Natasha Lyonne Is ‘Blown Away’ By All the Emmy Love for ‘Russian Doll’

When the 2019 Emmy nominations were announced on Tuesday, July 16, Netflix’s Russian Doll managed to snag 13 mentions against some pretty fierce competition. Co-creator Natasha Lyonne — who also produced, starred in, wrote for and even directed an episode of the series — couldn’t be happier.

“I’m blown away,” the actress, 40, exclusively told Closer Weekly at the opening night of Jacqueline Novak: Get on Your Knees at the Cherry Lane Theater on Monday, July 22. “Honestly, it just feels very nice.”

Russian Doll — which garnered a nom for Outstanding Comedy Series as well as writing and acting noms for Natasha — stars the Orange Is the New Black star as an NYC woman named Nadia Vulvokov. Nadia, who is experiencing something reminiscent of Groundhog Day, keeps dying and returning to the party being thrown in her honor. Throughout the show, she tries to find a way out of the strange time loop.

“It’s a very warm thing because it sparks thoughts in me about community and feels life-affirming to continue along a creative path and keep kind of digging deep,” Natasha gushed. “I definitely think that it’s a show that swims in the deep end. So the idea that that’s being received so warmly is deeply encouraging. Then, to get to be on that ride with, you know, the great love of my life, Amy Poehler, is extraordinary.”

More than a month Russian Doll proved to be an Emmy darling, Netflix had renewed the series — which Natasha and Amy, 47, co-created with Leslye Headland — for season 2. Like season 1, the trippy drama will return with eight episodes and, as Natasha teased, be the “same show, just weirder.” Russian Doll will also likely keep the girl power turned up to the max as it had an all-female writing and directing team.

I think this is not uncommon sort of in making something which is like the very first idea and then the very last idea, are, if you’re lucky, almost the same, but everywhere in the middle gets really scary and murky because you’re almost pulling it apart to put it back together again,” Natasha — who famously appeared on Pee-wee’s Playhouse as a kid — noted. “Because you’re building the rules of the game, of the specificity of the world. It can feel like a house of cards falling apart, but then you’re slowly stacking them back together.”

Find out if Natasha and Russian Doll will win big on TV’s biggest night, tune into the 2019 Emmy Awards on Sunday, September 22, at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.

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