Glamour: Having your own sitcom has been a lifelong dream of yours. Tell me about that becoming a reality, and why it was so important to you.
Leanne Morgan: I’ve been doing stand-up for over 25 years. And for a lot of people, the pinnacle is to get your own sitcom. You think about Roseanne, Ray Romano. I always had that dream from the time I was little because I loved watching TV. My mama would let me skip school so I could watch Hollywood Squares. Then she’d let me watch Saturday Night Live, and my dad would get mad. I loved all television, and I wanted to be a comedic actress.
I’d actually done television deals before; one was with Matt Williams, who created Roseanne and Home Improvement. But it didn’t make it, and I was devastated. But when Chuck Lorre came and said, “I want to do a show with you…,” I was like, What?! I still don’t believe it. I still think, I’ve got a television show? It’s crazy.
So did your manager or agent call you and say, “Chuck Lorre wants to meet with you and develop a show?”
My manager, Judi Marmel, is in Los Angeles. and said, “Chuck Lorre wants to come to your house. He doesn’t want you to come to LA.” He said, “I don’t want her to come out here and think we’re not going to do right by her. I want to go to her house, I want to be in her town. I want to get to know her family, and I want to woo her.” She told me that, and I was like, “What?”
And so, honey, we planned a big lunch. I was vacuuming, dusting, spraying. Chuck Lorre came and sat on my back porch and held my new grandbaby at the time. My husband couldn’t catch his breath because he’s such a Big Bang Theory fan. You have to understand, Chuck Morgan doesn’t talk. He’s introverted, but you could see his teeth. He didn’t know what to think.
He said to me, “Leanne, I watched your Netflix special. You have mastered stand-up, and I would like to work with you. I need you because I am from Long Island, New York, and I need you to tell me what this world is like. I want to build this around you.”
And you lost your mind.
I’m telling you, when I say Big Bang is on our TV all day long, every day. Now, of course, my Chuck works a job, but when he gets home, that’s the first thing he puts on. And then I watched Young Sheldon. And then Mom, which my sister watched, and she grieved when it was over.
Now you’re working with Kristen Johnston as your sister, who was in Mom.
We had instant chemistry, and she’s like family to me now. She coached me and encouraged me and lifted me up every day. She would say, “Leanne, you’re a natural.” I needed to hear that, honey. It was intimidating [starring in your own sitcom]. It was a lot to learn. She was so helpful to me and wanted to see me win.
