum. Go and get it, darling. Anyway. Just one round of smelly cat, we can all sing. I have been on the cooking. I haven't made this recipe, so I'm slightly worried because apparently Lisa Kudrow is quite a good chef so however I do trust this chef Ed Smith Peckish rocket and squash on uh Instagram he's got a new cookbook called Peckish out and it's just all about chicken and I've gone for satar chicken thighs with butter bean puree and chopped salad right then on pudding we've both done something we thought maybe she should try banana bread from the wares um after the disparaging remarks from her david trimmer her co-star alex the doctor didn't make this banana bread no so mummy mummy the mummy mummy is that what we're calling them mother mother mother made this one okay you're also talking about yourself in the third wow you've changed learning yeah um okay and then i got given this at a drag bar in new york oh last week by a lovely person why did they I'll give it to you, darling.

4:04Lennie Ware: Because he made the book. Oh, right, okay. And he thought I needed a cookie cookbook. And did you? Well, Vaughan, Vaughan Freeland. Thank you. Yeah, I've done three cookies out of it so far. So today, we heard that Lisa really likes a chocolate cookie. So we've done a kind of Nutella chocolate cookie. Oh, you can't go wrong. But then we were like, yeah, but maybe we can just try something else. And I say we because my sweet Rosie helped me with them. we've done this gotchichang is it gotchichang? yeah I thought it was gua-chang I think it's gotchichang is it gotchichang? we could both be wrong and I'm sorry about that I have no idea a gotchichang I think it's gotchichang John Chereau uses a lot of that John Chereau uses gotchichang anyway we've got a chewy cookie so we've got a couple so we've got a lot of sweet stuff Lisa Kudrow coming up on Tadamama's

5:07Lennie Ware: Lisa Kudrow, thank you for being here. Hi, thanks for having me. Oh, really? Yeah. Well, that's good. Absolutely thrilled. Oh, thanks. One of those guests, when we've said who's coming on the podcast, everyone's gone, Lisa Kudrow. Oh, yeah. You're a big deal. You're a very big deal. We have to just acknowledge the, well, it was an accidental elephant in the room, but the fact that you just asked to use the bathroom and I took you to the you know the family bathroom and which is nice thank you so welcome that's private stuff no you're very welcome but I didn't hide something that you just pointed out I know but why why would you need to hide it looks like I'm gonna like friends on it because I'm like gonna misery you or something and like lock you here forever can I tell you the whole time I've been here everyone has been And I'm so sorry, but can we talk about friends?

5:58Is that an okay subject to talk about? Yes. What do people put you through? You know, like you may not ask me about my professional life. And that's why everyone's here.

6:12Lennie Ware: No one told us not speak about friends. But I did get for my, basically for people that don't know what just happened in the loo, you were having a wee and you looked to your right. Yeah, no, I told her. Okay. Yeah, but you don't have to go into detail. You know when you're out, actually. Well, because, yeah, I was sitting there, and, you know, it takes a minute to get comfortable. Yeah, yeah. Even to pee. Yeah. Right. And so I'm just sort of, all right, looking around. Sorry. Oh. Oh, don't worry. Life happens. The police. Yeah. And I'm looking around, and there's, it's something, it looks, it says, oh, it's a smelly cat.

6:45And it has the friend's lettering. Yeah. I'm like, what is that, I wonder? And then it's cat-shaped bath beads. Yeah.

6:53Lennie Ware: That's so adorable. I don't know if they smell good or not, actually. I hope they do. We should knock one open in a minute. But, I mean, it's like knock-off merch, basically. Right. So I feel like you are very welcome to have a bath with your smelly cat and bath oils later if you want. Thanks. My first question looking at them was, I wonder if they give you a rash. You know, like some, like, really cheap bath beads. Yes. You know. No, they were. Irritate your skin. They were a stocking filler for my daughter. And who loves cats. Who loves cats. And doesn't yet know about friends. Okay. I feel like when do you think it's the right age to start?

7:24Lennie Ware: 20. Okay. No, I don't know. How old is she? She's nine. Yeah. I don't know. You know. When did you, has your son watched it? He watched it in junior high because the other kids were talking about it. And he didn't, he wasn't that interested. He watched it just like, okay, so he knows what they're talking about. But he hasn't seen all of it. I mean, yeah. I mean, the majority of the world has. But yeah, I guess why would he want to watch his mom every day when he can just... Well, he genuinely wasn't interested. Right. He really wasn't. And he has a girlfriend now who's fantastic. Oh, great. Yeah, yeah.

8:01They're in love. They've actually been together a couple years. She had no idea who I was because she never watched Friends. She didn't like 90s sitcoms.

