In her new show, comedian and actress Arden Myrin, is tasked with portraying a fictionalized version of a real-life person.
In Free Bert, which hits Netflix on Thursday, January 22, Myrin stars alongside Bert Kreischer, who plays the titular character, as his TV wife LeeAnn. Kreischer’s real-life wife, LeeAnn Kreischer, was an executive producer on the show and always on set, which helped Myrin when building the character.
“I got to sort of observe [Bert and LeeAnn] and get to know her in a manner that felt, not like I was mimicking somebody, but like I could get the heart of this family,” Myrin exclusively told Us Weekly. “That’s why I love this show so much. The show is very funny, but at the heart of it, they’ve been together for 25 years. Bert told me, if she ever died, he would never kiss another woman. He loves LeeAnn, and so they have a blast.”
“She’s a super strong woman. She’s a great writer, and it was just very fun to have a funny, real family that got its quirks, which I feel like people can relate to. And it was a real pleasure to get to know them as a couple,” Myrin continued.
Myrin told Us that she met Bert prior to being cast in the show, after doing standup with him in the past.
“He just really seemed like a nice guy, and it stood out to me. I’ve always sort of rooted for him,” Myrin said.
The six-episode scripted comedy series is about a family trying to fit into an elite Beverly Hills private school community after their daughters are enrolled there. Bert finds himself suppressing parts of his chaotic comedic persona, but ultimately realizes that he is not painting the best example for his girls by giving away pieces of himself to try and conform.
Myrin revealed that LeeAnn picked her specifically for the role because she felt the version of her character was always rooting for Bert during the audition process.
“I had to go in like seven times, and she said that I always felt like I was on his side when we were auditioning,” Myrin told Us. “I would always kind of seem amused by him or have his back, and she said I made him laugh too, which was good.”
LeeAnn also gave Myrin lots of “agency” when it came to developing her version of LeeAnn on the show.
“She was like, ‘I don’t want to dye your hair looking exactly like mine,”’ Myrin told Us. “She’s like, ‘You get it.’ She would just come in and sprinkle little things.”
The Insatiable actress told Us that she and LeeAnn grew quite close over the course of filming and even gifted each other the same Clare V fanny pack after filming wrapped.
“I gave it to her, and then two nights later, she told me she bought me the exact same present,” Myrin said. “Ten days earlier she’d ordered it, we got each other the exact same gift of everything on earth. We got so tight that the real LeeAnn and the TV LeeAnn both, of everything on earth, got each other the exact same [gift].”
Starring alongside Myrin and Bert are newcomers Lilou Lang and Ava Ryan, who play fictional versions of Bert’s real-life daughters, Ila and Georgia, respectively. The show filmed on location in Atlanta for four and half weeks over the summer. Myrin said the cast spent a lot of downtime together on set.
Myrin told Us that Free Bert is unlike anything she thinks audiences have seen before.
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“I feel it’s like Modern Family meets Married with Children meets Curb Your Enthusiasm,” Myrin said. “I think they’ll be surprised at how much heart there is, even though, yes, it’s a little naughty. At the end of the day, it’s about a family that loves each other.”
What’s next for Myrin? She told Us that she’s working on an off Broadway musical that she cowrote with her friend Avery Pearson, titled Space Cowgirl.
“It’s almost like I,Tonya meets Hedwig meets Book of Mormon. It’s a funny rock comedy musical, but it’s like an edgy rock musical. It’s about an astronaut love triangle,” Myrin said. “I think it will make people laugh and cry, and it’s 90 minutes in and out. We have a really amazing cast that I’m not allowed to announce yet, but you’ll find out.”
