"Leanne Morgan"

It's so cold in here. Is anyone else cold or is it just me? I mean, like... Oh, it's... Oh, God, it's... Oh, God, it's... Oh, Lord, it's like a cold... There's nothing colder than a cold open. This is a cold open. Ah, now I'm getting bit by a snake. Everybody run. The snakes are cold. It's a cold open. Ah, my phone is ringing. Hang on one second. It's time for a cold open. Welcome to SmartLess. SmartLess. SmartLess. SmartLess. Listener. Oh, we're talking about the Golden Globes. Yeah, we're talking about the Golden Globes. Yeah. And it was fun. We had a good time, us guys. We did have fun. That was super fun. We did our sweaty bit at the beginning. It was great. It was super fun. Nice to be a part of that, what was it? I guess category. And as our friend Jimmy Kimmel put it, nice to be a part of that category because it could end up like breakdancing at the Olympics and no one ever sees it again. Breakdancing at the Olympics. The last time you see that category. I don't know. But congrats to Miss Amy Poehler for winning. Absolute best podcast in the world. For Good Hang. Good Hang did very well. It was a good hang. Her speech was a good hang. Yeah, a lot of good speeches last night. You know what's fun about, I saw Amy right before. I saw Amy and Joel in the thing in the back. And she was like, oh my God, you guys are going to win. I go, bull effing shit. Yeah, we've been saying he was going to win for months. I won 200 bucks. I bet on her and won $200. I know, you bet with Krasinski. And then I told Amy that you bet with Krasinski. And I go, right from moment one, you know that she's got it locked up when it comes to that. She's Miss Golden Globes. Yeah, she's beloved. She deserves it, but she's beloved. Yeah, for sure. For sure. For sure. Did you guys meet anybody you were excited to meet last night? Did you have anybody come up? I had a wonderful conversation with Kevin Bacon and Sean Penn. Yeah, same. Those guys are great, yeah. Willie, did you get some nice compliments on your film? I did, actually. Yeah, it was nice. There was a lot of nice people said, a lot of people that I really look up to and that I've noticed. Clooney loved it. Yeah. Yeah, George was very nice about it. Yeah, he was very sweet about it. He sent me a nice text as well, and Sandler and those guys are super nice. And I had some good laughs at one point. Jason was bothering me pretending that he was working at the after party and he just kept bothering me. Pretending that he was running the martini cart. He was running the martini cart. He goes, I'll just be right here if you want anything. I have vodka and gin. Vodka and gin. Like into my ear and I just kept going, would you fuck off? That's hilarious. Shawnee, everything's okay? Shawnee had to leave early. Yeah. Some sort of an ailment. It's funny who had timed out right to us losing our category That his emergency cropped up That is so crazy, who could have called that? That was so wild Fortunate timing, but everything was all taken care of He got home in time Evacuate whatever was good Yes, no, thank you for your concern Thank you, yeah, everything turned out terrific Yeah, I was just like, you know It's super fun to go We, the show Will & Grace The Will & Grace program and myself And all the cast and everybody Now that's a comedy Bring it back Because he's gay So they can't be together But they're best friends But they would be perfect together But he's gay Boy this guy's astute He's got a real take on Will and Grace The guy in the back of the theater That is so funny But anyway we've been nominated a total of 27 times. No way. Yeah, and then last night was 28. We never won one. Is that true? Yeah, never won. Wait, Will and Grace was up for what last night? No. I'm just saying total, and then last night was one more that I and the three of us... Oh, that you were a part of. Gotcha. Gotcha. That's 28 and O, O and 28 at the Golden Globes? That is correct. Something like that. 26, 27. I was there, Jay. I was there the night Jay won one. and I was sitting next to Jay, and we had a nice deep hug. Oh, that's nice. For what, Jayce? For Ozark? For Arrested. This was for Arrested. Oh, that's great. Congratulations. Yeah. I made the mistake of thanking every single person I've ever met in my life. No, you know what? I remember that, and I was really sweet, and you were legitimately surprised, and that was a really, really fun night. I'm going to have to look that up. I'd like to see that. Yeah. Nice things don't usually happen for me. Oh, I know, I know. Working rough. Everybody's real concerned about it. You've had a rough road. I was proud of our little bit, the three of us. You know, we were cooking with gas up there. That's right. By the way, and I said to Jason, nobody in the history of an awards show has done a bit with their back towards the audience. I know, it was so good. JB, that was so good. Trying to create a private moment. It was so funny. I'm just laughing at that. I liked Clooney's bit with Don. That was good. They were really good. Anyway. Anyway. All right, here we go. Ready? Yeah. My guest today is wonderful. She's fantastic. She's living proof that good things come to those who wait. She grew up in Adams, Tennessee, population 600. Whoa. Where her parents ran the only grocery meat shop in town. She hung around the local funeral home for fun. After college, she sold jewelry at house parties to help make ends meet. 25 years later, she's finally having her moment at 60. sold-out arenas, Netflix specials, best-selling memoir, hit sitcom. She's a self-proclaimed Mrs. Maisel of Appalachia. It's the hilarious, big-hearted Leanne Morgan. Leanne Morgan? I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it was Leanne Morgan! I've never seen Will so happy. I'm in love with all of y'all and I'm in love with all of y'all and I'm in love with all of y'all and I'm in love with all of y'all and I'm in love with you in a sinful way. Oh! Thank y'all for having me. This is a dream come true. Oh my gosh. A dream come true. Oh, it's so nice to have you here. For us, too. For us, too. Oh, my God. I'm so happy. I love your story. I love that you are having this moment. It's so dessert. You're so funny and cool and original. Oh, I'm so psyched that you're here. Thank you, Will. Thank you. Now I've got a beagle yelling at me. Hold on, boys. A beagle? A beagle? A beagle, a little beagle. Oh, I like beagles. I'm up on my top floor, and she doesn't like for me to talk on the phone. So let me get that out of the way. I'm sitting here in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains in Knoxville, Tennessee, and I love y'all. We love you. By the way, Leanne, when you said you had a beagle talking to you, Sean was thinking to himself at the same time. He was like, I feel like there's a bagel talking to me from the kitchen, too. Sean! So you're Knoxville. Eat me. That's amazing. I mean, it is really cool, like Will said, to hear your story. And we'll get into it in a sec. But, like, I'm so, I don't even know you. And I'm so excited for you for all that's happening to you. It's really, really cool. I've seen you