‘St. Denis Medical’ Star Wendi McLendon-Covey Wants TV Comedies to ‘Take Big Swings’ Again

Wendi McLendon-Covey is a very funny woman. That’s a statement backed up by facts. She starred as Beverly in ABC’s “The Goldbergs” for 10 seasons — a runtime that seems downright shocking in an era dominated by two to three season hits — and has starred in every kind of buzzy comedy from mainstream blockbusters like “Bridesmaids” to ambitious critical darlings like “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar.” This is all to say that McLendon-Covey knows comedy.

And right now she’s frustrated by it.

“I want to choose my words carefully. I’m an enthusiastic TV watcher and I love comedies. But can we take big swings again?” McLendon-Covey asked TheWrap. “Audiences are getting bored, and they are way more sophisticated than we think they are.”

McLendon-Covey cited Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson’s 2009 Comedy Central show “Broad City” as one of the “top five funniest things I’ve ever seen.” It’s also exactly the sort of big swing the actress misses.

“Why can’t we get another one of those? Why have certain entities said, ‘You know what? We’re not doing original stuff anymore,’ ” she asked. “It seems like we really have gone backwards. I know it’s because buyers want to find things that are a sure bet, but is that possible? Do you have a crystal ball? You don’t know what people want until you show it to them.”

That’s partially why “St. Denis Medical” appealed so much to the actor. From “Superstore” creator Justin Spitzer and Eric Ledgin, the NBC comedy follows a group of doctors, nurses and administrators in an underfunded Oregon hospital. “St. Denis Medical” is more “Scrubs” on a shoestring budget than anything you’d see on “Grey’s Anatomy.” Episodes are more likely to focus on everyone participating in a blood drive than a hunk curing a rare disease.

The comedy also casts McLendon-Covey in a type of role she’s never played before.

“I wanted to do something that was completely opposite of what I just did. Whereas my last character [Beverly Goldberg] was just an in-your-face snuggle monster, Joyce does not like to be touched,” she said of her executive director character. McLendon-Covey described Joyce as the type of woman who “works all the time, and she will probably die alone.” It’s a pretty stark contrast in a series that revolves around nurturers.

“All she does is push this hospital uphill in front of her. And she’s good at what she does, but she’s probably like, ‘I blinked and 25 years went by,” she said.

Despite portraying a character who prefers fake plants to the real thing, McLendon-Covey lends the workaholic Joyce a surprising amount of warmth. She worked with Spritzer and Ledgin to construct Joyce’s backstory, tracing her origins as an oncologist to her decision to move up the ranks in the hopes of helping the system from the inside. Now that she’s at the top, Joyce is a woman she can’t quite recognize.

“Haven’t we all felt like that at some point in our working history? Like ‘I’m in this for the right reasons. I’m gonna help everybody,’ and then you get there and you’re like, ‘This is filled with so many things that that I didn’t think would be part of my day today,'” McLendon-Covey said, noting that she hears that exact conundrum “a lot” when it comes to healthcare workers and teachers. “I wish it wasn’t relatable.”

Though Joyce constantly battles with the horrors of a difficult workplace, that’s not true of the actor who portrays her. “I’m very, very lucky,” McLendon-Covey said. “Anything good or bad comes from the top. So the fact that [Spitzer and Ledgin] are so sweet and so collaborative that their crew has stuck with them for about 10 years two — now three — shows, it’s a pleasure.”

Beyond “St. Denis,” McLendon-Covey is interested in expanding her producing work, especially if her projects can help expand the current state of Hollywood. “I love the idea of producing stuff that I’m not necessarily in, but I am a big fan of certain people and would love to see them out there more,” she said.

Some of her current favorite performers include “Silicon Valley” and “Groundhog Day” actor Stephen Tobolowsky and — perhaps surprisingly — Pamela Anderson, whom she called a “brilliant comedic actress.” She also highlighted lesser known comedians Frankie Quiñones and Becky Robinson. “We’ve only met online, but I would love to see [Robinson] head something,” McLendon-Covey said.

“I’m kind of sick of the same names being listed whenever you see a ‘top 10 of the funniest whoever’ when I know so many people who are funnier than the people on those lists who just maybe haven’t gotten got the steam behind them,” she said.

Though she didn’t get into much detail about the project, McLendon-Covey and her producing partner have been pitching a horror series she described as “nuts.”

“Talk about a big swing, this is a big swing. But I think it could be big with the right casting,” Mclendon-Covey said.

She’s also working on a project that takes place in the South in the early ’70s. “I can’t really say anymore right now, but it involves working ladies, the world’s oldest profession,” she teased. “I love telling stories about people who do bad things for good reasons. I can’t wait to to get out there and really make some of these things work.”

“St. Denis Medical” returns with new episodes Tuesday, Jan. 14. Past episodes are streaming on Peacock.

The post ‘St. Denis Medical’ Star Wendi McLendon-Covey Wants TV Comedies to ‘Take Big Swings’ Again appeared first on TheWrap.