Michelle Buteau’s memoir is making its way to Netflix!
Survival of the Thickest is the latest Netflix dramedy that will surely be a hit with viewers. Sporting a robust cast and heartfelt message, it’s a series you’ll definitely want to add to your summer viewing list.
Starring alongside Buteau is the hilarious and uber-talented Liza Treyger, a woman of many talents, including comedy, acting, and podcasting.
As down-to-earth as it gets, Treyger is a ray of sunshine, and we were so glad to chat with her a week before the series’s debut, chatting about the show and her popular podcast, which is just about the coolest thing you’ll hear about today.
We could not stop laughing while talking to the delightful Treyger, so dive in Fanatics and get to know more about this fabulous lady!
What can you tell us about Survival of the Thickest and your character, Jade?
It’s a dream part. I’ve been born to play a kooky side character in a show my whole life. So, I play a nightmare from hell that becomes maybe more likable than you’d like her to be. But Michelle’s story is about a girl with a dream.
She catches her dumb boyfriend cheating on her, and she has to start over and find the power within herself without this boyfriend. And it’s fashion, fun, cool, great fashion and hair and makeup, and it’s so funny, and she’s so talented.
Yeah, I was going to ask you about that. Can you describe the dynamic between Jade and Mavis?
Jade is a weirdo, maybe, I don’t want to give away too much, but she’s a culture vulture. And she has a fun pet, but I’m her rock bottom. I’m the physical formation of, oh no, this is who I’m with now, so I need to change my life because I can’t be with this woman anymore.
Gotcha.
I’m the representation of her failures in her life, or she’s not where she wants to be, and I’m the representation of that.
What was it about Jade in particular that attracted you to the role?
I like people that don’t follow the rules of society or they don’t fit in because that’s fun. There’s no template for a person who’s a weirdo, so you have cool looseness. But it was also, I just wanted to work with Michelle [Buteau] so bad that I knew it was going to be so good. She’s really good in the moment. So it was really fun to go off-script with her.
I don’t know if there was any part I would say no at the moment of my life. It would be rare. But this was a very cool one to get, and it was exciting. But I’m auditioning for trash all the time, too. So, this was a brand name, cool people, the fun part. It was everything.
And piggybacking off that, how was the filming experience?
It was wild. So I have a podcast called That’s Messed Up, an SVU podcast, and we were on a twenty-five-city tour while I was filming this show, so it was wild. And my skin, I had a shingles outbreak from the wild schedule, but then I kept being like, “This is like Lady Gaga’s schedule. You’re just Lady Gaga.”
And that’s what made me feel fantastic. But it felt cool landing in New York and going straight to set. I liked being able to say that.
So, it was a good filming experience? Yeah.
One hundred percent. I mean, it’s in New York. Yeah, it felt so cool. And the sets are incredible, and everyone is so good. Yeah, it felt very fun.
Awesome. I love in the trailer where Mavis talks about wanting to dress women to help them love their bodies. And that’s an important part of this story. Can you talk about that and how that will reflect throughout the season?
I would say it goes throughout the show, for sure. It’s something she’s passionate about, and it leads her to cool ass places, and her journey of helping others helps her.
Awesome.
As cheesy as that sounds.
No, no, not at all.
But definitely offset, it was a really good experience with the costumers and the costume designers because that is such a central part of the show, and it is so fashion, and everyone is of different sizes. There weren’t issues that sometimes you have on a set. I felt like I was given really cool outfits without any stress.
Are you big into fashion? Was that fun for you to play around in different stuff you wouldn’t normally wear? Or was it more like your regular style?
In theory. No, it’s definitely not my regular style. I think I have a passion for fashion, but I don’t really do it well all the time. I wear a dress and sneakers, usually short dresses, sneakers. I like fun patterns, but I like working with people that know what’s up.
So, I definitely always feel cool when I get to be dressed by someone who knows what’s up, who knows how to shop. I need to just order online. I’m more simple. I want to get ready in 10 minutes. I’m not thinking about it, but I love looking at it, and I love the thought of it and the idea of it.
I totally understand that. What is something that you hope people can take away from the series?
I hope people are laughing. I want people laughing. I want everyone to have a good ass time watching a funny comedy and then have some moments of maybe self-reflection, thought, something like that. But mostly laughing and then some tears maybe and some emotional moments. But I want people to have a good time.