do it. First of all, congrats on your, I know your show has been a super big hit. So congrats on that. Thank you. And then now you, did you just have a special, a Netflix special? Yeah, it was in the top ten. Yeah, like, exactly. Like, you're just having all this stuff. And then I've seen you in a couple of interviews. and you've got a great vibe. I watched a little bit of your, you were on with Conan and it was so funny. God. We like that Conan. We love Conan. I love him. Isn't he the best? I know, he was wonderful. I mean, this guy's working with nothing. He has so little talent and then he's managed to like kind of... Stay smooth. Yeah, stay smooth and kind of scotch something together, this dude. Bless his heart. It's amazing. It's all repetitive, but it works. It is. And to think about how little intellect he has and yet he's able to kind of make it work. Work. Yeah, it makes the hair dance a little bit and he distracts you. His hair. I know. I know. Blew me away. Wait, Leanne, so tell me like to what Will just said, why do you think you are hitting at this time right now in your life, in this business and all of it? What do you think's going on? Oh my Lord. I don't know, boys. I guess, okay. I guess, you know, I've been doing standup for 20 years when this hit. I was in my early 50s. That's so good. And I think that, I mean, I was doing the same stuff I'd always been doing. And one time I was backstage with Reba McIntyre's ex-husband, Norval. And he said— No, we know Norval well. Norval. Yeah. That has Blake Shelton and all these people, Kelly Clarkson. And he said, it's just a phenomenon, Lynn. Like, you've been doing the same thing for 20 years. And you, you know, changing up my material, you know, all that. But doing stand-up and then this hits. It's like somebody turned a light on in a dark room. But I started doing that social media thing, y'all. I found my audience, and I think that I found a niche, a demo. I don't know what you Hollywood boys would call it. But a bunch of people that were probably being ignored by Hollywood. I think that. And I think I spoke to all these darling people that love to be entertained, buy tickets to theaters, and have been wonderful to me. And they like my sitcom, and they watch my specials. They love your sitcom. By the way, these guys are, I'm from Toronto. I'm just a kid. I'm just an Auschachs kid from Toronto, it should be noted. I'm just a Canadian kid. Yeah, we'll fill in all the Hollywood stuff for you guys. Sean and I, we got you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But, you know, it is interesting that, I think our buddy Judd Apatow explained why comedy movies are not doing as good a business nowadays is because social media, there's these great little bite-sized moments of comedy that people kind of get satisfied by. And it is great. I mean, I'm looking at them too. I'm laughing my ass off. And it does seem like... And it's immediate, right? Yeah, but it is helping some parts of the business and maybe hurting others. I don't know. I think it hurts. I do. I love a comedy. I love a movie. I've only done one movie, and I played Reese Witherspoon's big sister, Gwen. With Will Ferrell. With Will Ferrell. He was darling, and we had a ball. But I miss movies like that. I love all of Judd Apatow's movies. I mean, I just, yeah, and I do. I think there's these little snippets, and then people just get satisfied with that. Yeah. And let me tell y'all that my sitcom made it to number two on Netflix because The Hunting Wives came out the same time. All those girls that were shooting boars in their panties. Did y'all ever watch that show? No. Wait, what happened? No, what is it? It's Hunting Wives. They'll shoot a wild boar in panties? They were shooting boars in their panties, James. Jason's like, what channel? And then would do sexual stuff with each other. And I could not beat that. You know, a multi-love could not beat that. How do you spell hunting? Sorry. My internet's slow here, but. Is that true? I have heard of the hunting wives, but I haven't seen it yet. Is that what we can look forward to if we sample that? I mean, yeah. I think you would enjoy it, Jason, in the privacy of your own home. And then my special unspeakable things, that's the one that just came out. The first one was I'm Every Woman. And I could not believe Netflix gave me a special. Me being, you know, out in the middle of- Were they both in the top 10? Yes. Yeah, that's so amazing. That's so good. Deservedly so. It's funny as hell. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. But so then you think that perhaps the bits that you were releasing onto social media, they caught fire a bit. and then did you then see attendance at your stand-up gigs get larger and Netflix took notice of that and then they said, okay, now you get a special? Is that the way? Yes, that's exactly what happened. And then that special brings even more people and then there's another special. She gets a signal. That's the way it goes. Jason works in business affairs, so he's trying to figure out the commerce here. At what point was the big negotiation? Was it before the first special or after? How far apart were you guys on your first offer? I think what turned it around, I could not get arrested. I always say that. I could not sell tickets in clubs. I was in my early 50s. I already felt like it was over. And then clubs would say, we love her, but she can't sell tickets. And I was just about to give up. And then I put out a clip of me taking my husband, Chuck Morgan, to go see Def Leppard and Journey and how everybody looks sick and had plantar fasciitis. and that went viral and then I think people saw that and they were like what else does she have everybody looks and had bladder fasciitis that is a rough crowd because of the way he walks is that what it is oh the little boys in journey you know well they've heard that little guy that little young guy he can still flip and squat and stuff but then those old boys and then Depp Lampert came out and I thought He had a little bump underneath his little chest. What, Jason? Is it Benson Boone? Is that the flipping squatter? Oh, no. He's a skipper in squatter. But no, the little, they've hired Journey, you know, because Steve Perry had a hip replacement. And maybe they even fell out. Maybe somebody got mad and they fell out. But as we say in the South, but he, they've hired some little man that can sound like Steve Perry. And he could still move. But all the old boys were in the back, you know, and had a blank stare. But then Jeff Leppard came out and had like a little bump under. And I thought, he's got a hernia. Not Jeff Leppard, man. He wearing yoga pants still He has tiny legs His legs were this big And he had hair down to here and and you could see through it and i thought and i just i and i had never done that bit before and i was going to chattanooga tennessee and i thought everybody's already heard all this mess i gotta come up with something new and i thought oh i'll tell them about me and chuck morgan going to see def lebert and journey and then and that's what did it and then i got the