Exclusive Interview: Jenji Kohan

September 27, 2010 World Screen

Pay-TV series are known for pushing boundaries, but a widowed suburban mom who has fallen on hard times and sells marijuana to support her family? This is precisely the premise upon which Jenji Kohan has created Weeds. Few, if any, shows explore human flaws and frailties with as much candor, irreverence and humor.

 
WS: What first sparked the idea for Weeds?
KOHAN: I wanted to do my version of an outlaw show. I had been watching The Sopranos and The Shield. I loved these flawed antiheroes and I wanted to do my version of that.
 
WS: What is the appeal of flawed characters?
KOHAN: I’d just come off a very rough experience at a network and my goal was just to trade money for freedom! I was really tired of having to create characters who were very black and white, hero or villain and the hero could never do anything bad and the villain could never do anything good. You find what works and you do it week after week. I just thought it was so limiting and not what I wanted to write and not what I thought were the best parts of me. I went looking for an environment where I could create very flawed and relatable people. Because we are all flawed. What was presented on network television very often was not as relatable because we’re all struggling and we’re all trying inherently to do our best, but we fail and then we have to get back up and try again. I love the gray areas. I live in the gray areas and I like to write in the gray areas.
 
WS: The moral code of many of the characters in Weeds is definitely questionable, but they still care about doing the right thing even if it isn’t always the conventional right thing.
KOHAN: I tend to be a moral relativist and I think my 10-year-old inherited this. He just wrote a paper on Alexander the Great, and said, “I don’t think he was so great to the people he was conquering.” That’s my boy! But there’s an inherent yearning of mankind to have a moral code. So, in the show it’s kind of a post-conventional morality, where you may not be following the conventional wisdom or moral codes of your environment, but you’re creating them for yourself and you’re creating rules you don’t break. You see a lot of that in shows about the Mafia. It’s a post-conventional morality, but you still create that [structure] in yourself because you’re human and it’s hard to thwart the system or play against the mores at large.
 
WS: How is working for Showtime different from working for a broadcast network?
KOHAN: Oh, it’s night and day. I feel like the networks and certain cable channels are television by committee. I’m a true believer in a singular voice and letting people do their jobs. My job is to write and produce. Let me do that if I’ve proven I can deliver for you. We virtually get no notes from the programming executives. They will express their opinions certainly but they’ve given us an extraordinary amount of freedom and I know what a gift that is. Our job is to not disappoint them and not abuse that freedom. And we don’t wait for outside feedback. We say, Wait, wait, this can be better, or Let’s reexamine this part. In a way it’s good to police yourself.
 
WS: It’s your baby, who’s going to take care of it better than you are?
KOHAN: Right!
 
WS: Is it true you like to write in coffee shops and cafés and how did that come about?
KOHAN: When I’m in production I’m sort of chained to the office because I have to edit, I have to watch the set, and do all sorts of things. But I like noise and activity around me when I’m writing. I like coffee shops. I like cafés. I love public libraries although I can’t snack, so that’s a little harder! But I do love being surrounded by activity and voices and noises and distractions; in a strange way it makes me focus more. If I’m alone in a room I’m too vulnerable to my own demons!
 
WS: Some of the scenes in Weeds are positively hilarious. What type of environment do you create for your writers to get that sort of crazy off-the-wall comedy?
KOHAN: I think my writers are like an island of misfit toys and they are such creative, quirky, unique individuals and really talented. It’s an easy room. Everyone is lovely and nothing is taboo at all. There’s a lot of discussion of personal experiences or things people want to write about or talk about. It’s a very safe, open environment. It’s dirty and it’s funny and it’s very food-oriented. We love eating! And we sit and talk for weeks and weeks.
 
WS: What creative challenges do you face heading into the sixth season?
KOHAN: You don’t want to repeat yourself. When I worked in network television they would be very happy if you’d do the same show every week and everyone felt very comfortable. We don’t want to feel comfortable. We want to feel engaged. Every year we come in and ask, All right, what are we going to do this year so everyone is talking about things that are relevant to them and to the world? And what can we do to change it up so that no one is bored and we’re still interested?
 
WS: Is there anything that characterizes a Jenji Kohan show and writers’ room?
KOHAN: Certainly behind the scenes, and this is something I’ve been very serious about, there is a no-asshole policy. That is so important in the work we do. No matter how talented someone may be, if they make other people uncomfortable, or make writers feel that if they open up they are going to be attacked, or if there is too much infighting or competition, you are not going to get good work. You need an environment where people are supportive. That’s not to say we don’t wrestle with each other, but there is a level of safety and there is no cruelty—that is so important. In staffing, so many people mistake that behavior for genius. But it’s truly unacceptable and you don’t get the best work out of people from fear or from hurt. We are already hurt and we are pulling [material] from that. Also, it’s the war on political correctness here. No tiptoeing around. We are on pay cable so we can say whatever we want. We don’t want to tip sacred cows just for the sake of tipping them, but if given the opportunity, I don’t want to pull any punches here because this is our chance, this is our soapbox and this is our fun. And we all get to rebel a little and play a little and it’s really important that it’s unfiltered.
 
WS: We can’t talk about the show without talking about the cast. Was that a gift from the heavens or what?
KOHAN: It truly was. It was one of those things where they came to us—we wished them into existence! The manager of Mary-Louise Parker [who plays Nancy] called us and said, “Mary-Louise has read this, likes it and wants to do it.” You never get that call. There is usually all that static, “Well, you know, if you make us an offer we’ll let our actor read it.” That is such bullshit. You want an actor who wants to come on board who is already enthusiastic about the project. And when you get a call from someone like Mary-Louise it’s a slamdunk. When Justin Kirk auditioned [for the role of Andy] he was one of the last auditions of the day. It was getting dark and he walked in and the angels sang! It was extraordinary. We got really lucky with the kids. We got lucky with Elizabeth Perkins [Celia]. It’s one of those lightning-in-a-bottle things where every once in a while all the elements coalesce. That’s been Weeds from the beginning. It’s been an extraordinary ride!
 


 

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