8:12Lennie Ware: Well, that's quite a strong opinion. Yeah. No, but... And did you love her for this? He did. He was so relieved. you know yeah yeah he was at your premiere for the comeback wasn't he he was because he's in the comeback which which episode is he in four he starts okay i haven't seen four yet oh okay he starts in four okay yeah four in season three yes yeah okay so i've only seen one episode of season three he's the grown man young man who's yeah turns out to be the ai guy evan how was it acting opposite your son it was great okay that's good I mean and we were both after the first take you know that we did together we went oh my god he said oh my god you were Valerie and I was Evan and it was not even weird I said I know me too oh that's great but later on in a take for that same scene like Lisa crept in and went but he looks like Julian don't you think oh it is it is you know ah and then I had to send myself away and get back into the scene did you like give him any tips because I mean you're like an exec on it you write it you like so this is how I'd like you to play Evan no I mean Michael and I wrote it for him right because we wanted that character to be just like a sweetness coming out of him like a goodness and um I was like maybe that It feels like Julian.

9:44And Michael went, yes, Julian, yes. And, yeah, so all I did was tell him, we're writing something for you. And when I told him what it was, he's like, sweet nerd. And he went, oh, that's like ground zero for me. Great. That's exciting. Is he an actor? Yeah, he really is. I mean, he always wanted to be a director and writer. And then it turned out he could act. And, you know, we just went, okay, you go for all of it. Let's see which door opens first. How old does he now? 27. 27.

10:16Lennie Ware: And when did you all discover that he could act? What was the show or the scene that really got you? He was in a play in high school. And he was, it's a really intense play, The Laramie Project. Okay. Uh-huh. About someone in America. Matthew Shepard was killed by other kids because he was gay. and in this production all the kids in his high school and by the way there are a lot of like actors kids and directors kids in this production right do you live in los angeles yeah right yeah and um they all had multiple parts and sort of there was like a not competition but well how come he has 11 parts and i only have 10 parts sort of thing and julian had one part He was the driver of the car, so he didn't actually kill Matthew Shepard.

11:12It's based on a real thing. But he was the driver of the car and really felt terrible. So he's on stage the entire time in an orange jumpsuit and cuffs at the trial. and everyone you know was sort of like you know but I should have 11 roles and I should have 10 roles and oh so one role is is that bad you only have one role and I'm thinking it's actually much better because you're on stage the whole time listening and then at the end there's a monologue he is doing such a great listening he's really listening and he's well you know what's going on in his head and he delivers this monologue my husband and i start boohooing so loud because that's our son and he was it made us so sad yeah that's not my alarm that's that's just

12:10Lennie Ware: making annoying that's um yeah because i guess like look you're his parents and you'd be thrilled to see him do whatever he wanted but was that but he was good yeah but were you a bit like there's a bit of me and that yeah like yeah better than me oh and and then in college he had to do something because he was in a program you know you have film school you know at usc and um a directing class and then it was covet so they had to be the actor too and self-tape and do stuff and um he did a monologue from the normal heart um which is a phenomenal play do you know it yeah you know it yeah and um this and he was really good and a lot of good actors have played that part and he really made it his own and my husband and I saw that and went okay yeah yeah he should probably pursue this too right so he did four four years do you do you acting classes and stuff do you get to um where do you go for your theater do you go to New York for like trips to theater do you like going to the theater I don't you don't oh Oh, I guess because we were talking about plays, I thought maybe you went.

13:22I know.

13:23Lennie Ware: Is that just because you don't like it? I didn't. Do you live in New York? I live in L.A. So there's not a lot of theater. There's not that much theater there. But here, I don't know how this is going to come off, but it's the truth. You know, if you're bored in a play and you can leave. Yeah. I can't. Okay, yeah, fair enough. I can't. are you the type of person that walks out of a cinema then you can kind of get away with it in the cinema you sit at the back i could i don't i haven't been in a long time because of this anxiety that you would get judged if you left yeah we're slightly obsessed with theater aren't we yeah and i yeah but i we've always gone a lot i can't imagine that well i can now but i guess i We're very British and we just suffer and stay.

14:15Lennie Ware: Yeah. Mm-hmm. And I could do that. You could have a little nod off. Alice loves to nod off. I nod off. She just constantly. Oh, no, my husband does. And also, if I have to go with him, I'm definitely not going. Why? Because he's a rude theater audience member. So then you have to be extra. Audience member. Well-behaved. Yes. Yeah. And then I can barely pay attention because I'm so aware of him, you know, doing like,

14:46falling asleep. I'm just so aware. No. Well, I was thinking that your son was in your tummy when you had a big part and he was written in. A pregnancy was written in. So he's been acting in utero. Yeah, kind of. He was really. He was. He acted very nicely. He was really a nice fetus. He was. member of the team he was did he jump out or no he just was moved yeah very smoothly and like if he ever like stuck his elbow out i would just gently rub it and it just came right back in so nice isn't that nice yeah lovely yeah can i just ask about because friends is kind of the

15:33Lennie Ware: was kind of like the end of the live it was like a live in front of a live audience so i guess you were kind of doing theater every night kind of kind of yeah but you know what i think it goes back to the early days and in la you know it wasn't like great shows were coming maybe to the bigger theaters but i couldn't afford to go to those but there were a lot of plays that weren't great that you know friends wrote you got to come see it okay and oh yeah it was a little painful so I think it's that and just feeling trapped what I want to know basically I in anticipation for you coming on I hadn't watched the comeback and I have missed out for two decades because it's amazing thank you Valerie Cherish and I don't know what this says about me whether I'm a narcissist but I saw a bit of me in Valerie in some of those awkward situations like the red carpets where like the publicist is trying to get the shot with Juna and it's just, and she's got the dress on back to front.