big panty tour boys. So then I was, I found myself talking about my panties a lot. So I named it the big panty tour and that, and then, but that was all like coming out of COVID. So everything was booming and I was selling tickets. And then your daughter used to run your Facebook account during COVID and you, cause you didn't know how to unite like a tech person. And that's when you discovered like, Oh my kids were doing it until I hired these darling young guys who they had during COVID, they helped me. Yeah, yeah. And I was on my back porch, you know, eating chicken and dress. Well, I don't even want to say that in front of y'all because that's country. Like a chicken casserole and drinking wine. Too much wine. And then I went on tour, and every picture of me at the Big Panty Tour, I looked sweaty and heavy. And like I was just like chicken casserole was coming out of my pores. And I had imposter syndrome, and I was freaked out. And then Netflix bought that. And I did that special. And then, you know, Netflix is the stamp. I think Netflix is the stamp to say she's legit. This is the real deal. And that changed my life. That changed my life. Yeah. And then Chuck Lorre came to my house in Knoxville, Tennessee, and asked me if I would do a television show with him. And this was, and talk about, though, before that, there was four other, like, ones that didn't work for you. Like, were they pilots or were they actual shows that went? I never shot a pilot. But I did. But I would be in Knoxville, Tennessee, raising my three children. And I guess my first one, Warner Brothers and ABC. ABC bought it. And my children were in elementary and maybe one was in middle school. And I thought that was it. This was it. I'm going to be the next Roseanne. You're right. And then the writer's strike hit. That first writer's strike hit. And it was over in a day. In 07. So that was a while ago. Yeah, and then I got two or three more. You know, you get them mixed up. Some of them I think could have gone somewhere. Some of them I don't think were ever gonna go anywhere, but I didn't know. I'm not a Hollywood, you know, I don't know all that. But it's not the way it was supposed to. That was not your story. This is your story, and this is kind of the best version of it, too. I think it's awesome. That was not your train, Leanne. This is your train. You're on it now. It's so exciting to watch and to see. And Jason has some follow-up questions about the chicken on the porch. Yeah, was it a white wine or was it a red wine? It was a red. It was a red, Jason, in the middle of perimenopause that made that worse. You're talking about wallowing in the bed at night, sweating, y'all are asking each other, how did you sleep before I came on here? It was a little warm at night. Not well. I know it. I know. Wait, and then did I, speaking about food, You celebrated your 60th birthday by going and eating two cakes with a fork at the grocery store. Is that right? Okay. Oh, my God. We were in Florida. My favorite beach to go to. Chuck Morgan took me and all these kids and my two grandbabies. I've got two grandsons, a blonde and a redhead wheel, because I did Amy Poehler's podcast, that doll. And she said, we've got, honey, we've got that too. Okay. And they took me down there, and we had one in their toddlers. So we stayed in every night. It was wonderful. And then my kids bought me two birthday cakes from the grocery store. And I stood and ate them at the counter with a fork, with an old tankini swim skirt, Land's Inn bathing suit, boys. Wow. Yeah. Why did we get two? Because you have two favorites? Well, my kids, I've trained them. We overeat. But they were like, we know she likes chocolate. And the grandbabies like chocolate. And then we know that they, I think they wanted Chuck Morgan. And he also likes a vanilla and a chocolate. So they said, let's get two. Because I've raised them that every day's a party. A hell. Right, right, right. Yeah. And we will be right back. And now back to the show. Can we just talk a little bit about Chuck Morgan? Because I love this idea of Chuck Morgan. I like hearing his full name every time. I love it. Now, what's the deal with Chuck Morgan? He's a character, right? He's been a problem for some time. He's been a problem for some time. Yeah. I met him at the University of Tennessee, honey. Okay. I had gone through a divorce and had smoked cigarettes and not gone to class, y'all. I hate to even say that to y'all. But I was regret. I dropped out. Dropped out. It's all voluntary when you get to college. You do whatever the hell you want, you know? I was an idiot. And then I went back to finish, and I did. and then Chuck Morgan, I think, is attracted to people who are broken. And so we started dating. Not a lot of pushback from the broken folks. So we thought, let's merge this like Kmart and what was that, Sears? And let's just run it in the ground. But anyway, so Chuck Morgan and I marry, and then he buys a used mobile home business. He got an MBA, and he had never stepped in a mobile home, a trailer. and bought a mobile home business and moved me to the foothills of the Appalachia Mountains. All the while, y'all, knowing from the time I was little, I'm going to be in show business. I'm going to be on television. I knew it from the time I was 10. Really? But I just didn't know how. You know, I was from the country and farming people. I didn't know how to, you know, I would have loved to have done the Groundlings or Second City. I was raised on Saturday Night Live. I would have loved to have done, but I just didn't know how. You know, I was this little bitty country kid. And all through your 40s and 50s and all that, you still held on to that kind of thing that I'm still, it doesn't matter how long it takes, I'm still going to do it. When I started, I called myself a true stand-up when Chuck sold that business and went to work for a big... Chuck Morgan. Berkshire Hathaway Company, Chuck Morgan. And he moved me to San Antonio, and I would drive back and forth to Austin, Texas, where one of the best comedy clubs in the United States was in Austin. Austin and Jimmy Miller, who is Dennis Miller's brother. We know Dr. Jimmy Miller. He's got a PhD in showbiz. That's what I always say. We love Dr. Miller. The third brother owned that comedy club, and he's the one that sent my first CD to Hollywood to Jimmy, and he gave it to Tom Warner at Warner Brothers, and that's how I got that deal. Hey, Tom, Jimmy Miller here. I got a hot CD for you. Tom's like, oh, great. Sounds great. Thanks, Jimmy. Thanks. Two great guys. I was 32 when I started doing clubs, and I considered myself a real. But I had been doing, like, little gigs in Morristown, Tennessee, in the Appalachia. Like, somebody would say, can you come and do your program at the Rotary? And I would get paid $50, take my babies to Mom's Day out, and go do that. But I started doing clubs and, you know, being more like the real thing at 32 years old. Who was your hero coming up? Like, who were you looking at going, I'd love for my career to go that direction? Was it somebody on a sitcom or was it a stand-up? I loved