‘Catastrophe’ pays tribute to Fisher
Saying goodbye with humorous send-off.
Spoiler alert! This story contains details from the series finale of Amazon’s “Catastrophe.”
When Carrie Fisher died of cardiac arrest in late 2016, she had just finished shooting the third season of British comedy “Catastrophe.”
Her unexpected death, at age 60, left creators/co-stars Rob Delaney and Sharon Horgan (who play Rob and Sharon) facing a conundrum: How could they write her out of their loosely autobiographical show?
Fisher played Rob’s mom, Mia, who was very much alive in the Season 3 finale, cracking bawdy jokes at Sharon’s dad’s funeral and staying behind to hang out with Sharon’s mom after the couple returned home to London.
For most of the show’s fourth and final six-episode season (now streaming on Amazon), Mia is mentioned only in passing by Rob and his sister, Sydney (Michaela Watkins), who lives with Mia in New England. It’s not until the series finale, when Rob and Sharon bring their young kids to visit, that we learn that she died of a heart attack that morning.
Trying to maintain a sense of humor as he grieves, Rob delivers a risible eulogy for his mom, known for her vulgar humor and blistering political opinions.
“I bet Mike Pence spends his Sundays throwing disabled kids out of windows,” he says, quoting from an email she wrote. “Looks like he would, that microwaved apple-looking (expletive).”
It was “a real struggle” acknowledging Fisher’s death, Horgan says.
“We knew our audience would know that Carrie Fisher wasn’t with us anymore, but we could surprise them with when Rob finds out . ... We were both delighted to get the chance to say goodbye to her in that way, and to have her funny, irreverent voice through Rob’s eulogy.”
“A little shout-out to Mike Pence there,” Delaney adds, joking.
“I mean, a lot of people watch the show to find out how we feel about Mike Pence. What better way than at Carrie Fisher’s funeral?”
They remember Fisher as an expert storyteller who was very open and loved to listen.
“She could have just been like, ‘Here’s the deal: I’m a huge star, so you’ll probably just want to hear from me,’” Delaney says. “But she was curious about you. She was just a good, kind soul, you know?”
“Catastrophe” ends with a heartwarming scene on the beach, as Sharon reveals to Rob that she’s pregnant with their third child and the couple reaffirm their love for each other, having overcome obstacles such as Rob’s alcoholism and Sharon’s infidelity.
“We wanted to make a show about marriage that explored it as realistically as we could,” Delaney says. Bringing it to a close after 24 episodes, “we feel like we did that, and don’t really have anything else to say.”
Delaney and Horgan play an American man and Irish woman who get hitched after hooking up, although offscreen, they’re married to other people. Having written some of their own experiences into the series, “there’s definitely some stuff that Sharon, the character, figures out that I wish I could filter into my own life,” Horgan says. “But it doesn’t really work that way. It’s much easier to write stuff down on the page than (realize it) in the moment of real life.”
Still, “Catastrophe” left a lasting, unexpected impression on Delaney.
“In the second season, the character of Rob takes Sharon for a cheese-making workshop, and we just thought that was a silly idea,” he says. “But now, in real life, my wife and I get a monthly cheese subscription where we have amazing cheeses from around the U.K. and France delivered to our home. So cheese-wise, these characters have rubbed off.”
“She could have just been like, ‘Here’s the deal: I’m a huge star, so you’ll probably just want to hear from me.’ But she was curious about you. She was just a good, kind soul, you know?” Rob Delaney Actor, on late ‘Catastrophe’ co-star Carrie Fisher