During what she described as a “super unique” development process, veteran sitcom actress and writer Katie O’Brien took a leap after hearing Tubi was looking to produce its first original scripted series.
“They were looking to explore something that had to do with generations working together, and then they were looking to sort of do some type of workplace comedy,” O’Brien told DECIDER during a phone call this week.
O’Brien then pitched the fast-growing streaming service her interpretation what a show like this could and should be, complete with her own characters and worldview, and got the greenlight to proceed. Now, the fruits of her labor are finally on display. The first two episodes of her smart and funny sitcom The Z-Suite are now streaming, just days ahead of what will surely be Tubi’s biggest spotlight to-date: Streaming the 2025 Super Bowl to its millions and millions of viewers for free.
Though no stranger to sitcoms, this is the first time O’Brien is steering her own ship as a creator and executive producer. Speaking with Decider, O’Brien shared her thoughts on how her acting background on Teachers shaped her as a showrunner, the challenges of writing in a Gen Z tone as a proud millennial, collaborating with sitcom legend Lauren Graham, and more.
DECIDER: With your background in acting, what has the transition been like to running your own show, and how has that influenced your writing?
KATIE O’BRIEN: Well, it’s interesting. Going from being an actor to a showrunner, I feel like is something no one has said ever. Or, maybe it’s a really common thing, but it’s very different. It’s interesting. It’s helped me a lot, because as an actor, you sort of are in the eye of the storm and you’re sort of, you know, at the center of this. So, being a showrunner, it was helpful to sort of know what that felt like, and to understand how vulnerable it is, scary and how hard actors work to sort of understand all of that. And that actors have their own process. Being a showrunner, it helped to sort of understand how they felt and approach it that way.
And then, it sort of influences everything, you know, writing. I tend to act things…this is going to sound crazy, but I tend to act things out as I’m writing them. So it’s helped a lot. Showrunning is acting. You’re trying to let everybody know everything is going great, and we got this. Even sometimes when you don’t have it.
You know Nico Santos personally, can you tell me about your relationship? How you met and how you got him to be on the show?
Nico and I met maybe ten years ago in the basement at CBS. We were doing the CBS Diversity Showcase together. He was performing in it, I was a writer, and I just immediately fell in love with him and thought he was so talented. But, you know, this was before Superstore, or this was before I had done my show Teachers. So, we really were just sitting in this basement at CBS being like, “Doo de doo de doo.”
We just became friends and I adored him. For years I have always wanted to work with him and put him in something. So, when this came about, when I was writing the script, I wrote it for Nico with Nico in mind, sort of thinking, “Gosh, if Nico can’t do this, I don’t really know who can.” Luckily, Nico was kind enough to jump on board and do it. It’s wonderful. There’s nothing better than working with your friends.
What has it been like being friends but having to keep a professional relationship with him being an actor on the show and you the showrunner?
It’s been wonderful because Nico is such a lovely, wonderful person. It was a great support system for me on set, frankly, to have a friend there. I was lucky enough to have a lot of friends to work with that were writers, but it was wonderful to have him. It’s also wonderful to sort of have a friend come in and be like, “Hey, what if I tried this,” or “Would you be open to this,” because we get each other. So, he was really great, and then he just is such a well boundaried person. He knew this was work and he came in and just showed up and was professional. I never really had to think about it. So, it was just great. It was supportive and wonderful, and at the end of the long day, if things were tough, I could turn to him. He’s just the best.
Nico’s character Doug collecting Christmas village figurines is very niche — is that something Nico actually does IRL?
It is super niche. It is not true. We just wanted Doug to sort of be this special, unique, weird thing. Which I know Nico can play so well, and he can play it believably. So, we wanted him to be obsessed with something and fixated on something. We had talked about could it be luxury bags? One of my writers in the writers room was like, “I have a friend who’s super obsessed with Christmas miniatures.” I was like, “That’s perfect.” Christmas is really big in the Philippines, so we also wanted something that was sort of true, and Nico was excited about that. He was like, “Yeah, that’s a huge hit in the Philippines,” and it pays off as the season goes on. It starts off as this weird random thing, and then it really develops into something. But luckily, most actors you would go to like, “Hey, so you’re obsessed with Christmas miniatures,” and they’d be like, “Why,” or, “Can you explain further?” Nico was like, “Okay.” [Laughs] So, it was sort of perfect in that way.
I can’t wait to see it come back up, and what a fun conversation to be a part of, like, “Okay, everyone just throw out weird interests. Go.”
Yeah! That was, like, a great part of the whole process, especially with Lauren [Graham], too. Lauren’s an executive producer and creative and collaborator, and it was really collaborative. There were a lot of things with the actors, or with Nico, or Lauren where we would sort of explore different topics and be like, “What do you think about this,” and they’d be like, “Yeah, or what about this?” So, that was sort of a great part of it where I really wanted an environment where everybody could feel like they were contributing. The product is only better if people contribute.
Speaking of Lauren, how did the wonderful Lauren Graham become your Monica Marks?
