‘Kevin Can F**K Himself’ Creator on the Show’s Unique Pitch Process

Kevin Can F**K Himself‘s premiere is out now on AMC+, and this unusual show had an unusual trip through the pre-production process to match. Ahead of the premiere, series creator and executive producer Valerie Armstrong explained how the show was fast-tracked through the usual Hollywood machinery. While her main character may suffer, Armstrong said that she herself is “incredibly, incredibly lucky.”

“Well, I didn’t have a traditional pitch process,” Armstrong said in a roundtable with PopCulture.com and other outlets this week. “At the time I was a very low-level writer on a mini-room for AMC — they were still doing that. It was for a show that didn’t end up being made.” In her free time, Armstrong was working on spec scripts for future job applications as most screenwriters do, without ever dreaming that hers would get made so early in her career. She said: “It’s just what you do if you’re trying to be a writer, and this was just the latest thing I had.”

“It was the thing I was definitely most proud of,” she added. “I always really, really liked the pilot even though it’s changed a whole lot. I was excited by it.” Somehow, Armstrong’s spec script made its way to other AMC executives and made a huge impression — especially considering it was a cold reading. “So, AMC asked me to come in for just a general meeting with one executive two hours beforehand. I got a call from my manager that said ‘I guess they just read the script — your script — and now your meeting is about buying it!”

Armstrong laughed as she remembered that she had no material beyond the script prepared for that last-minute meeting, saying, “This was my third meeting ever. I’d never once thought about this as a continuing series. I mean, in my wildest dreams I had, but I certainly hadn’t put anything down on paper.”

Armstrong did her best to muddle through a meeting with four executives — not just one — and she felt like she “blew it.” However, weeks later, they called back and asked to buy the show. She joked: “I think I had… the most obnoxious story in this town ever heard, and also I just got incredibly lucky from the beginning.”

Armstrong’s creation has now come to life in a way most Hollywood hopefuls could only dream of, and it serves as a suitable parallel to the show’s meta commentary on the industry itself. Kevin Can F**K Himself premieres on Sunday, June 13 on the AMC+ streaming service, and on Sunday, June 20, on the AMC network.