Even Kacey got to have her moment, with a show-stopping performance of Never Enough fromThe Greatest Showman.
And the system is really interesting.
Youre the head of a company of basically 350 employees.
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Suddenly, youre in charge of HR and youre like, Should I be?
Should we revisit this?
Back then, there were two cameras, a tape night, and youd do a rehearsal.
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Its a lot of hats.
Thankfully, Im bald and I love a hat.
And I think I know enough about myself to know that I just care deeply.
The first time that happens, you learn a lesson.
And then, all of a sudden, the showrunner is like, Now were causing a delay.
Why didnt I go to a meeting between the costume department and the intimacy coordinator?
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But its honestly fun.
Essex College is opening its doors once more.
Your main ensemble of four shrunk to an ensemble of three this season.
What have you most enjoyed about working with this ensemble?
Thats what the show is about.
I love an ensemble comedy, I always have.
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Ive worked on so many of them, but thats also because its what I enjoy watching.
Weve had that with the original four on the show.
But I do think it makes the cuts that were seeing this season feel richer and fuller.
Theyve known Leighton for two years on the show.
Shes obviously a story that I super gravitate towards.
As a queer writer, I put a lot of make my own experiences into it.
I miss writing for that character, of course.
The truth of it is that it happened during the strike, so we were off.
The main ethos was, This is Leighton Murray.
Leighton Murray only knows how to win things.
She doesnt lose things.
She was so wounded and projecting, and thats what made her such a rich character to write for.
Over 22 episodes, weve watched her have this enormous true confidence build.
It felt like she just made good on the challenge of what college is early.
“I met you three and you gave me the strength to be myself.”
It made it an important character moment.
NOBLE: Oh, yeah, I think so too.
I had talked to some people who were like, How are you gonna kill her off?
And I was like, This isntGreys Anatomy.
We wanted to tell a story about transferring.
I was like, But youre one-sixth of my social circle.
What does that mean for me?
So, I thought that would be a good story for the other girls.
Its not just Leightons exit, but how do you cope with a friend whos leaving?
What does that mean for you?
What does it mean for your group?
That pressure feels real when youre the new person in a suite.
NOBLE: The interesting thing is that we filmed in reverse order, intentionally.
Now, were ready to go back and close this last chapter.
Im really glad we did it that way.
The performances in that scene are just incredible because its real.
Alyah [Chanelle Scott] was so emotional during it and we knew we wanted that.
But it comes across on the screen like a good emotional sendoff for the group.
The wall was full of them.
And so, once we were talking about it, we were just so excited about different areas.
As we started talking about her, we added specifics.
And a bunch of the women in the room were like, Oh, my God, yes!
Thats such a thing.
Lila seems so perfectly suited to Ilia Isorelys Paulino that its hard to imagine them as separate entities.
NOBLE: That character, I would say more than many, had a real development course.
As we were talking about it, we talked about different versions of the character.
Lila operates in Kimberlys sphere.
Originally, we were like, Whats good fodder for Kimberly?
I reached out to friends through the Yale Drama School, where she was at the time.
She had just graduated, and they were all like, Shes a huge talent.
She adds so much to that character.
She just inspires the writers.
Its just that dynamic.
On set, its so easy to write alts with and for her because shes so playful.
She knocked it out of the park, no matter what you do.
it’s possible for you to stand off screen and be like, Ive got four alts for you.
More than anyone, she will improvise.
I give her all the acting credit in the world.
Its not that shes portraying herself, but she just adds so much.
When she puts on that Lila skin, its magic.
How did you want to approach that relationship?
I also just really liked the representation story of a bi guy who wants to date women.
I know from my own circle of friends, there are just so many stereotypes about it.
If youre a bi woman, thats one thing.
But if youre a bi guy, youre just gay and you havent come out yet.
So many of them just give up on dating women.
It ended up feeling very fun.
It was also a twist on her always getting the hottie on campus.
Now, shes with this hunky guy fromThe Holdovers, but is only going to mess it up.
Did you write Kimberlys professor character specifically for Tig Notaro?
NOBLE: Candidly, no.
We didnt write it for Tig.
But then, we knew a strike was coming, so we were just puttering with macro beats.
It was just really smart casting and the easiest thing for me to just say yes to.
The Season 3 finale hits HBO today.
The episodes this season are a bit longer than theyve been in the past.
How did that come about?
Was that an intentional decision?
Did that evolve out of the story you were telling?
NOBLE: It was the perfect synergy.
So, it was a perfect fit of wanting longer, so they were just gonna be longer.
I think it makes feel tighter and like so much is happening in each episode.
And then, we made it to our resolution.
I was like, Well get it done.
How do you approach the end of each season?
Do you have a go at give some sense of resolution and closure?
Do you like to leave it in a way that gives you room for another possible season?
How do you figure that out?
NOBLE: We like to mix it up.
Season 2 was cliffhanger soup where everyone was in disarray.
That felt intentional, in terms of the creative.
They call it a warm hug.
They dont wanna get tremendous amounts of anxiety from this show.
Thats just not what we are.
We dont need a lot of girl-on-girl warfare with people who are fighting each other.
NOBLE: I dont.
Sometimes Ill think of something and be like, Why am I thinking about Kimberly at 50?
You cant help yourself when you start to know the characters.
I applied to college as a biochemical engineering major.
I just joined four comedy groups and I think Im gonna soft major in extracurriculars.
I wanna keep it open to find new stuff.
Im interested in her learning a little bit more about what thats like in 2025.
Is that an ideal job?
You wouldnt want that on your television.
Check out the Season 3 trailer:
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