Buying in: ‘SNL’ alum lives white lie in ‘I Love That For You’
Everyone has that one big dream job they’ve longed for since childhood, but not all of us course-correct in adulthood to chase it like “I Love That For You’s” Joanna Gold (Vanessa Bayer, “Ibiza,” 2018). In the comedy series, airing its Season 1 finale Sunday, June 19, on Showtime and Hulu,
Joanna takes a big swing at the job she’s always wanted: home shopping channel host.
Joanna is played by Bayer, the former “Saturday Night Live” cast member who also serves as “I Love That For You’s” creator and executive producer.
Drawing from her own personal experience of having survived childhood leukemia, Bayer drew young Joanna as a bright kid who finds comfort in the hospital by tuning in to the “Special Value Network” and watching her idol, Jackie Stilton, portrayed by “The Other Two” star Molly Shannon, expertly sell jewelry, fashion and homewares to at-home consumers.
Catching up to adult Joanna, fans see a woman in a state of suspended childhood. She is unfulfilled, living with her parents, working as a free sample server at a big box store and going on an awkward string of dead-end dates. On one of those dates, Joanna states her intentions to pursue a career as an SVN host before quickly following through on her goals.
After nailing her SVN audition, Joanna gains entry to her favorite network’s studio and is set on the fast track to onscreen hosting. Her idol, Jackie, becomes her mentor and takes Joanna under her wing, but the reality of living her dream gets to Joanna when she becomes overwhelmed on-air and is sent to the network CEO’s office.
Intimidated by SVN’s big boss, Patricia Cochran (Jenifer Lewis, “Black-ish”), to begin with, Joanna sees her success about to come crashing down around her. In a last-ditch effort to hang on to her dream, the aspiring host busts out a lie: her cancer is back, she tells them.
The lie does the trick and Joanna gets a second chance at SVN. Not only that, but she is emboldened to take whatever she’s offered as sympathy, including a bigger dressing room and special treatment from stage manager Jordan, portrayed by Paul James (“Greek”).