all sitcoms, but I loved stand-up. I loved Johnny Carson and watching the stand-ups. So I would watch, you know, Jay Leno, David Letterman. Remember David Brenner? Yeah. Yes. And Richard Lewis. Yeah. I loved Richard Lewis. I would watch Ellen, Roseanne. When Roseanne was on there, it blew me away. But I loved sitcoms. I grew up, you know, watching WKRP in Cincinnati. Yeah. Sure. And Cheers and Frasier and all that. But anything to do with, you know, comedy movies, stand-up, I loved all of it. And I just didn't know what I was going to do and how you could make a living at it. Yeah, yeah. Well, Guy, I'm going to go around the horn. What was everybody's favorite multicam sitcom of all time? All in the Family. All in the Family, your number one? Yeah. Yeah, Cheers for Me Too. Cheers for Me Too. Taxi was up there pretty good, too. Yeah, I should say Will and Grace, but I... Oh, Will and Grace! Wait, which one was that? No, no, I mean, because I was on it, so it'd be something else. No, it'd be weird if you said it. It'd be weird if you named your own show. That's right, that's what I did say. Let's just say, but yeah, Cheers for Me. Okay, sorry. Okay, sorry. Wait, wait, wait, Liam. What was your favorite favorite of all the multi-camp sitcoms of all time? If you had to pick one, gun to head. I don't know why there'd be a gun to your head. I loved Lucy. Oh, gosh. Okay, y'all, let me think. Does that— I really enjoyed WKRP in Cincinnati. There you go. I just loved it. I loved Lonnie Anderson. Les Nesman. I loved all those guys on radio. Gordon Jump. When I think about it, or like Three's Company. I'm 60 years old. Oh, I love Three's Company. Yeah, I do, too. Three's Company. Never has a swinging door been more well used than in Three's Company. Right, right. Oh, to the kitchen, that swing. Oh, so good. Right. LaBron and Shirley. Play by John. Yeah, that door swung pretty good, too. Sure. So, wait, when you first started out, you were doing like Kiwanis Club stuff, right? Yeah. Like community center stuff. And did you know by those early shows? And then you were doing, I said in the intro, you were doing… Jewelry. Oh, jewelry, right. Jewelry parties. Is that like Tupperware parties and stuff? Yes. I was selling, because Chuck Morgan, y'all, is tight with money. And people don't believe me when I say that. I remember that. We were just in New York celebrating my five-year-old grandbaby's fifth birthday. We took him to the Museum of Natural History and to the Lion King and all that. Chuck Morgan booked me in a Hilton Garden Inn. That's where Will is right now. Yeah, exactly. But, you know, I kind of am a big deal, but he likes to keep us, you know, with the break zone. But so I wanted to, I wanted to, of course, he was 27 years old, y'all, and had a business and was having to, you know, all these people on payroll. So I wanted to make a little money. I wanted to stay home and breastfeed my first baby. And I wanted to make a little money and get my hair highlighted. And then, so one of my friends said, I'm selling this jewelry. And I don't even care about jewelry. And she goes, you can meet people, because I was isolated up in the Appalachian Mountain. She said, you can meet people, and you can eat some dip, eat a brownie, sell some jewelry. By the way, I'm in. I just had a vision of you just now presenting a necklace with a little bit of dip underneath your fingernails. Jesus. Jason's thinking about other people touching the other vegetables in the chips, all the other fingers that get in there, right, Jay? A little bit. Oh, a double dipper. But, you know, I look back on it. It was really fun, and I sold jewelry to everybody in the Appalachian Mountains because I was funny, and people thought they would book me about a year in advance because they would have a good time. I wasn't talking about jewelry. I kind of developed some of my first material, and I was talking about breastfeeding and hemorrhoids. I always talk about what I'm going through, and women could relate to it. And then I remember saying to women, because you have to do the pitch at the end to book a party with me. And I said, I mean, it's get me now with a party or see me in Las Vegas later. You're right. It's up to y'all. But I felt in my heart, y'all, I thought, I'll be on TV one day. I'm going to be on, you know, I'll be in Las Vegas. I'm going to be doing, which was crazy. But I thought that. I felt that every time. And then the company noticed. You have to see it. You have to see it to believe it. You really, really do. If you don't believe it, no one else is going to. Yeah. It's so true. And I always believed it. I got real worried. And right before I blew up, I told Chuck Morgan, I go, I don't think anything's going to happen. I feel desperate. I think I'm going to open up a hardware store. And he was like, that's crazy. A hardware store. And you don't need to do that, Lynn. And that's the first time I had doubt, and I almost quit. And I said, these social media boys that I hired who are darling, I'm still with them. And I never spent that kind of money on my career, and I thought I'm giving it three months because it was expensive. I thought I'm giving it three months. If nothing happens, I know that's a sign, and I will bail out. and the first video they put out went viral and changed everything. Let's give a shout out to those boys. What are their names? Honest Fox Media, and that is Jared and Andrew. And they are precious. And I tell you, y'all, they had a mom. They grew up with a big bunch of brothers and sisters and they got my voice. They understood my brand from the word go. That's great. What does Chuck Morgan think about the money you spent with Jared and the boys? He fought me on it Yeah, of course he did Classic Chuck Morgan And I read that Chuck Morgan didn't realize How big your fame was until A gig at the University of Tennessee Or something like that You were walking out Yeah, maybe when we went to see Lana Richie and Earth, Wind & Fire And people, he got me regular tickets Which, you know, I don't mind Sitting regular in somewhere But now I got a bunch of Darling middle-aged women You know, they had a cocktail. And before you know it, I mean, we're all kissing and hugging, and I don't see the show. But anyway, people were yelling at me through the big arena, and I think he was dumbfounded. Yeah, well, let's say more about that. What happens to old Big Birch's Chuck Morgan with his Berkshire Hathaway gig, and he's seeing Leanne out there. Yeah, you're jackassing it back to Austin, and it's not for shits and giggles. You're really doing something, and all of a sudden, Chuck Morgan's in for a bit of a reality check. The security's getting between you and Chuck Morgan walking back out to the car, and he's not comfortable with that, is he? Well, some of it he loves, Jason. Some of it, I think it's been, it has been something to navigate. I think he does like to go to the University of Tennessee and sit up in a box and meet Peyton Manning Yeah of course he does That Who doesn That doesn suck does it old Chucky Bump Chucky Bump Wait a second He has been a wonderful provider so