16:36Lennie Ware: I wore a dress back to front on Graham Norton. I didn't know it was the wrong way. Right. Yeah, that's why we did that. It's so good. Because people do that. Yeah. But like. Yeah. No, but everybody, everybody thought, oh God, I think that's me. And some people thought I was actually making fun of them. Okay. Like really great actresses like would come up to me somewhere. It's like your show is, makes me really uncomfortable because is um is that me like no of course that's not you I don't know you no it's a composite of no is it because we're all narcissists I it's not I don't I object to the word narcissist in this case I don't think that's it I think we're all terrified that what we think we're covering which we do every day sort of little like uh-oh did I just or I really want to go over you know and then you hide it you cover and Valerie doesn't she doesn't know that you can't you don't just go over to that you know showrunner and tell him what to do especially back then you know right and back then 2004 there was it was different but I I have to say I think Valerie Cherish was always very polite on set.

17:57Lennie Ware: I know. She kind of led the way with the, in season one, you know, she tells those kids how to behave. Yeah. In a kind of, I think, in a respectable way, right? Yeah. Even though she's getting treated like shit. Right. Like, they're awful to her. Yeah, Polly G. We, I think we could have told his story a little more. Okay. Because a lot of people would, and still say, but why is he so punishing to her? and because she's got reality TV cameras there and he is required to adjust his show to her. He's already been required by the network to adjust his show. It was a different show. And he knew who she was when she was younger and now she's older and he's pissed off that she got old.

18:43There's a kind of ingenue quality about Valerie. Well, there is now, but looking back. Yeah, but there's just this vulnerability. Her vulnerability that she allows herself to be filmed even when she doesn't even look great. But she thinks that's what she needs to do. And there's just a kind of, she's a very sympathetic character. But because she's making mistakes all the time and she just doesn't, she doesn't protect herself in a way. That's what it looks like. That why isn't she, that I think is the first, why isn't she protecting herself more? I don't think she knows she needs to.

19:23Lennie Ware: But I think, yeah, but also you. Maybe she doesn't need to. Maybe she doesn't. But this has been talked to. Watch the third season. Okay, right, okay. But go on. But no, I was going to say, because like, you know, you were ahead of your time with the character of Valerie and also the comeback. And, you know, it got canceled. And did it get canceled? Is that what we say? Yes. Okay, fine. Oh, yeah, yeah. Okay. So, you know, you were ahead of when the Kardashians was coming out. Yeah, The Office had come out, I think, a couple of years before, and I definitely felt like... The UK Office. Yeah, yeah.

19:55I saw that. I thought it was fantastic.

19:57Lennie Ware: And so were you inspired by that kind of mockumentary thing? Yes, I think so. For the comeback. But using reality shows, because I was really hit hard by reality shows, because there weren't Housewives of Anywhere in 2004. When did Housewives of Anywhere? When did Housewives start? Because Andy Cohen then is in season two, which is the greatest play within a play bit, when you go, Fally goes, I get it now. And it's like the whole world has cottoned on to what this is. Right, I get it now. It's so brilliant. I know what I need to, yeah. It was so good. But yeah, when did The Housewives start? 2005 or 2006.

20:33There was Housewives of Orange County. So then like the comeback's just kind of not been understood fully

20:39Lennie Ware: and then Housewives comes on and then, I mean. Yeah, but I think there were people that got it anyway. Yes, yes. Yes, it's cult classic. They got it anyway. They knew, yeah, reality TV. There was already Survivor. There was already Amazing Race. There was the Osbournes for the biographical ones and Anna Nicole Smith. Okay. And that was brutal. Did you watch, were you watching those shows? Yes. You couldn't really avoid them. Right, I wanted to see. And, you know, the fact that season one of Survivor, that Richard Hatch, that this guy won who was despicable. And it was between him and this woman.

21:21And she was great at all the challenges. And she was a really decent human and helping the other contestants along the way and still coming out ahead. And then the other contestants on Survivor, of course, vote on who should win. And they all voted for the despicable guy, that he played a better game, that that was the game. And that blew my mind and made me scared, a little bit scared, just like, why doesn't decency, we don't value decency? What's happening? This is bad.

21:58Lennie Ware: I mean, Trump's your president, so it's like, it's not even more insane, hasn't it? Well, he had a reality show, too. Yeah, exactly. And he was celebrated, wasn't he, as this kind of... Well, people liked the show. Yeah, right. For sure. He was entertaining. Yeah. But he also... Yeah, I won't get into it. He's running the country in the same way. He saw an opening. Yeah, open the window, the door. I'm going to put the chicken on. Yeah. Okay. Let's talk about who was around your dinner table when you were younger. Where were you growing up and what were you eating? Okay. I grew up in Tarzana which is a suburb in LA in the valley and my mom made dinner every single night and my brother and sister, my sister is 8 years older, my brother is 6 years older and yeah so we would all have dinner together every night and you went to school in LA but you're clever I wanted to do well About herself.

