Is it a tough tonal balancing act to have all this absurdist comedy, but also imbue the story with genuine heart — to have us really care about Molly?
I think it is, but it’s always been what makes the show the show. It constantly reminds the audience that if you’re on a journey like this, what kind of social responsibility do you have? And simultaneously, she’s going through this very personal journey. It’s not just about being a billionaire, it’s also someone who’s restarting their life — so much later in life than she anticipated — and asking herself very difficult questions about what kind of person she wants to be. She never really asked herself the important questions, because she was focused on being a good partner [to her ex-husband].
I think that’s a very relatable element: What do we want? I feel like we saw a lot of it during COVID; a lot of people just completely changed jobs, partnerships, relationships and lifestyles. It’s endlessly interesting for people to be introspective, and really do the hard work of finding out what makes them happy.

So many of the laughs stem from Molly being “out of touch” with the average person. Yet obviously you do want to see her grow and change and become more “in touch” as the seasons go on. Could that undermine the comedy?
Yeah, I guess. I mean, I’m definitely the one pushing for her to be more and more out of touch, because it’s so much fun to play. There’s definitely a fine line, but there are just endless possibilities to how ridiculous this stuff can get — and I love getting to play that. There are so many places for it to go that I’ve never had a chance to do before. So, I’m always the one suggesting and voting for ridiculous things — and I do tend to get brought back down to Earth sometimes.

HBO’s Silicon Valley was really embraced by the tech community. Has Loot been embraced by billionaires? Have you heard from any?
I’ve gotten one indirect message that was a [wink and thumbs up] kind of thing — which was great. I am very curious what billionaires think of it.
Have you done any hands-on research into the billionaire lifestyle?
Not so much “research.” I think it’s hard to not see things in the news; it’s really hard not to notice some of the things that we’re seeing people do. But I certainly haven’t done any character work on it. I’m not going to private islands and things like that — not yet.

After SNL — with its quick, chaotic production schedule — does making something like Loot just feel like a breeze?
It is definitely a different animal — one hundred per cent. But sometimes it’s hard, because I think all the years of Saturday Night Live have really taught me a skillset that makes things seem a lot slower. My expectation sometimes is, “Absolutely we can do that. We can change that. We can fix that.” And not everybody comes from that same sensibility. So, it can be a challenge. But
I really feel like it’s such a great asset and such an enormously helpful skillset — that I’ve honestly transitioned into all aspects of my life: “We can do it.” Lorne [Michaels, SNL creator] always said: “We don’t go on at 11:30 because we’re ‘ready,’ we go on at 11:30 because it’s 11:30.” And I feel like, yeah, that happens a lot in life [laughs].
Loot, streaming on Apple TV+
MEMORABLE ROLES:
The daughter of “Lovin’ You” singer Minnie Riperton boasts some formidable pipes of her own, but it’s in the world of comedy that Maya Rudolph made her mark. One of the standouts on Saturday Night Live from 2000-2007, you’ve also seen her in TV series like family sitcom Up All Night and existential dramedy Forever, plus films such as Away We Go, MacGruber and Bridesmaids.
CURRENT GIG:
On top of returning to SNL a few weeks back to guest-host, Rudolph just capped off season two of her latest TV project, Loot, playing charmingly oblivious billionaire Molly Wells — who looks to move on from a very messy, very public divorce by reinventing herself as a philanthropist.