I think it was you know it was a little We love Chuck Morgan. No, we love Chuck Morgan. It was hard for him, for me, to make, honey, to have this power. You know what I'm saying, boys? Yeah, yeah, yeah. But let me, Leanne, let me ask you just a little bit about you saying that Chuck Morgan got you the regular tickets, and you don't mind and stuff like that, but now people are yelling out. And that experience of, like, because there is that thing of people going, oh, look at those celebrities. They're over in that special thing. And now you're like, oh, I kind of get it a little bit. Because, right? A little bit. Can you speak to that? Yeah. Because y'all, I mean, I have wonderful fans. And when I tell y'all, I go out in those theaters or arenas, and they stand up and blow me kisses before I've ever said a word. They're precious. They want to see me win. And I think a lot of women my age, I think they tell me it's inspiring that this happened to me at this age and it's not over and all of that. But you never know if somebody's crazy. There could be somebody that's unhinged, you know, and you just don't know. And I didn't know that. I didn't know. So when I am, only when I'm in large crowds, they'll have somebody walk with me. But Chuck goes, we don't need anybody, Len. I got it. And Chuck's a big man. He's 6'4". He's grumpy, you know, he's pissed. Do you run material by him at all? Like, you're like, is this funny? Is this not, or does he not? No, I don't because he, now he'll say to me, you need to say that or tell him this, Leanne. Like, he'll remember something and say, why don't you tell him that? And he's given, he gives me a lot of good material, y'all, because he's peculiar. What about your kids? Do your kids think you're funny? It's peculiar. They do. They do, Jason. Do they give it up? But they're annoyed by me too. Yeah, they do. They'll go, girl, you're funny. But they also think I've gotten kind of diva-ish. Yeah. Oh, do they? Yeah. Well, they're all grown. They can cook. You know, I get home. I've been on the road. Y'all are on the road. Y'all know you get home. You're exhausted. You're staring out into space. Could somebody else boil the macaroni? Right. Yeah, yeah. Mom's hammering it. And then when you were, you got, wait, how many kids do you have? Three, a boy and two girls. Right, and you said babies come first, comedy came third. So was that implied that you're second or like what second? Oh, Lord, I don't know. I didn't feel second. What would that be? I mean, being a wife, probably. Did I say that out of my butthole? Okay. So it's mom, wife, career. Yes. But now, the kids are out of the house, yes? Mm-hmm. Chuck's doing just fine. He's got a brand new chair that he loves. He can spend all day in that chair now. He's good. And so now, do we get to move a career up to number one now? Yeah, it's number one now, Jason. There we go. And I feel bad because I am the mama. Don't you feel bad? And they do still need me some. But yes, this has taken over everybody. Good. Y'all know what that is. I live out in L.A. part of the year to shoot, and so I can't be there. And I miss my family so badly, and they come out back and forth to see me, and I'll go home. But, yeah, it's taking over everything. So, wait, so this is the sitcom you're shooting out here, right? Uh-huh. Now, that schedule does free you up quite a bit, doesn't it? That's a real nice schedule. Those sitcoms, the Chuck Lorre world. Oh, mama. Are you doing just four-day weeks? over there? No, we do. Well, we do a table read on Monday and then rehearsal Tuesday, Wednesday and then pre-shoot Thursday and then live audience Friday. Yeah, yeah. Right. Have them slide that table read over to Friday right before you start shooting and you can free up that Monday. Yeah. You can spend more time in Chattanooga. Yeah. Okay? There you go. That's not a bad idea. Tell Chuck there's a new plan. Yeah. You know? Yeah, yeah. God. Oh, Lord. Do you like... JB, you're going to run into Chuck Lorre like today and he's going to be like, hey, man. I'm driving range. I mean, isn't that kind of so great that you're so used to a live studio audience since you toured all? Oh, that changed everything. It's probably, yeah, it probably relaxes you, no? It does. And I'm telling y'all, this scared me to death. I had always wanted this, you know, and then you're like, oh, my gosh, why did I wish for this? Because at first it was so stressful. And Kristen Johnston plays my sister, who is a pro. She's such a pro. And she has to sit and tell me what to do. and had to do her job and then teach me. I was like, what is that? What are y'all talking about? So at first, I was terrified. And then Reese Witherspoon said to me, it's the best schedule in television land. It's the best thing you could do. It's the best. And we shoot two weeks on, one week on. Two on. Because of Chuck Lorre. That's the way he wants it. It used to be three. This is very, how great. Now, are you able to cross paths with the great director, Jimmy Burroughs, at all? I have not met him yet, no. And I've heard them say something about him. I did have Andy Ackerman for an episode. Very good. Very good. And I love him, and I'm hoping I get him on some of these this season. I loved him. That was my favorite episode. Are you shooting over at Warner Brothers or are you over there at the Netflix lot? Yeah. Warner Brothers. You're the spot. On the Friends lot. I mean, on the Friends soundstage. And do you use, is it a lot of, do you rely on a lot of your own family stories to write stories for the show? No, not really. I mean, they listened to every podcast, read my book, watched all my stand-up. So it's based on my stand-up, but I mean, they'll get ideas from me, but not, I mean, I've got a really, I got Nick Bacay. Because when I was reading it, when I was reading about your, all your family stories are so fucking funny. Can you say the one about the ski trip and one of your kids getting hurt? Oh, when I fell off the ski lift, are you talking about when I fell off at 49 years old? No, one of your kids, yeah, that, but one of your kids shared a personal observation about themselves. Oh, are you talking about when the baby, who is my makeup artist, who is my true makeup artist on tour, she says now she's my caregiver and she hates that. But she's also my makeup artist on the set at Warner Brothers. Right, your youngest kid? The baby, uh-huh. And she's been a booger. I'll just tell y'all, I'm in love with her. She's funny. She's so funny. And she has been like Chuck Morgan. She's a lot like her daddy. Very strong-willed. She's been a lot. And we were in Beaver Creek, Colorado. She was, and I think it was one of the two or three times we had been already. All right, everybody goes off skiing. This baby is on the gondola with me to go up to the bunny slope, which is not far to get up on that. And it's just me and her. And in that short amount of time, she takes all of her clothes off. Yeah, she's hot. And, you know, skiing is hard. I've never enjoyed it. Chuck Morgan loves it. It's like I compared it to working in a coal mine. when I go skiing because I got to