23:00I did well in school. I don't know if that has anything to do with being clever. Oh, no, you're clever. How's that? Well, but, okay, thank you. Was that serious? Yeah, I wanted to do well. Okay. I wanted to win at school.

23:11Lennie Ware: Sorry, are you the first born or? Third. Third. And you're competitive. Yeah. Yeah. Are you all quite academic? No. Oh, okay. No. I mean, I think my, well, my brother's a neurologist, so ultimately he did pretty well in school. But I think when he was in grade school, he thinks he probably had some kind of like attention deficit, executive function issue. So school didn't come easily to him. Yeah. And it took him a while. So your brother and sister, what were you all eating around the dinner table? Did I miss that? No, you didn't. I didn't get to it. Okay. Sorry. So chicken dishes, roast chicken.

23:55I always liked that. Yeah. Yeah. I like the way my mom made it. How did she make it? Parmesan cheese, garlic salt, and paprika. On top? Oh, under the skin? Under the skin? On top. Just on top. Oh, that's nice. Hispy. I know. I feel like it might have been a Hungarian thing because her... Is she Hungarian? Well, her father was Hungarian. Oh, wow. And his family.

24:21Lennie Ware: Is this your Jewish side? Yeah. Yeah. Well, they both are. Oh, you've got both? My dad, too. Oh, okay. And my mom. Got it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Are you still observant? I'm not. No. So you won't be celebrating Passover next week? Oh, yeah, no. We usually don't get to because my father and I end up, you know, being a problem. My father, when they start talking about Passover and Moses, you know, and did this and my father, you know, they haven't proven that there was a Moses. I'm just saying biblical archaeology still hasn't. There's still doubt. There's no evidence that there was a, yeah, gets into that.

24:56And then, yeah, we just start picking apart things.

25:00Lennie Ware: So the roast chicken with parmesan and paprika, that sounds delicious. Did she make chicken soup as well? Yeah, she ultimately did. My dad's mom made chicken soup. It wasn't very good. Oh, okay. And she wasn't a good cook. Okay. But you're quite a good cook. I'm not. I've heard that you have opinions, though. Oh. Well, I mean, I used to cook and then no one liked it. Oh. I know. But hold on, I read something about you that you said that basically you have an opinion on everything where you'll be like, I think I could just add something to this to improve it. Right. Do you not improve it when you add that thing?

25:37I don't do it. I don't do that anymore. Ever. What happened to make you stop? It didn't matter. Okay. It wasn't important. Okay. Anymore. That I honestly, I mean, I don't know how this will sound, but I honestly became more grateful that someone went to the trouble to cook something. Yeah. I agree with that. Do you know what I mean? Do you cook? No. I don't anymore. So how do you eat every day? Well, someone cooks for her, I think. We have a housekeeper who would rather be cooking than doing anything else. Okay. So, yeah, she cooks.

26:10Lennie Ware: So what's on the list when you get home from all this promo? You'll be like to your housekeeper, please, can you make that? Beef with broccoli. Like stir-fried? Yeah. Noodles, rice? No. Well, maybe some rice, but just the beef with broccoli. Oh, my God. And there's real ginger in it. Ginger. There's real ginger. And you were so decisive of that answer, by the way. Because, yeah. I think we need to get her a beef and broccoli tonight, team. I don't know. It's so good. The way she makes it, it's so good. What's her name? Zoila. Zoila. Yeah. You know, you feel when someone's cooking with love. She has.

26:50Right? Yeah. And she is. and she's just like magic about flavors. Look at a recipe, but somehow she's altering it a little bit and it's that much better. Yeah. Where does she come from? Nicaragua. So is it a Nicaragua style or more Asian? No, it's very Asian, the beef with broccoli. Yeah. Yeah. No. Now, when you were on Friends, I read that Jennifer used to make a salad for you and your co-stars. Is this folklore? She used to order a salad that we all would order. Oh, she didn't make it. Courtney and I. Quinoa? No. No, it was a chopped salad from the commissary, but with shaved Parmesan. And I can't remember a specific Parmesan.

27:42Yeah. I love a good chopped salad. Right. It's delicious. Yeah. Yeah. So she ordered. She didn't make it. She would just say, oh, could I get that set? Because at a certain point, we weren't leaving our stage. You would just say. We couldn't really go to the commissary. We would just stay on our stage. How long did it take to make one episode of Friends? A week. A week. But you rehearse for a week. Okay. Like a play. And then the audience comes on the fifth day. Yeah. Or fourth day. Yeah. And you shoot it in front of the audience. Okay. Can you do retakes? Yeah. Okay. So they did retakes. Oh, yeah.

