X Mayo & Michael Benjamin Washington Interview: American Auto Season 1
American Auto, the latest feather in NBC's workplace comedy cap, takes the tried and true formula to new heights by pairing it with the life-and-death stakes of the automobile industry. The ensemble series follows the beleaguered employees of Payne Motors as they begrudgingly welcome their first-ever female CEO, Katherine Hastings (Ana Gasteyer, The Goldbergs), who may know everything about pharmaceuticals but nothing about cars.
Created by Justin Spitzer, the new series has all the charm of Superstore and The Office but with a whole new set of quirky cast members ready to turn an earnings call into a party. But while they maneuver each fresh corporate scandal, they must also deal with their own personal issues. Katherine's assistant Dori (X Mayo, The Farewell) finds she has more in common with her prickly boss than she previously imagined, while Cyrus (Michael Benjamin Washington, The Boys in The Band) hopes to make others admire his contributions as much as he admires himself.
Related: 10 Funniest Work-Related Comedies, According To IMDb
Mayo and Washington spoke to Screen Rant about the behind-the-scenes magic that leads to comedy gold, and what other aspects of their characters they'd like to explore.
Screen Rant: X, as someone who has done your own fair share of comedy writing, how much improv or how much of your own voice do you put into Dory? And what is it like to work with Justin on that front?
X Mayo: Justin was the best from day one. When I did the audition, I played with it, and some of that you actually saw in the pilot episode. The writing is so good, and I always say I need a strong foundation before I can play. There are other projects that I unfortunately have been on where I just stuck to the script
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