get everybody dressed. I got to make lunches for everybody because chicken tenders cost $45 up on that ski mountain. And Chuck Morgan doesn't go for that. But anyway, I said, why are you taking your clothes off? And she said, my butthole edges. You can't get to it through all those layers. You cannot get to it through all those. She took all her clothes off. And let me tell y'all, I had been doing that on tour. I'd been trying to work out that bit about snow skiing because I hate snow. I'll go, I'll stare at rich people, but I don't ski anymore. Okay, and she said to me, Mom, can you tell people I was four or five years old? You did not tell them. They think I'm grown, and then I took my clothes off and my butthole was itching. Right. So then I had to put in there. I thought, oh, my God. So then I started saying, okay, she was four or five years old and her butthole was itching. But yeah, I've had more people go, oh, my gosh, that snow skiing. Yeah. Because, you know, it's so hard with little children. Oh, yeah. Did you? And now, is it true you bring your whole family to some of your Netflix special? You brought your whole family for the first time? Yes. And what are they? Yeah. They came out on the first one. And I just, I don't know. I just naturally thought that was the thing to do. And they'd never seen you do anything like that? No. Yeah. And they were in shock. And then I brought them out on the second one. And each child now introduces me. So Charlie, my oldest, introduced me on the first one. And then Maggie, my middle child, introduced me on the second one. But y'all won't believe how many people have said, that's so sweet you brought your family out and we want to see your family because you tell all these stories. And I don't know, it just seemed natural to me to bring them out. It really wasn't that calculated. I just thought, oh, look at my family. Yeah, we went on tour. I brought my sister out and the audience just thought it was like, you know, Elvis squawked on stage. We'll be right back. and back to the show but doesn't it get a little tricky with the with the with the stories that you i mean perhaps some of them you might need to embellish to trip it into hysteria and then do some of them get a little their nose out of joint those like well you know you always say like that i'm the one that's dirty or that i'm the one that's lazy or the i'm the one that would like do you have to kind of divvy it up evenly so that you don't get a bunch of heat when you get home? Yeah, yeah. You know, the only time anybody's given me any grief over it and said, do not speak my name, when they went through middle school. Right. Middle school, everybody was paranoid and angry and puberty, and I did not. That was a dry time for me. That's the only—and then they got in high school, and they were like, we don't care what you do. And y'all, I wasn't working that much. I mean, I was working, but it was so pitiful that nobody cared. And then college, you know, they didn't even know who I was. And then now I always say, is this okay? And now they even say to me, Mom, you've never told this story. Tell this one. Oh, that's great. So now everybody's in on it, and they're fine. The only time Chuck Morgan ever said to me, don't you ever say that again. It was one of the first times I was on stage. I'll just tell you, boys, I had breastfed three babies. My breast looked terrible. They had sucked up into my body. They were like a little wadded piece of tissue with a, like in the bottom of a tube sock. And I had life left in me. I had life left in me. And I was 32 years old and I wanted to get my breasts done. And I said, one of the first times I was ever on stage, I said, I want to get my breasts done, but it's been a bad mobile home year. and Chuck Morgan said to me, don't you ever say that again. You know I can write a check for your breasts today. I've always provided for you and it hurt his feelings and so I've never said anything. Well, now I say it on interviews but now, I mean, after that, I never said it again. I love that Chuck Morgan took issue when you talked about a downturn in the mobile home sales. That was the only thing that bummed him out. You know what I mean? That's so good. What a dude. That's such a dude thing. Do you guys currently have a mobile home that you guys like to travel around in? No. These are the kind, Jason, they're not even those. This is the kind that you, a double wide. Have you ever heard of that, my darling? Oh, this can be like a legit home. Yeah, whether you put it on a foundation. This is one of the largest home builders in the United States. Wow. And he has worked for them for over 30 years. And it is a Warren Buffett company. Yeah. And they have sent us to Cancun. Oh, wow. Yeah. I mean. Yeah, boys. Yeah. Jason, yeah. Jason's been on a couple motorhomes. Who'd you go with, JB? I forget. With the Leif Garrett. We went on a nice ski tour. Oh, my Lord. Yeah. There's snow of a different kind. Yeah. I've got some video of that trip I've got to find. Which I do think an RV would be fun. You had your mountain bikes with you too, didn't you? Yeah, up on the roof there. So we could travel from the mobile home lot where we'd plug in, dump the trash, and then bike into town. Oh, God. Oh, yeah. God. It was a good time. So wait, Leanne, you were going to be, is it true you were going to be a therapist at one point? Did you study? I did study. I wanted to be a child and family therapist if I didn't make it in Hollywood. Wow. And I love all that. I still love that. I loved my degree, and I loved all that. And, you know, I look back on it, and I think during COVID, when I was wringing my hands and drinking wine and eating a chicken casserole, I should have gotten a master's online. Yeah. Did you get a degree in psychology? I got it in crisis intervention counseling under child and family studies. Wow. That's kind of cool. After I went back, y'all. After I went back and got through all that bad time, then I buckled down and studied. But, yeah. It makes me think, like, you know, sometimes when you see, like, one of my favorite movies is King of Comedy when Jerry Lewis played a very sort of severe, serious talk show host behind the scenes. And, you know, comics, particularly stand-up comics, always have this exciting, darker, quiet side. Do you, I started thinking about like this degree you've got and therapy and all that. Do you ever fantasize about playing a role where it's dark and it's quiet and there's this sort of this flip side to the character? I mean, do you have like acting aspirations like that? I do, Jason. And y'all would know better than I do if I could even do it. I bet you'd be great. But I would love to do drama and I would love to do a darker character. It'd be great. You can't do what you do without that side being under it all. We get it. We know what you're doing. You should get after that. Thank you, my darling. I would love to. I don't know if anybody would take me seriously. Sure, they would. Jason's a big-time director. Jason, what are we talking about here? Big-time, big-time. You are. You're a big-time director. You