Anna K.

Welcome to my Substack. In case you don’t know me…

I’m an actress, writer, director, and showrunner—best known for co-creating and starring in Pen15, which somehow got nominated for Emmys (twice) for Outstanding Comedy Series and Writing. In Season 2, I got braver or weirder—depending on who you ask—and directed episodes like “Jacuzzi,” which is animated and unhinged, and “Luminary” (aka “the walk for cancer”), which quietly broke people and then went viral on TikTok with over 20 million views, which still feels like an accident.

Most of what I make lives in that uncomfortable space between painfully real and slightly off. I like when something makes you laugh and then immediately question why you’re laughing.

Right now, I’m writing a feature for Sony Live Nation and just published my first book, The Sane One, with Random House today.

It’s a memoir about my dad—who I loved, lost, cut off, and then had to face again when he showed up years later. It’s about growing up inside a family that’s both deeply loving and deeply chaotic, and trying to understand where you end and they begin. Someone very generously said it “balances cringeworthy, laugh-out-loud humor with gut-punching introspection,” which is basically the goal. It’s also about realizing that loving your parents doesn’t mean you can save them, which is… not the fairytale version, but it feels true.

I was on the cover of Publishers Weekly, which felt like being let into a room I didn’t totally know I was allowed in.

As an actor, I’ve been in The Afterparty and Murderbot on Apple TV+, where I play Leebeebee—who starts off one way and then becomes… something else. My episode, “Hannah,” was called a standout, which I held onto for probably too long. I’m also popping up in Hacks, and working with people like Joe Swanberg, Jason Orley, and Josh Trank—kind of bouncing between comedy and darker stuff that makes people slightly uneasy.

And I’m in an upcoming animated Netflix show called Dealies with Kristen Wiig, Will Ferrell, Zach Cherry, and Ted Travelstead, which still feels like I snuck into something I shouldn’t be in.

I think most of what I’m doing—whether it’s TV or a book—is trying to make sense of things that don’t totally make sense while you’re in them. And maybe making it a little funny so it’s easier to look at.

Thanks for reading. More soon!