28:21And rewrites. And rewrites. So if they didn't laugh as loud as they should have done, you might take that joke out. It might not be funny enough. Right. Okay. Or let's see if we can improve on it. Not us. The writers. Okay. Our shows took, you know, normally a half hour show took around two, two and a half hours, maybe three to shoot. Yeah. Ours was six or more hours. Wow. Yeah. God, you had a patient audience. We had two audiences. We had an audience that was waiting outside to come in. So did you exclude once after the first bit? You'd say we're bringing the fresh audience in now. They were happy to leave.

29:01Yeah. Oh. Because they had probably needed to go to the loo. It had been three hours. Yeah. I think if someone, if they wanted to stay, they could. I don't know. Yeah. Actually, I don't know how that went. But I know at some point they'd bring in pizza. Yeah. We'd be going for so long. They'd bring food in for them. You must have been exhausted. Yeah. How old were you when you were doing it then? I was 30, 31 when we started. Yeah. And yeah, and I was pregnant during that. Yeah. And I was tired. Yeah. And we're shooting till two in the morning.

29:35Lennie Ware: Crikey. Right. Oh, my God. Yeah. How does that work with like unions and stuff? Well, oh, well, that's an excellent question. What? How did that happen? How did that be allowed? Wait a minute. It's like you're a pilot. Because it was a multi-camera show. So we were just rehearsing. Hey! But what about the crew and everything? Because they wouldn't work. Wait a minute. No, they were there at 10 in the morning. Yeah. Did they have a new set of crew? No. I guess everyone got overtime. Okay. The show was doing well. It was doing well. They didn't mind. Maybe, you know, they could afford it at the studio.

30:20Did you love being Phoebe? Yes, I did. What was the best thing about Phoebe? She lightened me up. Yeah. For me, what was the best thing? Yeah, she lightened me up. Yeah. Yeah. And her worldview. She was so bonkers. She was, but now when I watch, because I only honestly just started committing to watching every season. Oh, I think it's wonderful. Yeah, it is. But as I'm watching Phoebe, now I'm saying, oh, that's actually not crazy anymore. No, she's not. Okay. She was quite insightful, old Phoebe, wasn't she? Yeah.

31:03Lennie Ware: She had real strong values. Yes. She was always worried about, you know, whether they were doing the right thing. Right. And she voiced that, and I thought that was very healthy. Yeah, I know. She was admirable. Yeah. You like yourself as Phoebe? Yeah, I forgive certain things. Okay. You know, as an actor going, why do you have to make it such a thing? Can't you just say it? Why can't you just say it? Were you all good friends? Or did you have a best friend on set? No, the girls had lunch every single day together. And sometimes, you know, the guys would join. But, you know. Yeah. But we were all close.

31:43And especially in the beginning, we were like puppies just climbing all over each other and playing, you know. Was anyone well established when they first got the roles? Courtney Cox.

31:53Lennie Ware: Has she been in Ace Ventura by that point? Yeah. Her. Right? Yeah. Oh, yeah. And the video, the music video for Bruce Springsteen. Bruce Springsteen, yeah. And also she was on a show called Family Ties, which was Michael J. Fox. She played his girlfriend. So, yeah, she was known. She was the only one of us that was known. But it changed your lives. Yeah, it did. Yeah. A lot. We were lucky to have each other for that. And you probably needed the support of each other because it was such a – but it became so big. I can remember the very last episode. People just didn't go out because they wanted to watch it and celebrate it and have a bit of a party.

32:36Yeah. And it was so sad that it was finishing. I know. We couldn't stop crying. What? Did you cry? Yeah. Didn't you see us crying? Yeah, I did. But I thought I wasn't sure whether you were relieved or just... No. You were just sad. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, yeah. No, we weren't relieved. No. Are you still good friends with all of them? Yes. Yeah.

33:01Lennie Ware: Yeah, yeah. We had David Schwimmer on this years ago. Yeah. and we had this the poor bloke it was a press junket that like we'd gone to this hotel it was kind of the first time we'd done it it was just before COVID wasn't it yeah at the Soho hotel he was so tired you could just see he'd done a whole day of promo and he looked at these two women and he was like why are they here I've got to be with you for an hour and a half like okay and then but he was so polite and lovely no you think that's what he was saying no and maybe maybe maybe but we did fall in love loved by the end. No, we loved it, but he made us laugh so much because my mum, we brought like meals on wheels, which never travels that well.

33:43Lennie Ware: We didn't bring much. No, but we brought and you proudly gave him this banana bread that your son had made, who's a doctor. Okay. Okay. So I was very proud. So we made, he brought this banana bread and he had a taste and mum went well. What was and i loved him for that and then my mom went my son has been up all night saving lives and he went well he just took one oh it felt like a ross like it was oh my god and then it was got it was funnier because jesse said she was going to have a bat mitzvah did i yeah and he said who's catering if it's your son i'm not coming he was amazing anyway he was brilliant he was and he is now a Well, now I'm competitive and I'm sad that I'm not being funny.

