Jamie Lee Curtis Reveals Filming This Sictom Was ‘Awful’ Despite Loving the Show

Jamie Lee Curtis has built one of the most eclectic résumés in Hollywood, moving fluidly between horror franchises, action blockbusters, and award-winning dramatic work. Somewhere in that mix, she also made a memorable recurring appearance on the beloved Fox sitcom ‘New Girl,’ playing Joan Day, the mother of Zooey Deschanel’s title character, across six episodes spanning multiple seasons.

That role put Curtis alongside Rob Reiner, who played Joan’s ex-husband and Jess’s father, giving fans a memorable comedic pairing during the show’s run from 2011 to 2018. On the surface, it seemed like exactly the kind of guest spot that would fit comfortably into Curtis’s genre-spanning career, given the show’s critical acclaim and devoted fanbase.

Behind the scenes, though, Curtis has revealed the experience wasn’t nearly as enjoyable as fans might assume. Speaking at NBCUniversal’s Summer Backlot Experience, she admitted that filming a single-camera sitcom like ‘New Girl’ was something she genuinely hated, explaining that despite thinking it’s a great and very funny show, actually making it felt more like shooting a movie than a traditional comedy, according to Entertainment Weekly.

Curtis elaborated further on exactly what made the format so draining for her, describing the atmosphere on a single-camera set as unsettlingly quiet given the absence of a live studio audience. She said you’re working with a full camera crew but nobody actually laughs during filming, calling the silence “awful” and making clear that single-camera comedies simply aren’t fun for her as a performer.

Curtis’s frustration with single-camera sitcoms isn’t limited to just her time on ‘New Girl.’ She’s also worked in the format on shows like ‘The Bear,’ but has consistently gravitated toward multi-camera productions filmed in front of live studio audiences, a style she credits with giving her the immediate comedic feedback she thrives on as a performer.

That preference traces back decades to her time on ‘Anything But Love,’ the ABC sitcom she starred in alongside the late Richard Lewis from 1989 to 1992. Curtis has described that show as her favorite job she’s ever had, and has openly admitted to repeatedly asking her agents to help her land another multi-camera project in the years since.

That persistence has finally paid off with ‘Newlyweds,’ a new NBC multi-camera comedy starring real-life couple Téa Leoni and Tim Daly as a free-spirited woman and a reserved professor who marry quickly after a whirlwind courtship. Curtis serves as both an executive producer and recurring guest star on the series, playing a character named Claudia, marking her long-awaited return to the format she’s always preferred.

Curtis wasn’t alone in sharing complicated sitcom memories during the panel, with co-star Leoni recalling that crew members used to hang air-sickness bags behind the sets of her earlier sitcom work due to how nervous she used to get before performing live in front of an audience. With ‘Newlyweds’ set to premiere on NBC on October 23 at 8:30 p.m. ET, Curtis appears ready to finally recapture the kind of comedic energy she’s missed since her earliest days in television.

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