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He gets a stranger to teach him how to make risotto.
He talks with a guy who drives a diesel truck about his trucks pollution-belching exhaust pipe.
He accidentally sets his risotto pan on fire.
Its moving to see the pandemic through the very small, personal scenes Wilson captures.
Whats the timeline of building an episode of this show?
Sure.It was a casual two years, but a hard 12 months, Id say.
Its hard to say, because every single episode is different.
Some were compact, while others were much more sprawling.
The timeline of the clips span about two years, and … What was the timeline of making the finale like?
A lot of us werent really taking the virus that seriously before the shutdown began.
We were in all these crowded spaces, so I was able to expand a much more compact timeline.
But I couldnt jump around as much in there, because you would notice.
You could not fake the different ways that people were behaving.
The other stuff, you feel like youre in this nebulous pre-COVID universe.
I like centering the work around moments that we all have a relationship with.
I was treating that episode just like any other episode, just seeing where this banal subject took me.
Who knows what the ending of the episode wouldve been if that didnt happen.
I never know what the ending of any episode is going to be.
I think the last thing people want is more Zoom interface in their life.
So it worked in that way.
Its all street level, and youre seeing how people are behaving in delis and looking at TVs.
Thats all the best stuff, you know?
I put myself in a lot of danger, at the same time.
We were not wearing masks; some people were wearing gloves.
That was a really frightening moment.
Even the guy that I buy the pan from, at the yard sale.
I was staring straight at it in really claustrophobic spaces.
Maybe that was irresponsible, but we didnt know how irresponsible it was.
Oh wow, is he okay?Hes fine, yeah.
I want everybody to have the same distance from me.
Keeping it mysterious, making it a little opaque, makes it more interesting.
Thats what I do, every day.
It looked like a ceremony.
Who knows if Ill use it, but I dont like to stick with anything too long.
Basically every single person with a speaking role has a release.
Some of the conversations you have with people seemincrediblyawkward.
I mean, the foreskin guy feels notable.Yeah, I have no real problem with it.
It doesnt feel different to me talking to the foreskin guy was like talking to the travel agent.
Talking to the foreskin guy was actuallywayeasier than talking to someone randomly on the street.
I had emotionally prepared myself for that moment when he finally demonstrates the restoration machine.
What I wasnotprepared for was the dick pulley on the bed.
That was not advertised.
Whats the writing process like?
I have to write, edit, and shoot all simultaneously.
But somehow it worked, over and over and over again.
Ill shoot and Ill have these tentpole ideas, whether its small talk or scaffolding.
Ill always have these ideas front of my mind, all the time.
When I start talking to someone, sometimes Ill cycle through a few different ideas.
Sometimes they dont care about scaffolding, or sometimes theyll start talking to me about their divorce.
The farther away from the concept the material is, sometimes the funnier it gets.
The selects are usually just the inherently funniest, or most beautiful images for me.
I venture to write jokes to those pieces of footage.
But sometimes Ill have to go shoot a bunch of stuff to ramp up to that moment.
We had a shot of the Two Guys Liquor Store awning.
He spent a couple days going out and shooting every guy restaurant there is.
I guess he only got up to Five Guys, but you get the idea.
And you should probably move on.
Can you talk about writing the finale?
I was panicking when I was quitting smoking because I was already feeling crazy because of the withdrawal.
I was worried that I wouldnt have a satisfying arc here, and I felt lost.
I didnt necessarily know what I was going to do with the exhaust pipe guy.
When I was envisioning this series, I didnt have a neat, tidy wrap-up in mind.
I almost resisted it for most of the production.
But then this very naturally conclusive thing happened that we all shared.
How is your landlord doing?Shes good!
I havent been greenlit or anything yet, but just in case.
Im glad shes doing well, though.
But shes easy to like.
Ill let you know whether Ive perfected the recipe.
How do you feel about the show now that its out in the world?
Nothing like this has ever happened to me.
I would have very small premieres on Vimeo.
But it doesnt feel totally real, at the same time.
It still feels like a prank.
I was recognized in the supermarket once, but that was pretty much it.
Thats the only real-world evidence that the show is out there for me.
I hope it changes the way people see the world around them.
I hope it makes people kinder to one another.
