Suburgatory Broke the Bank With ‘Krampus’

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From 2011 to 2014, the TV show Suburgatory stood out from the crowd. Creator Emily Kapnek drew on her own childhood growing up with her mother in Larchmont, New York, to create the hilarious story of George and Tessa Altman (Jeremy Sisto and Jane Levy). They move from New York City to the seemingly idyllic suburb of Chatswin, only to find that suburban life is surprisingly bizarre. The show followed their adventures as they got to know their quirky neighbors, including the wealthy and disconnected Dallas and Dalia Royce (Cheryl Hines and Carly Chaikin); Noah and Jill Werner (Alan Tudyk and Gillian Vigman), who struggle with the challenges of parenting; and the larger-than-life Shay family – Sheila and Fred (Ana Gasteyer and Chris Parnell), their popular son Ryan (Parker Young), and their often-overlooked daughter Lisa (Allie Grant). Suburgatory was praised for its consistently funny writing and its ability to poke fun at suburban life while remaining heartwarming.

After just three seasons, the show Suburgatory was canceled and disappeared from streaming platforms, causing it to fade from public memory surprisingly fast. Luckily, Tubi and The Roku Channel, along with the Howdy spinoff, have now added all three seasons. This revival gave creators and cast members a chance to revisit the show, focusing on a particularly memorable episode – the lavish and ambitious holiday episode, “Krampus,” from season two.

This 22-minute episode is surprisingly full of storylines. George generously sends Tessa to New York to get to know her mother (played by Malin Akerman), whom she’s not close to. Meanwhile, Ryan learns he’s adopted and runs off into the woods, feeling lost and hurt. And Dalia, missing her former housekeeper Carmen (Bunnie Rivera), tries to win her back with a video she hopes will become a viral sensation. According to creator Kapnek, the episode perfectly captured the show’s unique blend of quirky humor and genuine emotion.

I was really excited everyone was willing to revisit this episode. Emily Kapnek, the show’s creator, explained that it was by far the most expensive one they made.

Carly Chaikin (Dalia Royce): Why?

We went all out with your music video! It was a huge undertaking – we had to rent sets, bring in a real airplane, create choreography, and even make it snow, all while filming in Burbank. Plus, we had a lot of extras and guest stars. It was a very ambitious project.

I was struck by the show’s quality when I rewatched it – it’s a really well-produced series!

For our holiday episodes, we always aim for something big and heartwarming with a lot of laughs. Malin Akerman was a fantastic choice for the role, and we were thrilled with how she looked alongside Jane in those hotel scenes – especially with her red wig!

I honestly look really young! Malin is only twelve years older than me, which is why I think I could have played Brittany Snow’s character in The Hunting Wives – she actually played my mom in that, and it totally worked. I admire Malin for wanting that role. Now that I’m 35, I’m getting requests like one I just received – an offer to play a seventeen-year-old’s mom – but my agents are hesitant because they don’t want me to seem older than I am.

When Suburgatory premiered in 2011, I was just starting out as an actor, and there was a lot of discussion about a woman leading the show and another woman creating it. Looking back now, I realize how unusual and wonderful that was. It was really exciting to see Emily’s character, Tessa, on network TV, in such a funny and over-the-top world alongside so many talented comedians. Tessa wasn’t just the typical sarcastic voice of reason; she was a fully developed character who genuinely enjoyed her life.

I just love how the show explores Tessa moving from New York City to a suburban town – there’s a real risk of those city folks looking down on everyone else, but it’s so much more than that. Tessa’s always felt a void because she grew up without a mom, and suddenly she’s surrounded by women who want to be that for her, even if they sometimes overstep. It’s actually really sweet! Both she and George are receptive to that kindness, and it makes you root for them. The show really captures that journey from feeling lost and out of place to realizing that home isn’t a location, it’s about who you’re with. Seeing Tessa and her dad find acceptance and a place for themselves, even in this quirky town, is truly at the heart of everything.

During the emotional reunion between Dalia and Carmen, there’s a subtle but powerful moment where George’s face reveals how much he misses Tessa. The connection between the characters is so well-developed that even brief scenes convey a deep history. George is trying his best to be a good, responsive father, but he’s facing challenges he doesn’t fully understand and is learning alongside his daughter. Malin’s performance beautifully captured this awkwardness; the characters clearly don’t have a strong existing relationship. A moment like when she attempts to hug her daughter, followed by the shot of them both in bathrobes, really highlights how they are essentially strangers connected only by DNA.

Returning to Chatswin and George gives Tessa a clearer understanding of what she’s coming home to. She quickly realizes everything she needs to know about their family life, and she gains a new appreciation for George as a father, even without him having to explain much.

This episode gave Parker a great opportunity to stand out. One memorable scene involves Ryan’s emotional reaction to discovering he’s adopted, and another features Malik’s family spotting Ryan running by the road. Malik cleverly convinces Ryan to come home by offering him a Starburst.

According to EK, that scene was surprisingly difficult to make believable, though it was intended as a humorous moment. The show generally kept Jane and Jeremy as the central, realistic characters, while allowing for more over-the-top comedy elsewhere. The quick introduction of Malik’s entire family in the car was particularly effective – despite being new characters, they felt instantly well-developed thanks to the talented actors Tim Meadows and Paula Newsome. The show often used these kinds of brief, impactful glimpses into other families.

The show featured a surprising number of minor characters who eventually became major players, like Parker, Ana Gasteyer, and Maestro Harrell’s character, Malik. Initially, though, they barely appeared in the first couple of episodes. Ana, for example, only had one line in the pilot – “Yoo-hoo! Hi, neighbor!” – and Maestro simply said “Hello” during Carly’s school tour. Surprisingly, that small moment led to his character marrying Lisa and becoming a significant part of the show’s storyline.

