The actor discusses his role in the new Fox sitcom and his thoughts on returning to ‘American Horror Story.’
At its peak, groundbreaking British sitcom Miranda attracted an audience of over 11.5 million. Now, remade for US TV and renamed, Call Me Kat is one of the first big mid-season network premieres of 2021. “I was not aware of it, which is surprising because I love so many UK shows,” explained Cheyenne Jackson, who plays Max on the Fox sitcom. The original show was created by, written, and starred comedian Miranda Hart. “Call Me Kat came to me through my manager, who said it was based on the BBC source material, the work of Miranda Hart. I looked it up, and then, of course, I had to watch all of the seasons back to back while still being able to make my performance my own thing,” Jackson recalled. “I just absolutely fell in love with her work and the whole way it was constructed. I didn’t realize that she was one of the first, if not the first, to break that fourth wall in a sitcom. I think Fleabag’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge publicly credited Miranda for doing that because it’s a wonderful way for our heroine to tell you what she’s feeling.” Call Me Kat was developed by Jim Parsons and stars his former The Big Bang Theory co-star, Mayim Bialik, in the titular lead role. She plays Kat, a single 39-year-old who puts her life savings into opening a cat café. “My only thing for me was, ‘Who in the world is going to be able to play that part here in America? Who is as dynamic and funny and relatable.’ And, you know, we found her,” Jackson enthused. “Mayim Bialik has all the crayons in the crayon box. It’s remarkable. All of the best parts of Miranda, I feel like we have paid homage to. I mean, Mayim is not a stand-up comic, but she’s f***ing funny. We’re laughing our asses off every day. I’m hoping that translates for folks. Honestly, it’s like there is nothing she can’t do.” “We joke about it on set. Luckily, she has a huge sense of humor about it, but we say there is nothing that she can’t do. If we have a scene where we’re singing and playing the piano, she’s actually playing the piano. If we have a scene where she’s chopping something, and the camera person says, ‘Oh, this would be better from the left,’ she says, ‘Oh, I’m ambidextrous, I can do it with my other hand.’ It’s just one of those incredible things where it’s all wrapped up in this in this beautiful, magical unicorn person.” Taking the role of Max in Call Me Kat was both a no-brainer and a terrifying career goal come true for Jackson. “It has been a learning curve, for sure. I’ve only done one guest spot on a multi-cam sitcom, Will & Grace, but I have been trying to get on them for 11 years,” he confessed. “They are so few and far between, especially the ones that are well written and have all of the things that you want.