The good vibes, I like that. Were comedy and acting something that you always wanted to pursue, or is it something you fell into?
I just didn’t know it was a real thing. You know what I mean? Standup comedy, I definitely went to an open mic on accident, and I was watching people, and I was like, the classic, I think I can do that. And then I went up. But in theory, my screen name used to be ‘Movie Store 54’ in junior high. And I loved movies.
I went to the movies with my parents every Friday. We watched the Oscars and Entertainment Tonight. I am very into Hollywood. I like all the stuff. So yeah, I loved it, but I didn’t realize when I started standup that this was possible or a thing until it was like, “Oh, okay, cool. Hell, yeah.” So, it’s definitely my dream, but it’s really wild.
Yeah, yeah, I can imagine. I know you said earlier, “I audition for whatever,” and you’ll do whatever, but if you could come up with the perfect dream role for yourself, like, “I see myself as this, in this role, in this genre,” what do you think that would be?
Oh my God. I want to play myself in something, a funner version of me. I think the dream life is a kooky best friend on a sitcom. You’re working less than everyone. You just come in, you’re funny, you’re out. You don’t have to lead the story, but you have a good time, and people laugh.
When I look at Patton Oswalt on The King of Queens, I’m like, dream role. You know what I mean?
Oh my God, that’s actually my favorite show.
No way. What are the odds?
You talked about your podcast earlier, and I am obsessed with SVU too. Can you tell us a bit about your podcast and how it came about?
I’m so excited that you love SVU. Okay, so my friend Kara Klenk and I knew each other because comedy. You all know each other. I met her in New York years and years ago, and we bonded in the green room because I used to follow this Twitter account called doink-doink.
And he would tweet anytime Law & Order was on television, what channel, what episode, what time. She just remembered that. And then she had this idea. She recorded episodes with somebody else just to prove the concept. They didn’t have time.
We were hanging out, and she’s like, “Wait, would you do this?” And I was like, “Absolutely. I’ve been waiting for a podcast.” And then it’s been really cool. It’s been fun and a lot of work. I do feel like I’m in college sometimes.
So we recap an episode, talk about the true crime it’s based on, and then interview an actor from the episode. Or a writer. We’ve had a showrunner and directors, but mostly it’s the actors from the show.
And so, you’re getting a lot of behind-the-scenes tea about the episodes and things like that?
Yeah, we’re definitely getting scoop. And then we have gotten some off-the-record scoop, and that’s thrilling as well. So, we love that. But in terms of, we had Kelli Giddish four days after her last episode aired. So, it did feel like that was really cool to have.
I mean, it sucks, we talked to someone who had just gotten fired, but it did feel like, are we Diane Sawyer? It felt cool.
Do you have a favorite episode of all the episodes?
It’s so hard because there are so many categories. We always say we have a thing like haunting. There are some that just haunt you and change your perspective on the world. And you’re like, “Oh my God.” And then some are just campy, fun. You like the drama, the lesson. It’s just so hard.
But I think ‘Damaged’ and ‘Raw’ are the ones we wanted to do immediately when we started our podcast. Those were the ones where I was like, “Let’s go.” And we got Ari Graynor and Marcia Gay Harden as our guests. In ‘Damaged,’ she sets up a murder at the video store of her little sister. Do you remember that one?
Vaguely, yeah.
Then they find a tape. She’s assaulting her sister and gave her an STD. Ari Graynor is so good with BD Wong at the end, and then he’s trying to scare her about going to jail for life. And she goes, “Are you trying to scare me? I’m not scared to die. I’m already dead.” Something like that. It’s just so wild. So, I love that one.
And then ‘Raw’ is so fucked up, and it’s like Aryan Brotherhood, Nazis. Marcia Gay Harden plays an FBI agent undercover. There’s a shootout in the court, twists, and turns, and it felt like a ’90s thriller, I would say. I compare it to that.
Yeah, there are so many episodes, like you said.
And then for our live ones, we do the fun ones that aren’t based on crimes. There’s still a murder, but we’re not talking about horrific child murders.
Yeah, gotcha.
Oh, you know what? And then I love the Martin Short one. He plays a psychic named Sebastian Ballentine, who also has a thing for virgins.
Yeah, I think I remember that one.
Which ones stick out to you?