are. Big, big, big, big, big, big. You are. Yes. But no, that would be very cool. Well so you know more exciting even more so now that everyone is so excited and familiar with the flip side of it And you show them what behind the curtain Leanne I would love that I love that Leanne you said so many little tiny things Like you love doing laundry, which is like, what? Who loves doing laundry? It's therapeutic. And gas station, your favorite gas station snack on tour? Because I heard you love grabbing stuff at gas stations. Like when you're on tour, what's your classic snack? Honey, we have to. I don't want a boiled egg, but I try to because I don't want my butt to look big on TV. That was a shock, boys. That was a shock. You know what I don't like? Where's my chin? I don't like boiled nuts, which you see a lot in the South. Like warm nuts? No, no, no. Boiled. Like they're in a bag, like a wet freaking bag. with it. It makes the peanut shell all soft, and sometimes they're a little spicy. I'm a big peanut fan, and so I try to get into it over and over again there in Georgia, all the years I've spent there. I just can't get there, but I feel like it might be close. No? No. Don't stop trying? I've never cared about a boiled peanut. Yeah. I try to eat nuts, you know, because they, you know, a handful of nuts. I don't want to get dementia or whatever, but I don't. Wait, Does that help? Do nuts help with the— I think some—like walnuts and brain health, I think so. Omega's something. Omega's in there? But now Chuck Morgan— Now Chuck Morgan can go to a gas station, make a full meal with boiled eggs, because it's cheaper, and relish, and a mayo packet, and make his own egg salad. But being on tour, y'all know what that is. You've got Sean's attention. I'm constantly trying to get in protein, because I'm 60, Now everybody yells about women having all that protein, but it's hard on the road. Who's cooking in the house? Does Chuck know how to throw a meal together when mama comes home super tired from all over, just hammering it? He can make do. Yeah. Because, y'all, I was the stay-at-home mom, and even though I was doing stand-up, I cooked every meal. I am a country. I am from the country. We cook. We put everything into these children. and I was doing all that and doing everything, you know, because he was trapped. I bet that house always smells so yummy. What's your go-to meal? Fancy folks coming over and you want to really wow them with how you can make this particular. Oh, y'all, I don't feel like, I don't feel very fancy, but. No, it doesn't need to be a fancy dish. These people need not be fancy. Someone you know you make well. Yeah, if you're looking to brag a little bit. I can make a good chicken piccata. Oh. Oh, look at that with the capers? Sure. With the capers, lemon, with a thin chicken breast. I can do that with a little angel hair. There's a lot of water retention on the capers. Is there really? My friend Josh, our friend Josh, he once told me that he ate chicken piccata, I think something like 87 days in a row and a real low point in his life. He was looking a little puffy through a few months. Leanne, who's outside of your family and Chuck Morgan? Who's your best, who's your friend that makes you laugh the hardest? Or who makes you just gaggle? I tell you, Karen Mills, who is a stand-up, who's been doing it longer than I have, has been my saving grace in this whole thing. Because imagine y'all, my girlfriends, you know, their husbands are executives. They're out playing tennis. They're all, you know, getting new countertops. And I love them. And I love them. But they don't understand the comedy mind. You know, you got to be around other comedians. And Karen Mills opens for me on tour. Not all the time because she's got her own thing going on. But I can't tell you all how grateful I am to have her. We laugh so hard together. You know, I go back and forth with her about material. And then when we've had, through the years, I had to do a lot of private corporate things because I had three children and couldn't stay gone. And I would do a gig and then call her and say, I'm quitting. that was the worst thing that's ever happened to me. I wish somebody had shot me while I was on stage. And she would call me on the way home from a horrible gig and say, I'm quitting. I'd go, no, you're not. But we had each other. And, you know, it really helped me to have somebody. Because I'm in Knoxville, Tennessee, and I'm not around in Nashville. I work Zanies all the time, and my concert promoters are out of Nashville. Nashville's a huge comedy scene now with Nate Bergetzi, John Crist, Theo Vaughn, all these people. And I get to be with them, but all these years I was on my own. And this mom, you know, and everybody else was talking about school stuff and stuff that I was involved to with my kids, but I needed somebody that understood what I was going through. Because it's hard. Stand up is hard. It's the hardest. You know, and you drive 300 miles and make $50 and all that kind of stuff. How do you handle when it's, you were saying like sometimes like some of those gigs, it's just, it's the worst. Somebody shoot me like, how do you handle that when the audience is just not like, they're distracted, they're talking, they're drinking, maybe they're having a meal or whatever. Like, do they ever get nasty? Do you ever feel like, well, fuck this. I'm going to engage with these people and like get after them a little bit or maybe a heckler or something. Does it ever get, does it ever get like not fun and contentious? It's not fun. And there's times when you feel gutted, you know, coming out of doing a show for men that make carpet fiber. But I don't get contentious. I don't go there, Jason, because I'm too sissy. If I started, you know, going after somebody, then if they came after me, then I don't feel... People have never heckled me. Like, I only get like a drunk woman saying, I got a C-section. You know, I get that kind of stuff. I don't get, you know, people coming after me. And I think it's because I'm a mom and people are, and they can tell I've got a sweet spirit. And they don't want to come after me. Yeah, good. Right, right, right. But yeah, some of these corporate things will kill you. What about cursing? Do you ever, there are comics that curse and comics that don't, correct? Isn't there, there's a demarcation line there. Yeah. And I don't, and I love, like I'm a huge fan of Dave Chappelle. Oh my gosh, I love all kinds of comedy And I don't care if they cuss I've never done it But I think it's because I started out With little children And I didn't want to say anything That I didn't want them to say It's almost funnier without it And it just wasn't in my thing But I don't mind it when other people do it But yeah, there is kind of a line Yeah, I always love that about Nate too You mentioned Nate Bergazzi, who I love And he's such a good dude And he's so funny and he never cusses It's amazing He doesn't, huh? Yeah No, I don't know. I don't know. No, he doesn't. Leanne, we're going to do some rapid fire and then I'm going to ask you one last question. Okay, ready? Okay, my