Amy Schumer Details ‘Supportive’ Collaboration With Husband Chris Fischer on ‘Life and Beth’
Amy Schumer had a very special support system behind the scenes on her Hulu series Life & Beth.
In an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, the comedian, 42, described the role of her “very funny” husband, Chris Fischer, who works on the show as a writing consultant.
“It’s constant collaboration between us,” Schumer said at Variety’s Power of Women event Thursday, May 2, at New York City’s Smithsonian Design Museum. “He’s so supportive, and I would never say anything he’s not comfortable with.”
Fischer’s role is so important to Life & Beth’s success because the subject matter hits very close to home.
Amy Schumer and Husband Chris Fischer’s Complete Relationship Timeline Through the Years
In the second season of the series — which premiered in February — Schumer’s character, Beth, suggests that her husband, John (played by Michael Cera), should see a doctor after noticing certain behaviors following their wedding. Eventually, John is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
It’s a journey that closely mirrored the one shared by Schumer and Fischer in real life, when Fischer was diagnosed with ASD shortly after the couple’s 2018 wedding.
“I knew from the beginning that my husband’s brain was a little different than mine,” Schumer said in her 2019 Netflix special Growing. “Once he was diagnosed, it dawned on me how funny it was, because all of the characteristics that make it clear that he’s on the spectrum are all of the reasons that I fell madly in love with him.”
While Life & Beth is loosely based on Schumer’s actual life and experiences, she never wants to get too into the nitty gritty.
“I really try to pick and choose,” she told The Hollywood Reporter in February. “With my own personal life, there are some things, like the birth scene, that’s pretty much [how it happened]. There are some elements that are obviously exaggerated, but some of it is direct from my life and conversations that I’ve had, and other stuff is a collaboration from the writers and the actors. It really is an amalgamation of everybody’s lives.”
When it came to writing about the autism diagnosis, Schumer told THR that the writers’ room hired a clinical psychologist to make sure they were getting things right.
“We really wanted to be respectful and show that, when we talk about the spectrum, what that word means,” she said. “It’s a wide spectrum, and this is part of it that you don’t often get to see: a super high-functioning person. And that that’s not what defines him.”
Both seasons of Life & Beth are available to stream on Hulu.
