Creator Derek Waters shares an exclusive first look at the segment starring Michaela Watkins and tells ET why Meryl Streep wasn't an option for the re-enactment.
First, it was presidents, poets and Patty Hearst. Now, Julia
Child is getting the Drunk History
treatment in a new episode aptly titled “Food.” And ET has an exclusive first
look at Child’s segment, narrated by Lyric Lewis and starring Michaela Watkins
(Hulu’s Casual) and Joe Lo Truglio (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), which will air
Tuesday, Nov. 22 at 10:30 p.m. ET on Comedy Central.
While Child is a world-famous chef and TV personality known
for bringing French cuisine to the American public, creator Derek Waters was
most fascinated with her brief, little-known history working for the Office of
Strategic Services, which later became known as the Central Intelligence
Agency. “That story jumped out at me,” Waters tells ET by phone. “I thought,
‘Oh, I genuinely want to learn what she actually did.’”
Given that Meryl Streep most famously portrayed Child in the
2009 Nora Ephron film Julie & Julia,
ET had to know if the A-list star was asked to revisit the role. “Well, Meryl
and I haven’t texted in a while, but I thought about Skyping her,” Waters
jokes, adding: “No offense, Meryl Streep. Michaela wins in my book!”
Watkins, who appeared on season two as a nurse, makes a
welcome return to the series, towering over Lo Truglio, who portrays husband Paul
Cushing Child. Though he hoped to have Watkins back on sooner, Waters cites crazy
schedules for the delay. Of course, she’s been busy with her critically
acclaimed Casual, as well as Netflix’s
Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of
Camp and a recurring role on Amazon’s Transparent.
“Her and Jo Lo Truglio fall into a category of the type of people I choose to
work with, which are nice people who just so happen to be talented,” Waters
says.
The other two segments in “Food” will tell the stories of
the Great Molasses Flood (with Michael McKean as Arthur Jell and returning
favorite Jason Ritter as John Barry) and the Artichoke Wars featuring Kevin
Pollak.
“Call me old-fashioned, but I like food,” Waters says. “And
c'mon, who knows food better than Julia Child?”
Want to know more about Drunk
History? Waters stopped by ET to explain how the show is filmed, the
inspiration behind certain stories and his favorite episode: