Iliza Shlesinger is still having her moment - she’s just at home

If everything hadn’t gone wrong in the world, comedian Iliza Shlesinger would have been on her worldwide Forever Tour, which perfectly coincided with the release of her new Netflix sketch show.

Plus, let’s not forget that she was still basking in the glory of her Netflix movie Spenser Confidential, which was viewed by 85 million households (that’s actually more than Tiger King) when it was released in March.

In other words, spring 2020 was going to be big for this Netflix darling - and her fans (she has 635,000 followers on Instagram) were ready for it.

Shlesinger, 37, has come to represent the voice of a generation of women through her years on the comedy circuit, starting with her 2013 special War Paint.

She has pontificated on mating rituals, food and drinking habits (because sometimes you do just need a trough of wine), social mannerisms, friendship and most importantly, athleisure, in the most hilarious ways. At times her comedy will remind you of an anthropologist dissecting a tribe, at others she'll just accuse your dog of being a prostitute.

When coronavirus hit and Shlesinger's tour was postponed, she didn't slow down.

She and her husband, chef Noah Galuten, started a daily cooking show that streams live on Instagram and Facebook.

Shlesinger told Insider, “Humans have this indomitable spirit and are very good at adapting. Now that we have this weird new normal, creators create and entertainers entertain, so like water, it finds a way. And we will always find a way. You can label it under the guise of, ‘Oh I just want to bring joy to people,' but really we do it because it brings joy to us as well. I need to make people laugh for me just as much as them. It's just part of my soul."

Doing sketch comedy had always been a goal, although she admits it's a different beast than standup. “I grew up watching sketch comedy and writing sketch in high school and college, so when Netflix presented me with this opportunity after a couple of specials I jumped at the chance. I think standup is all about telling and that's a certain muscle and sketch is all about showing. I always have these weird characters and motions and voices in the back of my mind but getting to put on makeup and really just create something weird and fun was awesome."

The show does feature some outrageous and preposterous characters, including Cashew Albacore, who is as an old, deranged sea captain who also flies planes, and required the comedian to sit in the makeup chair for three hours - but it was worth it to Shlesinger. “I was a big fan of Saturday Night Live when they had tons of original characters. These irrelevant, weird characters were often just based on an emotion.”

She primarily likes to feature characters like this because they are a great human connector. “I’m not a big political sketch person, and even in my standup it’s more of a social message. No matter what your political beliefs are or your social standing, we all get creeped, out, we all got annoyed and we all get uncomfortable. And we all know that looking at someone weird is a very satisfying thing. I like to create characters that are uncomfortable because it brings people together.”

Other notable sketches include The Female Jack*ss, which is her take on what would happen if women took on the iconic daredevil MTV show and one featuring a Martha Stewart-wannabe who ties ribbons around potatoes to “make it nice” (which has sparked an Instagram trend). The series offers plenty of mindless entertainment and laughs but will also make you think.

Shlesinger is currently quarantining at home in Los Angeles and was looking for an outlet to connect with fans while staying safe, which is why a cooking show with her husband seemed like the perfect activity. While her fans love the videos of her adorable dog Tian Fu, helping people learn to cook felt a bit more purposeful, which is how their daily show Don’t Panic Pantry came about.

“On occasion, I go live on Instagram because people want to interact with me. They want to get to know him and he knows so much about so many different types of cooking and our food and where it comes from so I was like ‘Let's do a show!’ I had a web show before YouTube was doing shows back in 2006. This is very much in my ‘elder millennial’ blood.”