American Auto, NBC's newest workplace comedy, has already tackled an impressive amount of high-tension car situations in its first few episodes. The ensemble series follows the staff of Payne Motors as they begrudgingly welcome their first-ever female CEO, Katherine Hastings (Ana Gasteyer, The Goldbergs).
Created by Justin Spitzer, who produced other gems of the comedy world such as Superstore and The Office, the show balances each of its characters quirks against the work-related crisis of the week and finds the humor in opposite personalities working together to find a common solution. How successful said solutions will be as Payne Motors sinks further into scandals has yet to be seen, but it's sure to be one heck of a ride.
Gasteyer and Spitzer spoke to Screen Rant about the behind-the-scenes machinations that led to such hilarious musings on the auto industry, as well as what's in store for Katherine's personal growth.
Justin, what first inspired you to tackle the auto industry in this vicious expose on how low they will go?
Justin Spitzer: I hadn't thought of it like that. [laughs] I wanted to just do a show about the corporate offices of a multi-billion dollar multinational company and get to see why they make the difficult decisions they make. To show the fact that they're not bad people, even if the decisions sometimes don't always seem so benevolent.
The auto industry just seemed like it made sense. It's an industry that has a history we sort of identify with America, that has international components and manufacturing components. So, it felt like it gave me the most opportunity for story.
Ana, we've seen Katherine floundering this season but she's obviously a smart woman who got herself to this position in the first place. What has her so out of her depth here?
Ana Gasteyer: She doesn't know anything about the industry, so she really is flying blind. She's kind of lost in translation a little bit, and she's deeply reliant upon a staff that she inherited. She can't get rid of them, because she needs the information they have at their disposal. So, there's a natural tension automatically.
She's coming in as somebody who's very good at managing people and theoretically keeping board members happy. But she's also asomeone who does not know the first thing or value what is important about the business, and it's kind of a fun way to look at things.
And by the way, as ridiculous premise may seem, it's so common. People are like, "Well, we might want that fresh perspective." People justify those kinds of decisions all the time, in employment and hiring decisions.
This show opens the door to a lot of the less savory aspects of big corporations in the auto industry. Did you learn anything surprising or horrifying while writing or filming respectively?
Ana Gasteyer: I don't find any of it surprising. My husband's an MBA, and I know a lot of people who work on the grownup side of the office. I'm not surprised at all, because I know that they flounder in that way.
I mean, I've been in the Screen Actors Guild 25 years, but I panic all the time. People wouldn't know that, do you know what I mean? I think everyone thinks they're an imposter their entire life. It's a series about how much you think you're an imposter and how much you can fake it.
Justin, as you're seeing these different dynamics develop on screen from your imagination, are there any actors that you want to pair together more often?
Justin Spitzer: That's always a fun exercise that we used to do on The Office all the time; we call them unusual pairings. Because it's very easy to just pair people off who haven't been in stories before, and that's something that I'll continue to do.
It's a fun way to explore new parts of the characters, and you find new exciting situations. And then also, over the course of the season, we've brought in a few guest actors who are great and will be part of our world. We had Josh Molina last week, and we've got Andy Daly coming in this week. That's something I hope to continue with.
The person Katherine interacts most with is Sadie. They often have two opposing views, but they're women who are really striving to do their best in this cutthroat industry. What is that dynamic like for you, and where would you like to see it go?
Ana Gasteyer: Well, it's interesting. Especially in the early episodes, we do spend a lot of time together. And it is true that it's a very masculine workplace. It's funny because I've worked in a lot of masculine workplaces in my life, and there is this tension where you do want to bond with your other female employees - just because there's a kindred understanding.
But the way it's written, which is really interesting, is Sadie knows a lot about cars. She loves them, and she's sort of old guard while I'm kind of new guard. I think a lot of the early episodes do deal with how much we can trust one another, how much we can root for one another and if, as women in the workplace, we have each other's back. Same thing, by the way, with Dory. We deal with that a little bit as we progress through the season, and how much we have that common bond of being emotional humans in the workplace.
Justin, what is your collaboration process with the actors when it comes to their take on the characters? How much improv do you lean into when it comes to playing around with scene?
Justin Spitzer: I love improv as much as possible, and I think we try to always have time for some fun takes at the end. I love using it, and I encourage the actors to reword things to make it feel natural for them.
I think because of COVID, we probably didn't have as much time for as many takes as I'd like to use in future seasons. And it's a constant conversation we have; each of the actors talked to the writers at the beginning of the season to get their takes. Especially as the series goes on, they start to know their characters more than we do. So, I think it's important to get their perspective.
American Auto airs new episodes every Tuesday night at 8/7c on NBC.