Hi, I'm Anna Marie Cox.

Welcome to With Friends Like These.

Now the history of Indigenous people in this country doesn't seem like an obvious place

to mind humor, though Indigenous people have been doing just that for decades, mostly

outside mainstream popular culture.

No more.

The sitcom Rutherford Falls on NBC's streaming platform Peacock starts with a debate

overtaking down a statue and ends with a meditation on who gets the right to tell their own stories.

And it is hilarious.

Janice Schmeeting, our guest this week, is one of the reasons that it is.

She and Ed Helms lead the show in Schmeeting as one of the many Indigenous people involved

in the show's creation, including Sierra, Teller, or Nailas, the showrunner.

Now that level of representation would be groundbreaking all on its own, but the show

goes even further than that.

It's filled with commentary on gender, size, sexual orientation, and the emotional labor

of marginalized people.

But that doesn't make it serious.

Just seriously funny.

You don't have to take my word for it either.

Schmeeting has been called a breakout star, and the show is expected to dominate at the

Emmys.

And of course, you can hear for yourself.

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