Excerpt from Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

Nigel glanced to his left, where a writer was sitting at his feet, and said, "Benji, why don't you kick things off?"

Benji pitched a sketch about the former FBI director, James Comey, writing the memoir he'd just published, dictating Dear Diary–style girlish reminiscences. Then a cast member named Oliver said he was working on an idea with Rohit, another writer (it wouldn't become clear until the read-through of the sketches on Wednesday if this was true or an excuse on Oliver's part). Then a writer named Lianna pitched a sketch where Noah Brewster would play the token hot straight boy in a high school chorus, then a writer named Tony pitched a sketch where Noah Brewster would play a preppy white guy running for office and guest-preaching in a Black church. Henrietta, who was one of the two cast members I worked with the most, said she and Viv, who was the other cast member I worked with the most, wanted to do a sketch about Internet searches made by dogs. I went sixth.

"I think of this one as The Danny Horst Rule," I said. "Because it's inspired by my very own officemate, whose big news I trust we're all aware of." Everyone clapped or hooted. Over the weekend, after seven weeks of dating, Danny and Annabel Lily had gotten engaged, as revealed in a post on Annabel's Instagram account showing a close-up of a ring on her finger, her hand resting atop Danny's. Celebrity gossip websites immediately reported that the diamond was an emerald-cut halo with a pavé setting, and estimated that the ring had cost $110,000. Although I myself had been married briefly in my twenties, I had no idea what emerald cut, halo, or pavé setting meant—my ex-husband and I had both worn plain gold bands.

As the cheering died down, Danny, who was sitting on the floor two people to my left, said, "Thanks, everyone. And, yeah, pretty f***ing psyched that I get to be Mr. Annabel Lily." There was another round of cheers, and Danny added, "If you're wondering, Sally did warn me that she'd be exploiting me to advance her career."

"I'm trying to convince Danny to write it with me," I said. "But we'll put a pin in that for now. Anyway, I want to write about the phenomenon where—sorry, Danny, I really do love you—but where men at TNO date above their station, but women never do."

There was widespread laughter, though laughter at the pitch meeting could mean you'd revealed your punchlines too early. For this reason, some people pitched only decoys, though I took the risk of sharing my real ideas in order to lay claim to them in case anyone else was considering something similar. And anyway, to a surprising degree, laughter was never the ultimate determinant of a sketch's fate; Nigel's whims were. Of the forty or so scripts that would be submitted for Wednesday's read-through, about twelve sketches would make it to the dress rehearsal Saturday and just eight to the live show. Sketches featuring the host had a better chance of surviving, but beyond that, it was impossible to guess what Nigel would decide. All of us in his office at that moment, cast members and writers alike, had had our hearts broken many times.

"Obviously, Danny should be in the sketch in some capacity," I added, "either as himself or as someone else. And, Noah, it could work really well if you're a guy who gets arrested for somehow breaking the rule, like you're on a date with either Henrietta or Viv made up to look less gorgeous than they are in real life." Though I was close to Henrietta and Viv, I wasn't just flattering them. They really were both gorgeous, which wasn't unusual for female comedians, and they were both so funny that their funniness often obscured their beauty, which also wasn't unusual for female comedians.

"Just so I understand—" Noah Brewster said, and the confusion on his face made me wonder if he'd turn out to be one of the ding-dongs. I'd never previously spoken to him. The first time he'd been the musical guest had been before I worked at the show, and the second time, I hadn't had any reason to interact with him. Occasionally, musical guests appeared in sketches, or you could watch them rehearse their songs on Thursday afternoons if you weren't otherwise occupied, but that didn't mean you'd meet. "In this sketch," he said, "I'd be breaking the law because I'm so much better looking than a woman I'm dating?"

Excerpted from Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld. Copyright © 2023 by Curtis Sittenfeld. Excerpted by permission of Random House. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.