darling. Is it a new section? We're doing a new section? Yeah. Do we need like some sting music to tee it up? I love this. Sure. Rob, Rob, Rob. Sean's rapid fire section. There's only like five of them. Ready? Sweet tea or bourbon? I'd even say bourbon. I love that. Jello salad or banana pudding? Banana pudding. Country music concert or arena rock show? Or what kind of rock show? Like a big arena rock show. Arena rock show. Like the journey to everything. I'd probably go for a rock show. Oh, wow. Live studio audience or on location or like touring or something? Live studio audience. How about that? Early bird or night owl? Early bird. Oh, wow. Pizza or barbecue ribs? Pizza. Pancakes or bacon? Pancakes. Levi's or Lycra? Levi's. What? I answered all of them the same. Sean's just listing all the stuff that's in front of him right now, by the way. He's just looking at stuff in his room. Pizza and ribs, Lycra and jeans. He's just looking at shit that's in his view. There's an open box of pizza in the corner. Banana pudding. He's like, I'm going to get after that banana pudding. Leanne, I want to leave you with the first of all, this has been so great. I just want you to say, you know, you said your message is over and over again is about women of a certain age, as you said. It's not over for us. What does that mean? What would you tell your younger self about that? Growing up, by the way, we didn't even talk about you moving to a town called Bean Station. But anyway. Bean Station. I just, I'll go right, y'all. Being in Hollywood with these young girls that are, and these actresses. First of all, if I'd have moved to Hollywood at 20, I'd be on dope. Let me say that. I don't know how they've done it. I think, you know, because I'm 60 years old and I'm who I am, that I'm able to handle all this. But I tell young women all the time because they all think, and I remember feeling at 30, like I'm old and 40, it's over. And I feel like I'm smarter than I've ever been. I'm better at my craft. It took me 20 years to figure out how to do this. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I just think it makes sense when people make it big. Like Bill Burr, I heard him in an interview say, it took me 20 years I couldn't sell tickets. I couldn't do anything. And it was a slow build. But who I am and why it's happening to me, you know, all this has happened to me at this age. I just think it's crazy to think that, And I know y'all have been big deals since y'all were young. And that's wonderful. Not true. And y'all have given so much joy to all of us. But I do think there's something about, you know, honing a craft and... And learn, like you said, learn, like you're at 60, you know three times as much as a 20-year-old. That's right. And so that informs the things you can access when you're talking about funny shit, you know? It just, like, makes so much more sense. Agreed. I'm still doing the multiplication after Jason just said that. Yeah, it's also a privilege to get older, you know, because the only other choice is dying. I know. It's like you want to get as old as possible because if you don't, you die. You're dead. I know. That's your choice. Those are your choices. Bring the wrinkles on. That's why eating those two cakes and that stretched out tankini swim skirt meant the world to me. I thought 60 was going to be rough on me. And I thought, oh, my gosh, I'm so thankful to have my health and I'm having the time of my life. This is crazy what's happened to me. It's like winning the lottery. It's like God put down at the carnival and picked up one of those little ducks and said, it's you, girl. 60's the new 40. You know, I just feel so blessed by all of it. You're doing it real well. And this has been an enormous pleasure. Thank you. Sean, be honest. Be honest. Did it make you think about getting a cake today? 100%. I just wrote it down. You did. And I put a two next to it. Leanne, you are, you can see why you made it. You're just an absolute unbelievable joy. I'm more, Leanne. All your success is so deserved. It's so awesome to talk with you. Thanks for talking to us today. Thank you all. I'm in love with all three of y'all. Back at you. Y'all are darnling. Y'all have given so much joy. I hope y'all know that. to all of us people out here in the middle of the United States. Let us know when you're going to do a set out here in Los Angeles. Yeah. Okay, I will. I'll be working on that new hour, Jason. Come on. All right, you angel. You angel. Thank you for this today. Thank you, my love. Have a great rest of your day, Leanne. Thank you, Leanne. Thank you. Bye, bye, bye. Bye. See you. Bye-bye. Sheldon, what a great guest. I know. She was great. You know, Scotty loves her. Lives for her. And I do too. But I mean, he's seen every single thing she's ever done. Scotty turned you on to her? Yeah. And I was like, wow, she is really funny. She's really funny. I can hear her talking about Chuck Morgan all day. I know. I want to see him. He comes up a lot. He's so fun. He's got to come out on stage. Wouldn't that be fun? I want to talk to that guy. Book him. All right, book him. Don't shout at me. Don't shout orders at me. Hey, are you going to bring a cake over tonight? Do you want me to? Yeah, or a pie. Why don't you go get ours? I'll go get a Sweet Lady Jane's pie, or a cake or something. Or a Winston's pie. Will you really eat it if I get it? If you get a Winston's pie, I'm going to eat the hell out of it. They're okay. You're not a pie guy? You're more of a cake guy? Yeah, pie. I don't understand pie. It's just fruit shoved into pastry. All right, well, then bring a cake. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That I understand. What are we watching? You said. Oh, right, right, right, right. Are you guys getting together tonight? Yeah, it's movie night. Let's watch a movie. Come on. Now, Will, aren't you supposed to come home for a week and then go back to Long Island? Yeah. Is that going to happen? I'm coming back Friday. For? A week, eight days. Yeah. Wait, really? Is there any way that you can free up for some hangout with Danny D's on Sunday morning? No, I can't Sunday. God damn it. I know. What about Saturday morning with me? Saturday. Oh, that's sweet. No, I can't. Because I got that thing that you can't do Saturday afternoon that you said that you can't do. I can't. That's why I'm going to cram in the ground in the morning. I can't. Because I have other shit I'm going to do afterwards. I don't think you're going through your schedule right now. I know. Wait, are we still rolling? Yeah. God damn it. Well, hey, what about that Leanne Morgan? I know, I know. I know. Oh, she was an absolute delight. She's a delight. I mean, maybe late Sunday afternoon. Sorry, yes, Leanne Morgan. You know, I must say, Willie, you are gone for a long, long time with this junk and this incredible movie that you're in. I can't wait for everybody to see you in it. When will you be done? Bye. Bye. Love you all. Bye. Smart Less. Smart Less. Smart Less is 100% organic and artisanally handcrafted by Rob Armjarf, Bennett Barbaco, and Michael Grantary. Smart Less.