Jill Kargman on Making Her TV Debut at 40, Quitting Botox, & Her Edgy New Comedy ‘Odd Mom Out’
Writer, creator, and star of Odd Mom Out is making her TV debut at 40. (Photo: Pamela Berkovic)
It’s not often that a mom of three makes her starring TV debut at 40, but that’s the very cool reality for the creator, writer, and star of Odd Mom Out, Jill Kargman. The New York Times bestselling author of 11 books, Kargman is making the big leap from scribe to screen for the Bravo scripted comedy series based loosely on her book Momzillas. For fans of Kargman’s hilarious novels and essays, it’s not a surprise that her breakout series and starring role would come at 40. After all, Kargman has built a career on doing things her own unique way.
Kargman is following in the footsteps of other writers-turned-stars like Tina Fey, Mindy Kaling, and Lena Dunham. And like those writers, she has a voice, sense-of-humor, and style that is entirely her own. Odd Mom Out features Kargman portraying Jill Weber, a lovable free spirit who loves carbs, hates exercise, sports tattoos, and occasionally curses in front of her kids. Having married into a super WASP family who are so into fitting in that they even apply to a ritzy application-only cemetery with “ocean views,” Kargman’s character is the voice of sanity in a very funny sendup of the Upper East Side and a certain slice of competitive mothering.
It’s territory Kargman knows well having grown up in Manhattan and attended the private schools that the characters in Odd Mom Out are desperate to get into. But unlike her fictional Weber family, following the herd wasn’t celebrated in her household–comedy was. “I get my humor from my parents. They’re both hilarious,” says Kargman. “My dad did the comedy circuit while at Columbia Business School. My mom speaks four languages and has a genius ear for impressions and accents.” Being funny, smart, and unique were prized, which explains why Kargman never fell into the trap of trying to fit in. Kargman who wore all black and shunned sports from the start, captured her teen years at an ultra-preppy Connecticut boarding school called “Wednesday Addams in Barbie Town” inspired by the Addams Family character. It’s that same outsider-but-insider point of view that makes her new show so original.“We don’t take ourselves seriously, we aren’t trying to make a commentary about society, we’re not trying to change the world, it is really about laughing,” says Kargman about the show. We caught up with Kargman just as Odd Mom Out is getting ready to launch on June 8th.
Sara Bliss: Since writing is such a behind-the-scenes thing, what has it been like making the leap to starring on your own TV show?
Jill Kargman: It’s been the funniest thing everyone has been like, Jill Kargman overnight success!
It is so not overnight!
(Laughs) It just feels like that to outsiders because I’ve been toiling on these trashy novels for 20 years. Someone was joking with me and said, “Introducing Jill Kargman!” because usually you use that for children, and I am 40. So it’s like a star is born at 40! It is just ridiculous, but it’s funny.
What do you think are the benefits of having your TV debut at 40, versus if you were in your 20s?
I feel like I know exactly who I am now. There is so much growth that takes place in your 20s when you are potentially trying to get your personal life settled. At 40, I already have a husband. I have my children here on earth. I really don’t give a shit what anyone thinks, but those I love. Whereas at 25 I would have been way more concerned with long-term career choices because I had the whole world and five decades in front of me in my career.
What has it been like seeing yourself on your own TV show for the first time? Has it brought up any insecurities or has it made you way more confident?
It made me feel more confident definitely. I feel like Lena Dunham and her risks with nudity have been really inspiring to me. I had been really self-conscious after having three children, because I became what I call skinny-fat. I looked like a thin person, but I am made actually entirely out of Breakstone’s Cottage Cheese! But I felt really just inspired by Lena’s boldness. I felt like if she can do it, I can do it. I have way more cellulite than someone who is not a mother like Lena Dunham, but I am OK with my cellulite! It is part of the badge of honor of being a mother. If you don’t have cellulite after being a parent, you either got liposuction or you are Brazilian. All my friends have it. It’s just being real by showing it.
So you’re not demanding like soft lighting like Cybil Shepard did in Moonlighting?
Not at all! It’s all out there. I saw it on camera and I kind of was like “There it is!” But I didn’t cringe. I am not trying to be 25. I didn’t get here because I look good. It’s because of the material and no one cares about my ass being cellulite-y. I’m not trying to play some leading lady or something like that. This is for laughs.
Is there anything beautywise that you started doing once you started filming that you weren’t doing before?
I am not getting Botox, because I want to keep acting and I feel like I need to have my face move. I did Botox for seven years, because I have these weird neurotic New Yorker worry lines in my forehead. They were so deep, like you could go canoeing down my face. But when we were in the writer’s room [showrunners] Julie Rottenberg and Elisa Zuritsky were like “You look frozen, what is that”? I was like, “Oh I get Botox right here.” They both said, “Not anymore you don’t! You’ve got to move your f–ing face!” So I stopped cold turkey.
I love that so many people are starting Botox and those things at 40, and you’re quitting.
You know what, I like my laugh lines now, I like my worry lines. I will probably get it again one day but right now while I am pursuing acting I want to have a face that has motion and expression to it.
Jill Kargman and the cast of Odd Mom Out. Photo: Courtesy of Bravo
Odd Mom Out definitely celebrates the whole concept of not following the herd. How much of that is drawn from your own experiences?
A lot. I wrote an essay about boarding school called "Wednesday Addams in Barbietown” and I’ve always felt slightly like I had one foot in and one foot out. But like Wednesday, I always had my small group of core people, family and closest pals to be my armor, and I always retained my sense of humor.
How do you think Odd Mom Out stands out from other New York-based shows?
It is really, really unedited. Elisa and Julie also wrote on Sex and the City, which also had a really edgy, raw side to it. I am not trying to compare us. I am just saying it also has a voice that is thoroughly authentic. Bravo is foraging its own road much in the way HBO did when they started their original scripted series. I have been lucky enough to be working with these women who are veterans in pushing the envelope, taking risks, and feeling free and unencumbered by the rules of TV. I never read Teleplays for Dummies or whatever screenwriting stuff is out there. I just kind of went with my own voice, and so did they.
What can viewers expect when they tune in?
I think people should just watch it to laugh. We don’t take ourselves seriously, we aren’t trying to make a commentary about society, we’re not trying to change the world, it’s really about laughing when you’re tired after a long day of work, and you want to put your feet up and have a glass of wine and come hang out with us. I don’t think you’ll regret it.
A teaser for Odd Mom Out which debuted June 8th. (Video: YouTube)
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