34:32Oh, shut up. You're very funny.

34:34Lennie Ware: Chicken's coming out. Funnier than him. Yeah. No, I'm not. So, you know. It smells delicious. Okay, good. It does smell great. And I am hungry. Okay, good. The chicken, like, it's, it's, I'm going to say we're about five minutes away. Okay. Okay. I really hope it's good. Yeah. Me too. Me too. Five minutes. I've been very stressed. I thought you were going to add shit. You did? Well, I don't know. I read up. But that's a crazy thing. That's if, no, it's not if someone cooks me something. I go to their house and say, all right, you know what you need to do. I don't do that. No, I can't imagine that you would do that.

35:07I mean, yeah. But I would like to have your... Raised in a barn. I mean, I know how to behave. Do you go out to eat a lot in LA? Not a ton. No. We don't because Zoila cooks so well. So do you have dinner parties and she cooks for you? Not so much. That would be my dream, actually. I know. We don't so much. What's going on with us? We used to. People do have dinner parties. You do? I don't know. We also used to have Sunday night dinners, mostly at my house with my whole family. Oh, wow. Uh-huh. And nephews and then their girlfriends. And it grew to like 16 people that don't fit around my table.

35:46So then it's two tables. And then some people are like, oh, I liked it better when it was one table. It's like, all right, well, who do you not want to invite? And by the way, it's my house. And so I'm like, I don't know what to do. And then we had to stop doing it just because I got tired. Fair enough. Hosting. And it's not even that I'm cooking because I started just bringing in food. Here's what happened. Here's why I stopped cooking. We would do Thanksgiving and I would always make the turkey because I made it exactly like my mother made it. And that was good? It was good. It's the Parmesan, that thing.

36:23Oh, the Parmesan. You did that on the turkey as well? Yes. And I basted like crazy. Okay. And also add chicken stock, you know, and just basted. It's so moist. And one year, I think it was my brother who I love beyond. And he said, hey, what if I make a turkey this year? And I went, oh, okay. Well, there's a lot of people. Should I make one and you can make one? Oh, okay. And then it just sort of kept growing from there where another person after that would say, yeah, you know what? I'm going to make the potatoes. But that's helpful, Lisa. Well, it was just that because one, yes. Then one year, no one was offering anything.

37:11And I had my, so I was, that's fine. I can do it all. And I. You weren't used to it. Oh, the way to do it is everything's pureed. Not the turkey, but, you know, like the sweet potatoes. I've done that before from Christmas. The mashed potatoes. You know, but green beans I actually made, you know. But there was so much pureed stuff that it was like turkey and baby food, basically, is what I was serving. And everyone after that went, I think next, you know what, I can have it next year. They went off it. And no one ate much.

37:47Lennie Ware: Oh, I'm sorry. And so I just went. Yeah, totally. And I lost it so much that I was even just going to make. Courtney Cox is a phenomenal cook. She really is. Yeah. And she made a roast chicken once that was so delicious. And it was simple, just like what people do. Salt, pepper, some rosemary. That's it. And I thought, oh, I think I'm going to try that for my husband and my son. And I over salted it so much that it was inedible. It was toxic tasting. Oh, God. And that's when I stopped. How many years ago was that? Five. Lisa, I think you need to get back on that horse. I don't know. I can help you with the chicken.

38:32Lennie Ware: I'm worried my chicken's going to eat salt. I love salt. I'm telling you, you couldn't. It was a salt lick. It's not an exaggeration. No one could put another bite in their mouth. And they were sweet about it. It's like, no, no. I mean, yeah, it's salty. But we love you. And you made an effort. Couldn't they just take the skin off and then eat the underneath? It wasn't on this. It was in. It was everywhere. It was everywhere.

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39:45what what that's beautiful oh that salad looks so good we have zatar chicken with a butter bean

39:52Lennie Ware: puree okay a chopped salad of sorts and then tabouleh with celery and green beans and then a garlic yogurt and it's all from um my friend's new cookbook called peckish but what's it called you said? It's called peckish. No, the, um, oh, the zatar chicken thighs. Oh, it's thighs. Yeah. So it's kind of juicy. Yeah. All right. And I was going to put the barbecue on. Should I take two pieces or start with one little one? No, I just had five pieces. Take a whole thigh. All right. What are we looking around? What am I looking around for? Come on, don't be polite. Okay. And you're hungry. And what did you have for breakfast this morning?

40:29Lennie Ware: Hotel breakfast? Yeah, but I didn't eat all of it. It was eggs and cheese. That was good. Okay. There. Smells really good. And it was just okay. Okay, fine. So you haven't eaten since the morning. I mean, someone gave me a cookie, but I didn't eat it. I didn't eat because I knew I was coming here. That's very sweet, to be honest. Yeah, I read because I have made cookies for dessert. You do like a cookie. You've said this somewhere. I do like a cookie. And I I used to bake a lot. More than cooking, I baked a lot. Okay. Brownies from scratch. It's so easy, right? Yeah. And chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chip cookie bars.

