Photo:Joel Barhamand
Joel Barhamand
Amy Poehleris taking her talents to the podcast world.
The 52-year-old Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning actress' Paper Kite Productions has partnered with longtime friendLiz Cackowskiand Audacy to release a scripted podcast series,Say More with Dr? Sheila.
InSay More, which lands Sept. 21 and will release new episodes weekly through Nov. 16, Poehler stars as “world-class therapist and life coach” Dr? Sheila, who offers questionable couples advice and counsel on all things relationships.
“Podcasts are a big part of my life and we wanted to do an homage to all the kinds of different podcasts we listen to,” Poehler tells PEOPLE exclusively. “If you looked at my phone right now, you’d find health and wellness, and therapy and comedy and interviews and how-tos and true crime and all that stuff… so it came out of just a good old-fashioned spirit of ‘can we get together, be creative, improvise with our friends and make something funny?’”
Audacy/Joel Barhamand
When choosing the specific topic of the podcast, Poehler knew she wanted something “fun and juicy.” “This particular world of therapy, especially couples therapy, is a really fun theme for improvising because you have your person in charge, your character, your therapist. In this case, it’s Dr? with a question mark, Sheila, who is there to give unqualified advice. And then you get to have two performers come on with a problem or a story or ways they can interact. So just the structure of it is so fun.”
Poehler says “the coolest thing about a podcast is it’s a really intimate medium.” “You’re often feeling like the person is talking to you and it feels very personal,” theMean Girlsactress adds. “So I just think it’s a really fun landscape and expands your options and opportunities for being funny.”
She’s also quick to stress that while playing Dr? Sheila was “really fun,” the character is a “comedic version” of a doctor. “Unfortunately, as much as I would like to think that I am a licensed therapist, I’m so deeply not,” says Poehler.
“Audacy/Joel Barhamand.”
On the podcast, Poehler gets to improvise alongside guest stars, including the likes ofMaya Rudolph,Tina FeyandIke Barinholtz. “It’s just the best because they’re such pros,” theParks and Recreationstar says. “I mean, Liz and I are so lucky. We count ourselves friends with the funniest people around. It’s a dream to get to work with all of our friends… because we were working with such talents, everything just felt super fun and easy.” Cackowski adds, “It really felt like little mini-reunions every time we got together with people.”
Say More with Dr? Sheilais available Thursday on theAudacy appand everywhere podcasts are available.
source: people.com
