Whips, Chains and Hand Sanitizer
Jenny Jaffe has a lot going on: She's writing for Disney's upcoming Big Hero 6: The Series, developing comedy projects with pals at Devastator Press, and she's straddling the line between S&M and OCD as the creator and star of the sexyish new series Neurotica, which has just made its debut on IFC's Comedy Crib. Jenny gave us some extremely intimate insight into what makes Neurotica (safely) sizzle...
IFC: How would you describe Neurotica to a fancy network executive you met in an elevator?
Jenny: Neurotica is about a plucky Dominatrix with OCD trying to save her small-town dungeon.
IFC: How would you describe Neurotica to a drunk friend of a friend you met in a bar?
Jenny: Neurotica is about a plucky Dominatrix with OCD trying to save her small-town dungeon. You're great. We should get coffee sometime. I'm not just saying that. I know other people just say that sometimes but I really feel like we're going to be friends, you know? Here, what's your number, I'll call you so you can have my number!
IFC: What’s your comedy origin story?
Jenny: Since I was a kid I've dealt with severe OCD and anxiety. Comedy has always been one of the ways I've dealt with that. I honestly just want to help make people feel happy for a few minutes at a time.
IFC: What was the genesis of Neurotica?
Jenny: I'm pretty sure it was a title-first situation. I was coming up with ideas to pitch to a production company a million years ago (this isn't hyperbole; I am VERY old) and just wrote down "Neurotica"; then it just sort of appeared fully formed. "Neurotica? Oh it's an over-the-top romantic comedy about a Dominatrix with OCD, of course." And that just happened to hit the buttons of everything I'm fascinated by.
IFC: How would you describe Ivy?
Jenny: Ivy is everything I love in a comedy character - she's tenacious, she's confident, she's sweet, she's a big wonderful weirdo.
IFC: How would Ivy's clientele describe her?
Jenny: Open-minded, caring, excellent aim.
IFC: Why don't more small towns have local dungeons?
Jenny: How do you know they don't?
IFC: What are the pros and cons of joining a chain mega dungeon?
Jenny: You can use any of their locations but you'll always forget you have a membership and in a year you'll be like "jeez why won't they let me just cancel?"
IFC: Mouths are gross! Why is that?
Jenny: If you had never seen a mouth before and I was like "it's a wet flesh cave with sharp parts that lives in your face", it would sound like Cronenberg-ian body horror. All body parts are horrifying. I'm kind of rooting for the singularity, I'd feel way better if I was just a consciousness in a cloud.
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See the whole season of Neurotica right now on IFC's Comedy Crib.