Sitcom actresses juggle family, careers

By Ray Richmond
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - There are now more high-profile roles for women in primetime comedies than at any time since perhaps the 1970s heyday of "Mary Tyler Moore," "Maude" and "Laverne & Shirley."
The Hollywood Reporter gathered six of the funniest examples of the trend: Christina Applegate (ABC's "Samantha Who?"); Jane Krakowski (NBC's "30 Rock"); Julia Louis-Dreyfus (CBS' "The New Adventures of Old Christine"); Mary-Louise Parker (Showtime's "Weeds"); Amy Poehler (NBC's "Parks & Recreation") and Sarah Silverman (Comedy Central's "The Sarah Silverman Program") to debate how to star on a hit comedy series and keep your sanity.
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: IS IT POSSIBLE TO SLIP IN AN ACTUAL LIFE DURING PRODUCTION OF A HIT COMEDY SERIES?
Julia Louis-Dreyfus: Well, I do a multicamera series, which I think is a lot easier than what these ladies are up to. We have two or three 12-hour days every week, but not five, which I think is what you have to put up with in a single-camera show.
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: WAS IT IMPORTANT TO YOU TO DO A MULTICAMERA SHOW FOR THE REGULAR SCHEDULE?
Louis-Dreyfus: Actually, it's pretty much just for the money.
Amy Poehler: The Benjamins. Call them the Benjamins.
Louis-Dreyfus: No, but it was important because while I adore single-camera comedy, and the look of it is so fantastic, considering the life I have with my kids I couldn't pull that off.
Mary-Louise Parker (whispering): What the f--- is a single-camera comedy?
Sarah Silverman: It's like a show where there isn't a live audience. It's kind of an old term. Single-camera and three-camera.
Parker: I really am this stupid, by the way. I have two kids, so it's tough. It limits you. I can't really do much of anything else aside from the show or I'd never see my kids. Or I could just have someone else take care of them. I mean, they're super-duper cute.
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: DO THE MOMMY DUTIES MAKE IT TOUGHER FOR AN ACTRESS TO BE THE STAR OF A SERIES?
Poehler: It's a pretty crushing schedule for me, like 14 hours every day. I'm in every scene. Plus I'm the producer on it as well, so we're casting and writing and stuff all weekend. And yes, I have a baby, too. It's trying to figure out how to balance all of these things. You just depend on a lot of help and a lot of good advice from people.
Jane Krakowski: Tina (Fey) astounds me because she wears all of the hats on ("30 Rock") and is raising a child. She'll shoot the show all day and then go home and write until like 2 in the morning. And then her daughter will bop in at 6 a.m. going, "Hi Mommy!" I really don't know how she does it.
Poehler: She has a heroin problem. Continued...
Source: Reuters