Krista Schlueter
Courtesy FXX
Courtesy FXX
Courtesy FXX
Fill 1
Fill 1
August 18, 2016
In The Mix

Headfirst in Worst

Amy Amatangelo

No one would call Jimmy and Gretchen — the couple at the center of You’re the Worst — likeable.

And that’s just what Stephen Falk, creator–executive producer of the FXX comedy, had in mind.

“I don’t think they’re bad,” Falk says of the characters played by Chris Geere and Aya Cash. “They’re just human and make a lot of mistakes. Certainly they encapsulate some of the worst qualities people exhibit during dating, but I think their behavior is very recognizable.”

After a critically acclaimed first season, Falk tackled something he describes as “really dangerous and risky and potentially disastrous. “We were really interested in portraying the effects on a relationship when one character deals with clinical depression,” he says of the decision to have Gretchen struggle with the condition in season two.

“It was us planting our weird little flag in the sand and saying, ‘We’re going to be a show that takes risks.’”

A life-long and voracious TV viewer (as a child, he made a grid to keep track of his favorite shows), Falk counts FX’s The Americans, HBO’s The Leftovers and Comedy Central’s Review among his current favorites. “Being really aware of the marketplace and the changing face of television has been helpful in a myriad of ways,” he says. “From coming up with shows to pitch to casting.”

The Berkeley, California, native started his career as a performer and has a BFA in acting from NYU. Back on the West Coast, he began writing scripts when the L.A. theater company he was part of couldn’t afford the rights to plays. “That gave me the bug,” he says. “As an actor, you’re waiting for someone to cast you. You can write a screenplay, and it just feels like an accomplishment.”

Falk spent four years writing and producing for Weeds and Orange Is the New Black , where showrunner Jenji Kohan taught him the importance of “believing in your vision and following it through.”

As part of his overall development deal with FX, he is working with several You’re the Worst writers on new series. One project explores the tension that exists between big city residents and those in the flyover states. “It’s probably going to make everyone upset,” he says. “And that tickles me.”


This article was originally published in emmy magazine, Issue No. 7, 2016

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