41:04Where is the comeback filmed? L.A., right? L.A., we were... This last season, we shot at Warner Brothers on the Friends stage.

41:14Lennie Ware: Oh, wow. Oh, wow. Yeah. Just the most intrusive doorbell, sorry. How did that feel to be back? Did you do that on purpose? We didn't, but Warner Brothers felt like we needed a big stage. And it was going to be available, and they offered it. Did you nearly say, thank you so much, but can we have a different one? No. No, you were like, this is good. I loved it. It became very emotional, but at first I thought, finally, Valerie and friends are going to collide. And I was dying for her to say something about how fantastic that like, you know, Rachel and Monica, great characters. And the other one, I can't remember her name, you know, but we didn't do that.

42:00Instead, just have her in front of Stage 24, all the great movies that shot here, you know, and now. And didn't even look at the, only saw the movies, didn't even look at the TV shows. The movies talked about that and said, I think our show will be the first hit for Stage 24. And she walks off and the camera just shows you friends. Mike and Molly, friends reunion. Yeah.

42:21Lennie Ware: you've had some amazing cameos oh my god everyone from Andy Cohen to RuPaul to Seth Rogen I mean who else let's think have you Marlon Ackerman who is so wonderful and that relationship is so beautiful between you two right because it feels true yeah you know the actors aren't the enemies of the actors have you started filming season 4 no we're done That's it. Are you sure? This is the third and final. You're sure? Mm-hmm. Yeah, no, I'm not being coy. This is it. Because you have had big gaps between the season. Yeah, but like we have had big gaps. So you might in six years' time think. But the big gaps make it kind of an event.

43:12And it needs to be about something big if we're going to come back. Yeah. And this is pretty big. okay so yeah and now you know what we went from canceled after season one to it becoming an event there was season two that was oh wow now they're looking at single camera edgy moody 13 episodes of premium cable and you know and now the third season is sort of oh another potential extinction event with AI like the reality shows were in 2004 so it just feels like it's full circle and that's a trilogy and it went from like shoot it was cancelled to it's a piece you know like a complete piece and that is really nice that feels good can we bring it back to food for a second please No, I want to talk more about the comeback and why it's a trilogy.

44:12Lennie Ware: Listen, I can keep on talking about the comeback. I'm kidding. Yes, I don't really want to. Let's talk about food. Can I ask you what your last supper would be? You're going to a desert island. You're not going to have your favorites. Right. Starter, main, dessert, drink of choice. Oh, my God. There's so many things. Okay, today. But okay, well, I mean, you know what? I had macaroni and cheese while I was here. Yum. Where did you have that? At the hotel. Was it good? Yeah, because it's macaroni and cheese. What do I care? So where are you putting that in your last meal? At the beginning of the meal?

44:49I should probably have a set. Well, my last meal. Who cares? And I like fried chicken. That's really good. Where do you get good fried chicken? Well, I mean, I like Kentucky fried chicken. Sorry. That's what I grew up. Mom loves it. You do too? Yes. What do you think is wrong with it? I don't know. What could be wrong with it when it tastes so good? You should have just got a bucket. Yeah, you should have got a bucket. Wouldn't it happen easier? Yeah. And then you just throw, get paper plates and stuff. Yeah. I love a paper plate. And what would you have with that? Would you have the coleslaw and the corn?

45:21How many things can you eat? You can have one. No, none of the things. Just that. Just the chicken. Do you like a condiment?

45:26Lennie Ware: Do you need a dip with that? No. No. You're just sucking that bone dry. It's spicy. And then you have to suck the bones, don't you? I do not suck the bones. I think that's a European thing. Oh, okay. But just to get the last little bits. My dad sucks. Used to suck the bones. Okay. And my grandmother used to suck the bones. And marrow bones they loved. Oh, my God. Do you like marrow bones? No, I don't. Me neither. But my dad loved it, and my mom used to get it with pot roast and throw it in. Yeah. So we've got KFC. We've got mac and cheese. I know. I like this. All right. Drink of choice. Do you drink?

45:58Water.

45:59Lennie Ware: Okay. Oh, you do another drink? Do you still drink wine? No, I don't like wine. At all. Do you like cocktails? sometimes I like a vodka tonic vodka tonic but you don't drink a lot no I don't look it's all so disappointing no no no I would drink wine I like wine but you don't like it I don't at all

46:28Lennie Ware: would you kindly bring over some dessert please oh I forgot I could cry. Oh, a cookie. It's so exciting. Okay. We have an assortment. You do have a banana bread that mum's made. I hope it's not dry. I hope it's not dry. We'll find out. What if I swimmer you? You might swim in me. Or you might not. Then we have gotchujang. Gotchujang. Do you know what gotchujang is? No, I don't even... It's like a chili... Korean chili paste. Oh. It's not very spicy. Oh, okay. But a cookie. And we heard that you liked chocolate cookies so there's a kind of a Nutella chocolate cookie. Oh my God. So you can just have a little bite of everything if you want.

