Answer:
Katherine Ryan Reveals The Moments And Clothes From Her Real Life That Made It Into ‘The Duchess’
By Lea Palmieri
Explanation:
Don’t sleep on The Duchess. While the new Netflix show from creator, writer, producer, and star Katherine Ryan has gotten mixed reviews so far, it’s the kind of show that, with a little extra thought, opens up a lot of really lovely themes. Ryan is a Canadian comedian who has lived in the UK for well over a decade now and released two previous stand-up specials on Netflix, so fans of hers will be delighted to see the way she’s mixed and exaggerated parts of her personality and life throughout the six-episode series about a single mother who wants to have another child. If you like shows about interesting women (and no, not complicated women, because aren’t we all) such as Fleabag, Catastrophe, GameFace, or This Way Up, The Duchess is sure to be an enjoyable, breezy binge for you as well.
I spoke to Ryan on the phone this week, a call so important to her that she even declined a FaceTime from her preteen daughter in the middle of it. There are light spoilers ahead as I had to ask about a few moments in the back half of the series, FYI! Here we discussed the elements, such as fashion, and the moments, such as a haircut, that came from her real life and made it into the show, as well as the typical rom-com elements that were flipped for the show — including the fact that ladies, we don’t always need a man.
DECIDER: First of all, I love boy bands so I love that your character’s ex was formerly in a group. Were there any particular boy bands that inspired it and are you also a fan?
KATHERINE RYAN: Well I think that’s something very specific to my generation. In all the work that I do, I’m directly speaking to like-minded people. But also, specifically women like me and women my age. Certainly, when I was growing up, boy bands and girl bands were a huge thing. There was the Brittany, Christina, *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys craze. But when I moved to the UK, it was a little bit of a different flavor. They had a huge boy band/girl band boom. They had, I swear, 10 really famous boy bands. It was a lovely, just really specific British/Irish flavor. And I wasn’t inspired by any boy band in particular, just how interesting [it was]. Where did these people end up? How did they grow up? They must be really eccentric when they come out the other side.