This is a great question, and I wish I had a succinct, specific answer, but to be honest with you, I think I blacked out. I’m a massive Lauren Graham fan. I watched Gilmore Girls and Parenthood and just think she is brilliant, funny and smart. I think my body couldn’t accept the fact that, like, she might be interested in the project. So, I don’t remember how it initially came about. I just know that I found myself on Zoom with her, talking to her, and she was as lovely and cool and smart as you would think.
It was the opposite of, “Don’t ever meet your heroes,” it was, like, “Meet your heroes, they’re exactly how you imagined them to be.” But, I talked with her about this, and I was just like, “Hey, I would love to collaborate with you on this. I want to hear what you think Monica should be like.” In the beginning, she was like a true partner, she was a partner throughout, but we really discussed different things for Monica, and she’s about as cool as it gets is kind of the tagline.
Gen Z and TikTok lingo can be very hard to use and understand. What was it like writing Gen Z material trying to get it accurate, but not cliché, while also balancing poking fun at Gen Z yet understanding them?
A big part of the show was to approach it like everybody’s wrong. Nobody’s right. The message of the show is not to be, like, “Gen Z is annoying,” or, “Gen X sucks.” It was just sort of, like, everyone is trying their best with the tools they have and the generation they came up in, and in a lot of ways, naturally, we all fall short.
Gen Z was something specifically Tubi wanted to explore, and so I was like, “Well, I got to figure out how to know Gen Z.” My brother is Gen Z, so I called him up, and I was like, “Hey, would you be my little Gen Z consultant and expert.” When I was doing the pilot, he would read the pilot, and he would be like, “We would say this. We wouldn’t say this,” and then it sort of devolved into him being like, “Hey, I think this joke is a little weak,” and I was like, “Okay, I’m not asking you to give me notes on the comedy. Just tell me if Gen Z would say this or not.” [Laughs]
He was sort of my consultant during the pilot process, and then, obviously, in the writers room we had Gen Z writers, and they were super helpful. It was honestly a master class for me. I found myself trying to be Gen Z, and everyone was like, “Please stop.” So, they guided me.
What are your thoughts on Generation Z in the workplace and as employees?
You know, I think like every generation above the lower generation, I have my, you know, things with Gen Z where I think we’re all really quick to say, “They’re entitled,” or “They don’t work hard enough.” But, I have to tell you, I really respect this generation, and I think they have a lot of things right. They’re very focused on self-care and creating a safe space for themselves. I feel like that’s the correct way to live.
I felt as a millennial, my M.O. was always like, “Hey, you work really, really hard. You never complain, and then when your body gives out, then maybe you take rest.” So, I kind of respect that they’re like, “Yo, I have therapy at 10 a.m. on Wednesdays, and I’m going to be late to work.” Sometimes I’m like, “Maybe schedule your therapy around work?” But, there’s also a part of me that admires like, “No, they’ve got their priorities and I respect it.”
How did you come up with the archetypes for the Gen Z social team? Were those characters always written that way, or was it based off of the actors?
The characters were somewhat written that way. Madison [Shamoun] sort of sums it up perfectly when she talks about Kriska. She’s like Tracy Flick from Election meets Elle Woods. She’s very driven, and smart, and has her goals and knows exactly what she wants. She, sort of, was always like that, and I think that character at the end of the day, the series progresses and I needed Monica to somehow find something in Kriska that she could see herself in or respect.
And then Elliott, I actually had written a very Troye Sivan type, and was sort of my inspiration. But then in casting, Spencer [Stevenson]walked in, and just sort of blew me away with his take of Elliot. I think Lauren and I, and the rest of the team, sort of saw Spencer and thought, “Oh, this is Elliot.” So he was a little bit different. The idea of him was there, but it sort of evolved with Spencer taking on that role.
Clem was sort of always written this way, and then when we found Anna [Bezahler]– Casting Clem was hard. We felt we met a lot of really, really great actors, but nobody was quite like 100%. There were a lot of, like, 99%s– And then, I came across Anna at UCB in L.A., and they just sort of completed Clem. Little nuggets of all of them existed, but then, like everything and always, the actors came in and made it far better.
The “All Vibezz Matter” scandal in Episode 1 is very apropos with how much DEI is being talked about today. I was wondering, how do changes in the real world affect your writing process, and how does that play into how these characters will evolve?
Obviously, the real world infiltrates my writing. I’m living in the real world, and it’s part of it. But, I do try and keep it very light, fun and never too much of a commentary. So, it bleeds in naturally. At the end of the day, I really want people to watch the show and sort of escape, just laugh and watch a silly half-hour comedy, and then face the real world when they go back.
But, if we do bring it in, I like to bring it in in a lighthearted or satirical way where it’s not taking itself too seriously. I also never want to be too preachy with anything. It’s sort of like it’s there sometimes, and there’s a nod to it, but I never want to go into it too much.
The first two episodes of The Z-Suite are currently streaming on Tubi. Look for new episodes to drop on Thursdays.
Claire Waheed is a recently graduated freelance writer currently based in Texas. She loves all things pop culture and new adventures.