Actor-comedian Vanessa Bayer, who featured on the iconic Saturday Night Live between 2010 and 2017, besides starring in quite a few comedies including Will & Grace and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, has now co-created I Love That for You. The show that premieres this Friday globally (viewers in India can watch it on Voot Select at 9:31am IST), has Vanessa starring as Joanna Gold, an aspiring host for a home shopping channel who lies that her childhood cancer has returned in order to keep her job.

The eight-episode series is born out of Vanessa’s fascination for the world of home shopping as well as her battle with childhood leukemia. Over a late evening video call last week, The Telegraph chatted with the actor on the show, the world of home shopping and how she used humour as a coping mechanism to fight her condition.

The world of home shopping networks is not one that has been explored much on screen, if at all. Was the lure of delving into this world as compelling as the story you were telling?

Yes! Growing up, I loved home shopping, I watched it a lot. I would even tape it, I was so much into it. It was really mesmerising. It’s also really funny because the hosts talk the entire time and they also share stories about their lives. It’s pretty compelling to watch (smiles). This is such an incredible world, and it’s also such a fun world. It’s almost glamorous because all these different personalities come on to sell. I agree with what you are saying. I was like, ‘Why isn’t this on TV?!’ It’s such an interesting world to be looking at. So I always wanted to do something about this world, as well as my experience with childhood leukemia.

Given that you have had the disease yourself, how tough was it to play someone with cancer on the show?

When I suffered from childhood leukemia — I am totally fine now — I realised what helped me, my friends and my family get through it was that I would joke about it a lot. It was a way for us to get through it. I think joking about it, bringing it up and not ignoring it really helped me, as well as those close to me, to get through it. I think there is something very healing about using comedy.

There are actually a lot of funny things that happen in a hospital. Something that I thought was very relatable about my experience was that I used it to my advantage, as my character on the show does. When I was unwell, I would go to school late all the time and the attendance woman, who was otherwise very strict, would let me go ahead, no questions asked. I kind of loved the special treatment and something that my co-creator Jeremy (Beiler) and I talked about was how one gets that special treatment and when that time is over, you are like, ‘Where is my special treatment?!’ (Laughs) I remember my dad got pulled over and was given a parking ticket once and he went on and on about how distracted he was because his child had leukemia. This was actually quite a few years after I had recovered, so it was kind of funny.

I Love That For You is a very personal story about that time in life, but more than the tough bits, I wanted to experience the humour that helped me cope in my battle with the disease. I hope that people really enjoy it and I hope it makes them laugh, that they see the heart in it.

On a lighter note, what’s the most bizarre thing you have come across being sold on the home shopping network?

The most outrageous thing that I can think of is this home spa that you sit in — it’s almost like a tent — and you zip it up all the way, and they show the model with just her head sticking out of it! (Laughs) I am sure it’s a really great product, but its appearance is really funny... a head coming out of a tent.

When our show got greenlit, Jeremy and I bought the Showtime executives some really soft blankets from Casa Zeta-Jones, which is Catherine Zeta-Jones’ home line. The one great thing that I love about home shopping is the fact that a lot of celebrities come on and sell their products. So those who call these home shopping networks do have their regular questions, but they also call in to talk to these famous faces (laughs). It’s very, very fun to watch.

What was your pitch to Showtime for I Love That For You?

When we pitched it, I did share my personal experiences and I acted out a bit of my character Joanna Gold. We pitched a lot of the stuff from my life. The pitch was really fun because we referenced a lot from my life.

Your love for home shopping and your battle with cancer may not be relatable to everyone, but what is familiar is the fact that everyone lies to get out of a sticky situation. It could be a white lie or a serious one. Do you think that is the point of relatability for every person on the planet with your show?

I think so! We all have moments where we are thrown into a situation where we get caught and we have to make a lie. We have to make it believable, even if it’s the dumbest lie. I was with a few friends the other day and someone asked me if I had watched a movie in which a mutual friend is acting. I said I had, and as soon as that person walked away, I told my friends, ‘I just lied! I don’t know why I did that!’

Aside from that, I hope what people find relatable about the show is the idea that all of us, to some extent, love the special treatment that we get when we are going through a difficult time.

Also, most people who work as hosts on home shopping put on a persona and they represent themselves in a certain way because most of them believe that the way they are is not quite enough. I hope the show changes that.