I’m trying to think. Honestly, I took a big SVU break. I was devastated when Christopher Meloni left back in the day. So, I took a big break and came back probably three or four years ago. So, everything that’s floating around in my head right now is pretty recent. And I like Organized Crime, so I was really into the crossovers.
I think I’m just a really big Christopher Meloni fan.
You love Meloni. He’s your top dog.
Yeah, I think I’m a Stabler girl.
We always say you want to be slammed into filing cabinets by Stabler.
That would be me, yeah. Just put me on that list.
If we’re talking new ones, which one sticks out to me? I think it’s season 20 or 22. I just watched ‘A Story Of More Woe,’ where it’s like the sister tells her sister the dad is molesting her, so then the sister kills her dad, but then it’s the neighbor that’s actually the pedophile orchestrating all of this. And then this teen killed her dad for nothing.
And then, if you really want to be haunted, ‘Fallacy’ with Kate Moennig is haunting. Slaves at the end of season one. It’s the last episode. Nightmares for years. ‘Charisma,’ it’s child murder, cult, religion. It’s upsetting. So, if you’d like to be haunted and upset, I would watch maybe those.
And if you want to go balls to the wall, silliness, I would say ‘Wet.’ It’s about mushrooms. That’s funny. I would say ‘Wildlife.’ It’s about animal trafficking, so there’s a gibbon. Those are if you want to have a silly time, zebras.
I love how you know all of this. That’s amazing.
I didn’t go into it being this intense, but we’re constantly looking for guests. So, we’re watching episodes, different categories, crimes. So, then they all are in our heads constantly. I’m annoying to be around. I’ll be like, “Oh, he was in SVU. Oh, on SVU …” It’s tough. It’s tough to be around me.
What TV are you currently watching, and what is an all-time comfort show? It could be Law & Order SVU, but maybe you have something else too.
Oh, I have so many things. So, I’m really glad about this. So, for sleep and background, there’s always a Seinfeld or a BoJack Horseman because Netflix is the best because it does stop eventually. The other ones just really don’t stop. So, those are on pretty often.
And then I’m watching Drag Race. Even though All-Stars Eight is not doing it fully for me, I’m addicted. I’ll watch it, and then I’ll watch the Pit Stop on YouTube the next day—and fashion photo RuView. So, Drag Race. I just finished The Bear season two, the best show I’ve ever seen. I am blown away by season two of The Bear in every way. So, I really love that.
I just watched a really fucked up documentary. I was in the submarine space because of the submersible. So, Netflix had a documentary called Into The Deep. Did you watch this?
I did not.
Heinous, horrific murder. This guy is serving life. Don’t you worry. It’s a heinous crime that happens in a submersible.
In a submersible?
In it. In Denmark. It’s really fucked up. So, we’re on episode 130 something. I’m researching true crimes on a regular basis. This documentary is one of the top 10 worst things I’ve ever seen. It’s horrific. So again, if you’re in that mood, no pressure.
Also, wildly, I haven’t been like this for years, but the movies are back this summer. I feel like I have a packed movie schedule, which hasn’t happened since pre-pandemic for me.
I would say comfort for me, I mentioned those two up top. Also, for comfort, love Sex and the City. I’m a big Sex and the City.
I’m a Bravo head, so I am watching What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. I think he’s the best late-night talk show host. We’re in a little bit of a drought. Real Housewives OC is okay, but we just got off of wild seasons of Vanderpump with Scandoval, obviously.
But then I thought Jersey was great, and I thought Summer House, they were sleeping, as Brian Moylan from Vulture says, “The bed sore sisters were sleeping.” But the friendship, the fight, the reunion, it was intense. We just had so much good Bravo, and so much is coming, and I love Bravo.
I’ve watched since 2006, and I don’t see any stopping. That’s what’s sick is I do have this SVU podcast, but I truly could do a podcast about eight more shows. I really love it. And then Simpsons, to me, is an all-time where I’m looking at a lot of merch around me, and it brings me endless joy. Life reminds me of The Simpsons more than anything.
Awesome. You have a lot of different tastes in there. I like that. Going from Scandoval to submersible death, everything.
Yeah. But they’re all dramatic and intense. I like fun stuff. I love television, and so I’m in it.
***This interview has been edited for length and clarity.***
You can watch Survival of the Thickest now on Netflix.
Whitney Evans is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.