'Laid' Proves a Modern Rom-Com Can Be Both Morbid and Funny

4 weeks ago 11

Ruby’s journey may be unique, but her investigation into why her past relationships didn’t work out will feel relatable to many. “To be honest, working on this show, made me really think about everyone that I’ve ever been with—you really just start to go through the Rolodex in your mind. Not necessarily having regrets, but you’re like, ‘Oh, I guess I could have done that differently,’” says Hsu. “Which I think is our hope for the audience as well, because love is such a mystery. You really could go in so many directions, and it’s unclear how you know when you know.”

In Laid, once Ruby and AJ realize that something weird is happening with Ruby’s exes, AJ makes a sex timeline on a whiteboard that traces all of Ruby’s past relationships. But that whiteboard was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to keeping all of Laid’s storylines straight. Khan says that the writers’ room had a separate whiteboard for each character, along with a “master” whiteboard that linked everyone. “We’re going into her past. She’s got to go backward and start to find these people. At the same time, we’re moving the love story forward, what’s happening to her in the present,” she says.

As Ruby digs deeper into her past, Khan had to walk a tricky tonal tightrope. This is, after all, a comedy, but one in which many of the characters are literally dying. “The challenge of the comedy was to not tip over too far,” she says. “You have to allow space for when this thing happens that it’s shocking and it’s surprising, but it still has to make sense in the world—it can’t be too jokey.”

Laid has many laugh-out-loud moments, often delivered by Hsu as awkward, often self-involved Ruby. Early in the series, Ruby makes a bad personal decision that will have repercussions throughout the show. “But she makes it from a place of feeling very insecure and very hurt and very untethered,” says Khan, who adds that even when Ruby is making bad choices, you’re still rooting for her—and that is due in large part to Hsu’s performance. “You couldn’t do the story that we’re doing, I think, with anybody else, because she brings a sense of reality to everything she does. She makes it feel lived-in and funny and vulnerable.”

As part of her homework for the show, Hsu watched at least one rom-com every week of the project’s nine-week shoot. She revisited the classics, like When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, and The Wedding Singer. She also took seriously the responsibility of stepping into the first spot on the call sheet for the series. While Hsu has done notable supporting work in Everything Everywhere and the TV series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Laid presented a new chapter for her as a lead actor. She thought back to when she appeared on the 2016 Hulu series The Path, which starred Aaron Paul. “I remember watching him and I was like, ‘Oh, that is how you be number one.’” she says. “I felt so excited, honestly, to be in a position where I got to bring my value systems to set. For me, being number one on the call sheet or the director or a creator, you are hosting the environment. You are establishing the company culture in a way.”