Ayesha Carr Interview
Ayesha Carr
Apple TV+ continues its winning streak of exciting original programming with the David Oweloyo lead show Government Cheese (2025 - Present). Which follows Hampton Chambers, an ex fraudster released from jail trying his best to re-assemble his family unit in space age 60s America. What follows is a collection of funny, surreal escapades and ever-unpredictable family shenanigans. We spoke to Aeysha Carr, one the co-creators of the show, about the various influences on the show, how they achieved a surreal feeling and what it was like to work with such a fantastic cast.
TNBFC: I want to just congratulate you on a fantastic show. I had an absolute blast watching it. In the lead up to the interview I'd watch like an episode every night and it became part of my routine. It was just a really fun time. I would love to ask you about some of the influences for Government Cheese - film, TV, art - especially for a show that tackles so many surrealist ideas?
Aeysha Carr: Oh, the surrealism behind the show. There's many things. There's two photographers that we really worked off of palettes and the skies and how we shot. I will say this; Paul's background in music videos and advertising really gave him a depth of tricks for how he can shoot things. He really shoots these amazing things practically. Everything is not VFX. And I think once we were allowed to play in that world of like, we can shoot these things and it can look really cool and be real, that's really where we went wild. The surrealism came from there not being VFX and it looked so cool and that it allows us to ground it. All the things that happen are real and we say they are real and we want the audience to believe that happen are real. And so once we kind of set those rules, the comedy that comes out of that is very specific. So we didn't rely on jokes. We relied on a lot of visual comedy, there's things that are humorous for the way they're shot. So in that, from Paul, if I can pull it together, is that we found comedy in the way it's directed, in the way things are acted, and the way things are shot. And I think that in and of itself just gives it a different point of view.
TNBFC: The care was very apparent and the tactility to what we're seeing on screen. It was very strong. I find the show incredibly ambitious and I wonder, within those ambitions, what are some of the challenges you faced when working on the show?
Aeysha Carr: Many challenges. No, I think the challenges that we faced, you know, we did have to lose some things that I love. There was things that were built in. And it was really a massive puzzle piece. David has a joke, and Paul has a joke. Where they would want to do crazy things, and they'd have to come to me. And I was like “I have to see the whole puzzle, does it fit in here?” So this masterful puzzle piece that we created in the writer's room, when we got to set, there were things that we could shoot and there were things that we couldn't and we lost some of the puzzle pieces that in my head I know about. I don't think it comes through. I think we added everything up well, but there were some things that we just couldn't do that I thought would have been amazing. Paul really is a commanding, kind force, so people wanted to show up for him. So the way they moved between setups, that whole crew from lighting, electric, the DP, the camera ops, everybody moved fast, everybody wanted to get stuff. Our AD at one point said “I've never seen a show get so many shots in a day.” From all the inserts and all the intricate work that had to be done, so all of that was a challenge. It was a feat, a feat.
TNBFC: Going off of that, the true accomplishment of the show, I think one of the best parts is the incredible cast you guys have assembled. I'd love to ask, what was it like working with David, Simone, Bokeem and you know, you guys have a lot of really fun character actors appear as well, briefly. Sunita Mani, Louis Cancelmi, and John Ortiz as well?
Aeysha Carr: I I think you have to start, when you talk about the cast, you have to start with David, such an actor of just a pedigree, an ilk that defies multiple. He can do so much. He was so committed. And I think what happened mainly is when he came to set, h he was there 100%. He did stunts, he got dirty, he committed to everything. I think whoever was there with him was like, “Oh, we're all in? We're going all in, because David went all in every day.” Once you set that standard, everybody shows up ready to go all in. Nobody's worried about if they're looking cool or what they're doing. They're like, “What does this scene need? How can I do that?” So David really set that standard. Simone Missick too, on her own is just such an accomplished actor. To play off him and be able to meet him on his level every single time and every moment was just remarkable. Her comedy chops without giving her any jokes. We are trying to put something together of just Simone, her looks that she gives. And none of them are stereotypical looks. They're all so nuanced. When we watch this show with people, the people laugh so much with Simone just not even saying a word. Then Bokeem, he’s an icon. Bokeem is an icon. He brings so much. And I tell a story about that line, “Time is a construct for men are sheep.” In the room, this is fun and then on the day it's getting crazy and I thought we didn’t need to do this line. Bokeem however, said “I want this line.” He crushed that line in a way that I hadn't thought of. He just brought a masterful skill every day that I think only someone of his artistic level and history could bring. It was like working with icons every day.
TNBFC: This collection of icons really just made the show for me. It was so much fun watching them. If the show continues going forward, what do you hope to explore next?
Aeysha Carr: There is a joke. Paul has a joke that when we first started talking together, I used cards when I write. I said, “let's get everything out of your head and let's put it down on cards and put them on the wall.” I like to put things on walls and it was a wall of crazy. I literally was picked pieces out and then I gave them to him saying “you can save these for later.” So there's a ton of stuff to tell. There's a whole universe of crazy? There's a whole universe of crazy that is from the mind of Paul Hunter. I'm excited, I'm really excited.
Government Cheese will be available to stream on Apple TV+ from 16th April 2025.