Judd Apatow, Pete Holmes, and Madeline Wise on How ‘Crashing’ Shows Off Another Side of Stand Up

HBO’s Crashing follows a fictionalized version of comedian Pete Holmes as he struggles through his first few years of stand up. The first two seasons saw Pete literally crashing from couch to couch and stage to stage as he failed his way through this hectic world. Season 3, on the other hand, signals a departure from Crashing‘s comedy-first ethos, and instead refocuses on its relationships.

Ahead of its premiere, Decider had the chance to sit down with creator and star Pete Holmes, executive producer Judd Apatow, and new season lead Madeline Wise about broadening the series’ insider comedy roots, and what goes into making an actually funny show about funny people.

“The stand-up is the hardest to shoot,” Holmes said. “But I think the most interesting stuff for me, looking at the first two seasons which did have a lot of stand-up, was the relationships. People, obviously Artie dealing with his demons, and me dealing with my parents and me dealing with my divorce. So then I just go, ‘Well, what is the relationship I had around this time in my life?'”

That relationship is summed up in instantly in Wise’s Kat, a love interest who helps Pete believe in himself.

“The first person that thinks you’re sexy is very confusing. For me. Finding somebody that thinks you’re it, like that’s very, very important for life, and especially when your life is trying to figure out who you are,” he said. “You need somebody like Kat in your psyche, and Pete’s so used to his girlfriend giving him shit, and his friends giving him shit… And then he meets somebody that’s not interested in that.”

Both Wise and her character, the Girls-esque Kat, bring a new energy to the series. But prior to Crashing, Wise’s biggest role to date was on USA’s sci-fi series Peacekeepers… So working with a director like Apatow was a bit of a learning curve. In fact, the first time Apatow gave Wise direction, she had no idea he was even on set. According to Wise and Holmes, the comedy mega producer will sometimes set up a mic and speaker system to give notes.

Regardless of surprise Apatow voices, his directing style always intentionally leaves room for improv.

“It feels a little bit like, if you’ve ever taken adderall, it’s 3 a.m. and you’re writing a paper and it feels like you just get to a place where there’s no filter between your animal brain and what comes out,” she said. “You’re just like ‘Everything that I’m doing is good and right’ and you’re just throwing shit at the wall.”

Apatow says this approach is somewhat inspired by iconic director Robert Altman.

“He created these spaces for people to really be in the moment and feel loose,” Apatow said. “And sometimes there were cameras everywhere, and people didn’t know where they were. He was just trying to make something come alive. I like people like that, and Hal Ashby, and John Cassavetes. In my directing, I am just trying to get the actors and actresses in a space where they feel trusted.”

Apatow also broke down exactly what goes into selecting Crashing‘s many guest comedian appearances. Some performers, like Bill Burr, are incorporated into the plot solely because they’re so different from Holmes their mere existence in the same frame creates comedy. Others like Artie Lange are selected because they’re brave enough to show off a vulnerable side of themselves in a funny way. And others, like Amy Schumer, make appearances because Crashing presents a great opportunity for Apatow to work with stars who may be too busy otherwise.

“John Mulaney hasn’t done a lot of guest star appearances on shows, so we were thrilled when he agreed to do the show because it was like getting to make a mini John Mulaney movie. And nobody’s funnier than John Mulaney right now,” Apatow said. “To me that’s one of the most fun parts about doing the show is finding ways to collaborate with people that you may not get a chance to collaborate with. Usually you have to write a movie or create a show just for them, and so to be able to ask anyone to be on the show is really fun.”

As for who may be in Crashing‘s future, Apatow has an idea about that as well. Right now Dave Chapelle and Maria Bamford are on his list of comics he’s like to see for Season 4. Just don’t expect anything too predictable from this ever-changing look at comedy.

Crashing Season 3 premieres on HBO on Sunday, January 20 at 10/9c p.m. New episodes premiere every Sunday.

Watch Crashing on HBO Go and HBO NOW