47:09Lennie Ware: Okay. Yeah. So can I start here? Yeah. What do you suggest? Less or more brown? I'd go back. I'd look like that. Go, go, go. Can I just take a piece of it? Yeah. Oh, yum. It's quite good, right? Yeah. It's buttery, right? Yeah. It might be a bit dry. Go. Oh, there's a little... You getting heat? There's a little, yeah. Now I'm on hot ones. Is that too spicy for you? A little bit. Oh, shit. Have some water. Or some dry banana bread. Oh, shit. Let's try it. Wait, there's chocolate in it. Yeah. But how can there be a complaint if there's chocolate? Can I break it off? Yeah. I saw you use a knife.

47:48I don't want to get in trouble.

47:50Lennie Ware: Have you got a sweet tooth? I think it's too dry. Hmm. I think that's okay. Yeah. I've slightly cooked a bit more than I would have done. That's good. It's kind of healthy. Is this all recipe? Yeah, it's all recipe from our cookbook. Maybe because I've just had the cookie. Oh, yeah. I think the chili did something to your taste buds. I like this because it's not too sweet. No. And it's dark chocolate, right? Yeah. What are you having as your last supper dessert? I think I like the banana bread. I know the world's my oyster. Yeah. I didn't even try that. No. All right. Those are too spicy. I'm going to say it This is a pussy Who?

48:36It's not spicy You're a pussy I wouldn't eat spicy Wasn't that a great comeback? It's that whip That just put you right in your place I don't like spicy

48:50Lennie Ware: Now I'm embarrassed

48:54Lennie Ware: It's not that spicy You'll be fine Lenny That's not spicy See? Pussy. Pussy. All right. Yeah, maybe I am a delicate flower. Oh, now it's hitting. See? Oh, for God's sake. Okay, thank you. Right, it's just hit the back of my throat. Calm down, have a drink. Now try to trace that. It's really hot in here and it's not the gotcha joke. Well, you keep doing this. Not that hot. Here, let's tell her it's not that hot in here. they're never going to invite us have they invited you on Hot Ones and you said thank you but no thank you I could not do it we have Valerie on Hot Ones in this season so how much did you do how hot did Valerie go just between us oh kitty oh yeah yeah Valerie you have to go far in it But, and that was acting.

49:56But I, at some point, because I got worried, like, I don't know if I can act this well. So put some Tabasco. I can't even handle Tabasco.

50:05Lennie Ware: Not a canada. Thank you. I really shouldn't have done these cookies. Yeah. Sorry. Why? It has Tabasco in it? No, but it has chili paste in it. All right. It's actually okay. Okay, great. So I put a little Tabasco on a thing and I, it was really okay. It wasn't so bad. But it helped. Me. A nostalgic taste that can transport you back somewhere, happy or sad? Happy. SpaghettiOs with Franks. What's Franks? Frankfurters. Oh, Frankfurters. It's like cut up little... In the thing. Yeah. When was the last time you had a SpaghettiO and Frank? When I was pregnant. Oh, really? Because that was from my childhood.

50:49And yeah. And I would have toucans. A toucan girl. Just when I was pregnant. And beefaroni. Do you know what beefaroni is? No. Oh, my God. It's just, what is it? It's a pasta, to be generous. And there's no hole in it, but it's like a full, small tube of pasta. And with a meat sauce. The tomato taste of it is a lot like the SpaghettiOs. Also Chef Boyardee. Okay. And I had a lot of that when I was pregnant from my childhood. Have you given your son these meals? No. Right. It wasn't allowed. Not by me. I would have given him anything. I think you should taste everything. But he had more of a palate for mussels and clams.

51:43Isn't that something?

51:44Lennie Ware: Like six years old and mussels and clams. Thank you. I love it. Fabulous. Lisa Kudrow thank you so much for being on the podcast thank you you're amazing and we're so lucky to have you Lisa Kudrow legend legend lovely Lisa who enjoyed the pods yeah I can't stop eating these cookies. Why? Oh, it's so chewy. Try that. I think I prefer the chocolate. Mmm. I mean, I like the chew. It's really nice. The chew is better than the snap. The chew is great. Thank you for your banana bread, Mum. It's a hefty loaf, isn't it? It's our recipe. It's massive, isn't it? It's great. For bananas. Can't wait to eat that for the next week.

52:43Lennie Ware: Thank you to Lisa Kudrow for coming on the podcast. The Comeback is out on HBO Max. You can also watch it on Sky. I think Valerie Cherish is one of the most fantastic characters on screen. And I think you're going to love her if you haven't watched it already. And Ed Smith. That cookbook is so good. I need one. It was a really good recipe. Really good for a big meal. And the tabouleh. You know it's springtime or nearing summer when the tabouleh comes out. I like the tabouleh had the beans in it. It was a green tabbouleh. It was delicious. It was actually bulgur wheat. It was a bulgur wheat salad, but yeah, it was like a tabbouleh.

53:20Lennie Ware: Anyway, we will see you next week for more guests on Table Manners.