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Exclusive: Lauren Lapkus (Orange Is the New Black) is set as the executive producer and star of the indie comedy Another Happy Day, which Nora Fiffer wrote and is directing for Red Squirrel Films, in her feature debut.

The postpartum depression comedy, currently in production in Chicago, is loosely inspired by the writer-director’s experience becoming a mother. Lapkus will play Joanna, a “total nut” who is wearing new motherhood so awkwardly that she remarks candidly “I’m not really a mom, I just have a baby, you know?” This new mom is also an artist who isn’t making any art, and feels truly terrible at taking care of her newborn, as she stumbles through her days. She can’t get her old job back, her old friends have moved on without her, her husband thinks he’s a better mother than she is, she’s terribly sleep deprived,...

Lauren Lapkus and Krysta Rodriguez are set for the lead roles in the CBS multi-cam comedy pilot “Sober Companion,” Variety has learned.

Rodriguez will play Eliza, described as a fun-loving, quick-witted alcoholic who runs a bookstore/bar with her uncle in New Orleans. After one too many run-ins with the law, she is assigned a court-appointed Sober Companion who will force her to confront her demons, get her act together, and stay sober, all while driving her completely nuts.

Lapkus will play Shelley, Eliza’s Sober Companion. She is a joyful, high-spirited oddball. Her methods are a bit unconventional, and her relentless enthusiasm isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, but she’s the best at what she does.

Lapkus has previously appeared in TV shows like “Orange Is the New Black,” “Bob’s Burgers,” “Good Girls,” “Crashing,” and “Lucifer.” She is also set as a co-lead opposite Nicole Byers in...

“Growing up I didn’t think I could do any of this stuff,” reflects Ben Schwartz on his first acting Emmy nomination for “The Earliest Show” (watch the exclusive interview above). He adds, “My mom was a school teacher and my dad was a social worker. we didn’t know anyone who acted or wrote professionally. To […]...

Doing improv, for the most part, is fun. Turns out, doing improv for an entire week — hosting a fake talk show that’s also a metaphor for the stages of grief — is worthy of an Emmy nomination.

Beyond the unconventional story setup, “The Earliest Show” was a unique challenge for seasoned improv veterans Lauren Lapkus and Ben Schwartz. In the Funny or Die web series, they play the co-hosts of a morning show where emotions run high, interviews run weird, and everything goes back to how funny a breakup can be in a different context.

What ultimately became a six-episode run came out of a week of shooting based on a story outline by Schwartz, who also directed the series. Playing the lovesick Josh Bath, Schwartz also got the chance to take the character through the aftermath of a failed marriage proposal. When Captain Crunch and Funny or Die came...

In a major surprise, Hollywood legend Mindy Sterling landed two competing Emmy nominations in this year’s race for Best Short Form Actress, for “Con Man” and “Secs & Execs.” Is it possible that Sterling could end up vote-splitting herself out of contention, allowing one of the other nominees — Lauren Lapkus (“The Earliest Show”), Jane Lynch (“Dropping […]...