"My brother and I were big fans of the original series," stand-up comedian and actress Tig Notaro says of Star Trek. She’s about to reprise her role as Jett Reno (who previously appeared on Star Trek: Discovery) when Star Trek: Starfleet Academy premieres January 15 on Paramount+. "I think just having that connection to something from my childhood is great, and also being a part of a show that I feel is ultimately a positive way of storytelling. It's been a positive experience for me as a person on the show. Being a stand-up comedian that has kind of accidentally fumbled into acting, it's embarrassing to say, but it's fun to watch myself in that world."
In addition to stand-up and acting, Notaro has another role: parent to twin sons, 9, with her wife, Stephanie, though the kids are less excited about the world of Star Trek.
"I've tried to show my kids the show," she says. "When they were really little, they were only interested in watching the spaceship fly by. Anytime I was on camera, they were like, 'Go back to the spaceship.'"
Notaro says returning to TV for a second Star Trek series has proven to be a career highlight.
Notaro in a scene from her first Star Trek series, Discovery
"It's a really exciting, fun experience to work on this new series with Holly Hunter and Paul Giamatti," she says. "I mean, they're obviously very well known, but the quality of actors [on Star Trek series] has always been there. And it's the first project in my career where I’ve felt like I need to push myself more. So, that's a fun aspect — not getting too overwhelmed by being around these really talented actors, and allowing the discrepancy in our talents to motivate rather than intimidate me."
Regarding her personal relationship to television, Notaro says that while she was glued to the TV as a child, she’s much less in touch with today’s programming. "I watched a good amount of TV in the ’70s and early ’80s, and then after that, I don't think I was very tied to television in the way that some other kids were," she says. "These days, I don't watch a lot of TV. My wife, she watches. She would probably like to watch more TV and film than she does, and she would probably like to do that with me. Well, when I say ‘probably,’ I know for a fact."
We asked Tig Notaro to share some of the TV projects that help define her.
My favorite show as a kid: Good Times
Good Times stars John Amos and Esther Rolle
I was just talking to my sons about this, because I want to revisit it. I mean, I loved the comedy, but I also loved John Amos. I loved every character on the show, and I felt like it was based on a real family. There was just such a real vibe to their family, what was going on in their world and the hard times. It's called Good Times, but they were clearly going through some hard times.
I remember reading that [Amos passed away last year] and connecting to that loss. I think, as a child, I kind of wanted a father like him. I felt like he loved his kids. You felt that passionate love for his kids. And not that my family didn't love me, but I don't know, I really love that guy. I loved his character.
The show I consider to be ahead of its time: Star Trek
The original show was so ahead of its time. The representation and just the global inclusivity — that whole world. It was, I think, a very new and different show.
The show I would have loved to work on: Arrested Development
Arrested Development's David Cross and Jason Bateman
The show that I'm always like, "Man, that was perfectly silly," that I would have loved to be on is Arrested Development. I mean, the characters. And as I said, the silliness. I just love that it's played serious. It wasn’t just silly for silly's sake. You could be like, "I can track this nonsense somehow." It was just so well done, and it was the first show in a long time that I felt like, "I'm going to miss those guys."
The last show I watched: Baby Reindeer
Sometimes when people talk too much about something, I can't even watch it until things settle down. But we did sit down and watch, and we plowed through the whole thing in an afternoon. I felt it was a masterpiece.
The show I love that might surprise people: Inside the Actor’s Studio
For a stranger, this wouldn't sound surprising, but if you're really familiar with me, what would be shocking is that I really loved Inside the Actor’s Studio. Even though I wasn't necessarily following everyone's projects, I really enjoyed the interview. I think it would surprise people that I watched that and not necessarily [the actors’] projects.
The show I’ve never seen: Seinfeld
Oh, if you could see the list of shows I’ve never seen! I love being under a rock. But this is going to be surprising: Seinfeld.
I would say, in general, I really love drama. That's more so where I would go, even in film. I'm not going to go see a big comedy. I really love documentaries, and I love very devastating, intense drama. I guess that goes back to why Baby Reindeer really spoke to me.
Oc course, I am familiar with Seinfeld. It's popped up. And of course I've seen clips of it here and there, but I've never watched an episode. It's nothing about that particular show.
Also, I only recently saw Friends, and that's even after knowing Jennifer Aniston for years. On a family vacation, our kids stumbled upon Friends in our hotel room and watched it. They were 5. The laugh track kicks in, they're dying laughing, they don't get half the jokes. Now it's become this thing in my family where they want to watch an episode of Friends before they go to bed. They're 9 now. So that's what our family does. I've seen nine seasons of Friends, and that's driven by my kids.
My kids are also very into The Morning Show, because of Jennifer Aniston — "Rachel." They walked into the room, and my wife is watching — maybe it was season three when I come on — and they’re like, "Is that Rachel?" So, they sat down.
We couldn't figure out why they were so into The Morning Show. Then, after we talked about it, my wife said, "I think it's so high drama that it really caught their attention." When a character is yelling at somebody or barreling down a hall at a fast speed or slamming a phone down, our kids are like, "Where are they going? What happened?" It really sucked them in. But the initial draw was that they saw Jen.
Starfleet Academy is now streaming on Paramount+.