Parker Young (Ryan Shay): I don’t even think I had a line in the pilot.

EK: You were dancing, right?

PY: Yeah, as soon as I got out of the car, I was dancing.

Parker, you’re a master at turning a small role into something bigger! You know how to grab attention – whether it’s through memorable scenes or creating a buzz – and that’s what gets you noticed and keeps you working.

EK explained that the character was always meant to be more than just Lisa’s brother. A key moment was when he questioned his own reality – “If I’m not real, then what’s real?” – and Parker was incredibly committed to the physical comedy, even frequently taking his shirt off. In fact, entire episodes revolved around this, like “The Body,” which explored his family’s obsession with his physique. The reveal that he was adopted perfectly explained why they were so captivated – it wasn’t because of shared genetics!

I portrayed Ryan when he met Malik’s family as being vulnerable and retreating, like an injured animal. CC asked if the line “I’m adopted” was something originally written in the script, or if it was an improvisation that was kept.

It’s funny, the more we said the word, the more it lost its meaning. Repeating it over and over actually made us forget what we were even discussing!

There wasn’t anything in the script about Parker eating leaves. We had planned for Malik to hand-feed him a Starburst—it needed to be unwrapped so he’d eat it like a horse. But during filming, Parker started eating leaves from a tree, and I just decided to let him, figuring we could get a few shots of it even though it didn’t make sense for the story.

PY mentioned they used to have a lot of creative freedom and enjoyed their work. They feel things are much more restricted now, with a constant need to avoid causing offense and stay within strict boundaries. They especially remember their previous show as a time when they weren’t limited by such rules.

We constantly faced challenges with network standards. The writers and I were always back and forth with the Standards and Practices department, getting feedback on what we couldn’t show. We’d spend a lot of time trying to find comparable examples from other shows to justify our ideas – basically, testing how far we could go. The show’s timeslot shifted a couple of times, and we’d try to take advantage of that. When we aired after a show like The Middle, we could sometimes get away with more mature humor.

Carly’s storyline delivered the episode’s most talked-about moment: a music video Dalia created hoping it would become a viral hit.

CC: That song is something I’m really proud of. I still remember all the lyrics and it often gets stuck in my head.

That scene was huge! Suburgatory loved incorporating pop culture, so we included references to Britney Spears’ “Toxic” with the flight attendants and the airplane setting. It’s tough to rhyme with “Carmen,” which is how we came up with “hot tea with larmon.” [Laughs] We also had a dance break set to “Gangnam Style.” Susan Rovner, who was at Warner Bros. at the time, sent me a music video by Rebecca Black –

CC: Yes! “Friday.”

EK explained that Susan immediately assumed Dalia’s musical opportunities were simply bought by her mother. EK thought they should lean into that perception. When EK shared the lyrics with composer Jared Faber, a long-time collaborator, Faber was concerned. He pointed out the lyrics were very repetitive, and EK intentionally confirmed that was the point – they weren’t supposed to be good. [Laughs]

I think the songwriting is brilliant, especially the line, ‘The tag said to dry-clean it / But without you, I couldn’t read it.’

Whenever Carmen gets unwrapped from her bubble wrap – and it always seems to pop everywhere – I just think, ‘Oh, Carmen, you’ll get it all cleaned up eventually!’ She immediately goes back to being her normal, energetic self.

I was really disappointed to see shows like this disappear. It made me wonder if anyone would ever invest in a show like Suburgatory – giving it a good budget and a full 22 episodes to explore its ideas. It’s rare to find something so creative where you have so much time to develop the characters.

The show really stood out, particularly in how it handled the network’s involvement. Looking back, it’s clear the creative team had a strong, unified vision. It wasn’t a product of lots of meddling from executives, which would have resulted in something much more bland. The episode skillfully balanced hilarious scenes with genuinely realistic and emotional moments.

We were fortunate the network allowed us to maintain our unique style. There were numerous times – including with this episode – where creative choices were questioned, with people asking, “What is this?” Interestingly, critics often both loved and hated the show for the same reason: its unpredictable nature. They’d call it tonally inconsistent, but I’d argue it was consistently itself – just different from what they were used to.

You’re right, Jane. It’s strange because even now, when I’m working on other projects, people constantly tell me how much they loved Suburgatory. They say they’d love to have something like it again, which makes me wonder if they really remember how challenging it was at the time. We got a lot of criticism for the show’s unique style. I recall my agent, Larry Salz, advising me to create something with a solid, mainstream concept, but to then bring my own creative voice to the execution. That advice is what really motivated me to stick with Suburgatory. It was a really enjoyable process, and I don’t think you get many opportunities like that anymore, especially on network TV.

You know, I’ve actually thought a lot about revisiting ‘Suburgatory’! If someone gave me the chance, I have a pitch ready to go. It would bring us back to Chatswin, picking up after that final scene where Tessa and Ryan were, well, very occupied in the street – which, sadly, ended up being how the show ended! I’ve been imagining what would happen if Tessa returned to Chatswin with a kid of her own – the comedic possibilities are endless! And it’s funny, so many of the original cast have reached out to me about it too. I’m not sure if regular network TV is ready for a ‘Suburgatory Part 2’, but honestly, it would be a dream!

EK mentioned that, if the show were to get a reboot, Cheryl and they discussed the possibility of Dalia having a baby and still living with her parents, perhaps even treating the baby as if it isn’t responding to her.

PY: Do you think we can get RFK Jr. in the revival? Could he pop in for a cameo?

JL: That’s a really good question, Parker!

CC: If we could, would you do it, Emily?

EK: Um …

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2026-01-02 20:57