Cameron Esposito has teamed up with Skittles as part of its Pride 2023 program, and the LGBTQ+ comedian and actor is also doing a special Pride-themed miniseries of her podcast.
“They asked me to be involved,” Esposito tells TV Insider with a laugh. “I love that. We love to be approached by Skittles. Something I think that’s really special about this campaign and why I said yes is specifically what they do around the packaging, the Pride packaging. So instead of the traditional red Skittles bag that you and I both know from our entire lives, it’s these designs that are really beautiful, that are by LGBTQ+ artists.”
She continues, “That’s really what I love about this because to me, in June, if we’re going to show advocacy as a brand, there are folks who put a rainbow on their Instagram, that’s fine. But hiring queer folks and giving them a spotlight, but also financial support, that really means a lot to me because that’s what can keep an artist going is actual patronage.”
Those artists will be featured on her podcast. “I don’t know any of them, and I always love to meet folks through my podcast, so that’s wonderful,” Esposito shares. “The other thing that Skittles ask me to do — and I love this — is they asked me to interview myself, which I mean, it was hard to get her, but we did land that booking.”
So how is the comedian preparing to interview herself? “I am writing blistering questions to ask Cameron Esposito,” she jokes. “I share a lot of my own personal story on the podcast as a way of building rapport with my guests, and I’ve found that people really open up, and also on that particular stream, I’m not usually the one answering the question. So I think my listeners will really like it. It’s cool. I’m excited about it.”
Below, Esposito also looks back at her time on A Million Little Things and shares what she’s hoping to do next.
I have to say how much I loved Greta and Katherine (Grace Park) and Greta’s love story on A Million Little Things, from the beginning to what we saw in the future. Talk about joining that show and the impact of telling that love story for you.
Cameron Esposito: Yeah, big deal. I was super happy to be on ABC with a haircut that’s similar to the one I usually have, with the opportunity to consult on wardrobe and to say some opinions about even scripts, which is very unusual for a guest to get that much input in a show. But I think it’s because they wanted to tell the story with, I don’t know, some level of accuracy, give it some grounding. And so that was a pretty wild experience. And I mean, my character wears a suit to a wedding and it’s not a white pants suit. It’s like a suit suit. I don’t know how many times that’s happened on network television, even in 2023. And it felt like me, actually, it felt pretty. I don’t have any tattoos. Greta has 50 tattoos, but other than that, there were some similarities between us.
ABC/Darko Sikman
And to see them get married then talk about having kids and not shying away from Greta’s bipolar disorder then have one after the time jump. We got to see them take all these steps, which is important, and it was great.
Yeah, good job spotting that, too. I think some folks missed it, but that was so cute working with that young actor that was meant to play my kid because I think actually we looked at quite a bit alike.
I talked to [creator] DJ [Nash] and [showrunner] Terrence [Coli] after watching the finale and I asked them, “that’s their kid, right?”
Yeah, isn’t that awesome?
Talk about filming that finale because it was such an emotional episode.
It was quite sad, I guess. It was also quite happy. Very, very infrequently is an entire cast brought in for a finale. That’s unusual. Not everybody was there on the final day, but most of the actors that were principled to the show were there on our final day of shooting. That’s really rare to have that big final moment. And one thing that was really cool, the last shot of the entire series was Christina [Moses] and Romany [Malco], who play Rome and Regina, just dancing in the set of their apartment, and all of the rest of the cast who had wrapped earlier stayed. We hung out in trailers for a bit and then we were back watching and when [they] called cut, we all came out and there was a big moment for everybody dancing. It just was very sweet.
How did your time on A Million Little Things affect you and what have you heard from others about how your character impacted them?
I guess it made me take myself more seriously as an actor, even though I’ve spent a lot of time doing work in comedy. It was my first big dramatic role, and it was very fun to feel that growth. I fly a lot for my other job as a standup comic, and it’s real fun to be recognized in the airport for that role. Folks seem to have really loved her.
Speaking of comedy, what stands out when you think back about your episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine?
Again, it’s an incredible cast. Just getting to walk in and work with some folks who have that level of chemistry and who have that level of click with each other. And Stephanie Beatriz is just amazing. I just saw her recently at a screening for the Amazon show With Love that I’m also in, and it was just so nice to run into her and to get a chance to work with her. She’s such a sweetheart. She’s so talented.
What does celebrating Pride this year mean to you?
It’s a big year in terms of the conversation, I think, around whether queer people and gender nonconforming people and trans people even get to exist. That feels like it’s really popping up this year. So in that environment to get a chance to talk to other queer people on my podcast, but also just hold some space — I mean, at this point in my life, my job is not really at risk because of coming out. I live in a neighborhood where I feel safe. My family and friends all know who I am, and that’s just not true for everybody. So I think this year what I’m hoping to do is hold some space.
Which of your roles has had the most impact on you, maybe in a surprising way?
That’s rough, only because I’ve so many positive experiences. But I guess I was just talking about this the other night, so I’ll say this. Years ago I got to be in Garry Marshall’s last movie before he passed away, Mother’s Day. And I got to work with this big ensemble cast, again of people who are incredibly talented, including Sarah Chalke, who I still know and I’m friends with. I will just say that — I’m from Chicago. I’m from the suburbs of Chicago. Nobody in my family’s in the entertainment industry. I started doing improv in college. Never in a million years did I think I would be working with a guy who created Pretty Woman. It’s all been a surprise. It’s all incredible. I work super hard, but that doesn’t necessarily matter. There’s a lot of people who work hard who don’t get to have experiences like that. So yeah, I’m beyond belief about the whole thing, about all of it.
What do you have coming up?
I’m working on my next hour of standup, finishing it, and so that’s taking my time right now, just touring and working on that, and I’m super excited to finish it, get it shot, and released.
What kind of stories do you want to tell going forward? Do you want to go back to comedy, do more drama?
I actually do want to go back to drama. I loved that. I would like to have more dramatic roles. I’d also love to do an action or procedural show, so I’m just putting that out there so that the universe hears me.
ABC/Jeff Weddell
I would love to see you in an action procedural role.
I’m working on my biceps and triceps to really make sure that I’m ready for when I get cast in that role.
And especially because there’s some comedy and drama in that.
That’s one of the biggest things I learned on A Million Little Things: I can be funny in a dramatic role, and that buys so much more authenticity for the show. And so instead of the comic relief having to exist only in comedies, it can exist anywhere. It’s so rad.
