Tell me how you got this parody. Have you seen The Oprah Winfrey Show
80 I did. Oprah has remained the same in our eyes over the years, but she has definitely evolved. It’s not just the hairstyle and the style, but how she starts her show, how she communicates – the way she treats her audience and the way she behaves and behaves is so different at the beginning and the end of her show. A lot of people are trying to study her voice patterns. I’m not trying to imitate exactly – because that’s where I feel like I can go wrong – but I want to capture her essence.
What did you discover from studying her voice patterns? Which parts did you hone in? Hearing you, I noticed that you both have similar registers!
do you know? Me too. I’m not the most excited talker by nature, but I think that’s what Oprah is good at. She’s excited, she’s passionate about what she’s talking about. But her tone is grounded and it gives you the information you need.
How did you find the clothes and hair?
I remember that was one of the biggest accessories in my life. We tried a lot of different things. We really wanted something that I felt comfortable with, something that represented ’80, and something that Oprah would actually wear. That’s a long fit. I think we tried something close to . I’m not the same size as Oprah. I’m short. So trying to find something that fits my body but also fits Oprah’s style.
Funny Moira Fraser – who’s doing the hair Abbott AND It’s the head of the hair department — actually a wig for Oprah. I really like that wig because it’s actually from that period. We might think we know what Oprah’s hair looks like, but she does have a hairstyle evolution. Back then it behaved more like: flip up and big. More than your typical Oprah go-to wig.
Let’s turn to Abbott Elementary Written, produced and starred by you. How did you approach Season 2 knowing that there is an audience now and all those expectations are pinned on what you’ve created?
I really want to come and not really worry about any of these things. When we made the first season, I always wanted to do what I always wanted to do [or even go back to]. Of course, we want the audience to have fun and think it’s fun, but we want to make sure we’re making the show we want to make. Something the audience will like, but we ourselves will like. We want to make sure we tell the story the way we want.
