You are the reason Enzo is single.
Enzo, we were foolish to
think this would work out.
We’re from two different worlds.
Which is why I’m moving to yours.
I’m trying to be more real.
Real? Come on Liza. You don’t even
know what real is anymore.
Anything that you think that you
have with Charles right now,
that’s not real.
Clare just called.
She’s not coming tonight?
She’s not coming at all.
You are gonna
meet that perfect person.
What if it's Liza?
I need to press pause.
You’re amazing...
but I’ve made this mistake before.
Kelsey... she is not a bad editor.
I feel like the book
belongs at Empirical.
I got a job offer.
Cheryl Sussman at Plaza Publishing,
and I’m gonna take it.
It’s time for me to go.
[UPBEAT MUSIC]
♪ ♪
We’re part of a very large
multimedia company here, Liza,
which means we have deep pockets.
We’re not some floundering
family publishing house
like Empirical.
- I can see that.
- But we are looking to grow
our young female audience,
which is something that
you have impressively managed to tap.
Well, I didn’t do it alone.
Now is not the time to hide your light
under a bushel, Liza.
I’m trying to offer you a job,
- here.
- And I appreciate it.
I saw what you did at Millennial
with that young blonde nothing.
That’s why when I brought your name up
to run our new imprint,
everyone was very excited by the idea.
♪ ♪
Wait, you want me
to run my own imprint?
It’s called...
- Chick(Y).
- Wow.
It’s targeted towards women,
but we’re not excluding
the Y chromosome.
Marketing spent a lot of time on this.
- Clever.
- Mm.
So... This would be my office?
Liza, you’ve earned this.
Look, I admit it, at first I thought
what you did was crazy,
but you’ve started
at the bottom and fought your way back.
And we’re not ageist here.
If we were,
I’d be out of a job. [LAUGHS]
So just sign right here,
and we’re in business.
And the starting salary’s
noted there on the top.
- Cheryl! Oh, my God.
- I know.
It’s quite a step up
from what you’ve been making
as Diana Trout’s assistant.
Wow, um...
that is incredibly generous,
and this is all...
it’s all a bit overwhelming.
Do you think that
I could have my lawyer
just take a quick look at that?
Of course. Just, you know, sign them
and bring them back to me tomorrow.
This chick(Y)... is ready to hatch.
[UPBEAT HIP HOP MUSIC]
Charles just mentioned
a Capitol Letters party
that Joe Biden is throwing
in DC tomorrow.
Kelsey, how could you not
inform me of this?
Actually, it’s the first
I’m hearing about it myself.
Why so out of the loop?
I thought you, uh...
talk to your authors, Kelsey?
We need someone there.
Did something happen
between you and your writer?
I thought you two had quite
the tight relationship?
I’m happy to go to DC.
It’s my book.
I’ll be there.
I’m sure it’s a private party
that he felt
didn’t need mentioning.
Still, it’s all very strange, Peters.
Well, private or not,
I’m getting a press release
out about this immediately.
[ROCK MUSIC]
Sorry about the confusion
with Devereux.
I will go down to DC
for the Biden party
but I just wanted
to give you the heads up
that I’ll need to expense it.
Not so fast.
Jake specifically requested
that you not be there.
- When did he say that?
- This morning.
So obviously something
went on between the two of you
that had nothing to do with the book.
Okay.
Yes, we had a moment.
But I told him that
my priority was the work
and that anything between us
would have to wait
until after we publish.
Well, after that moment,
he met with me and asked
if I could make it an Empirical title.
He wanted Zane to finish the edit.
He was pretty insistent.
And you said no?
No, actually Zane said no.
He said, you did the work and...
he didn’t want to poach your book.
Your, uh...
moment notwithstanding.
♪ ♪
Thank you. Hi.
- Hi.
- Thank you...
- so much for meeting me.
- Of course, my pleasure.
How is the book coming along?
Oh, it’s challenging.
I’m beginning to understand
why so many writers
become alcoholics.
Anyway, Kelsey and Liza
are keeping me sane.
Well, I hear that
the first few chapters are...
- Very promising.
- Oh, I don’t know.
I prefer to under-promise
and over-deliver.
Anyway, I didn’t come here
to talk about the book.
- Okay.
- Since we spoke
in Sun Valley, I have been...
quietly putting together
a group of investors because
publishing needs angels.
And I like books. [LAUGHS]
Nothing has convinced me more
of the need to save
a company like yours
than working on one myself.
- I am thrilled to hear that.
- [LAUGHS]
What Bezos did
for "The Washington Post"...
I wanna do for you.
And I’ve actually had
my biggest success
investing in businesses
that the experts have left for dead.
- Not dead yet.
- [LAUGHS]
At this point in my life I just wanna
put my money where my passion is.
Well,
obviously, I would love to hear more.
Of course. I ask that you listen
with an open mind.
I have a very specific strategy
on how I’d like to focus
my group’s investment.
Of course.
[UPBEAT MUSIC]
I just had a very interesting
lunch with Quinn Tyler.
She’s uh...
very impressed with Millennial.
The two of you in particular.
She’s pretty impressive herself.
Yeah.
Get ready for
what I’m about to tell you.
She wants to make a significant
capital infusion in the company
predicated on making Millennial
the prime driver
of the company’s business.
- Oh, my God.
- Okay...
- what does that mean?
- Uh, it means that, uh...
Millennial and not Empirical
would become our flagship brand.
♪ ♪
- I’m... stunned.
- What did you tell her?
Obviously I need to think about it.
Okay, um...
You cannot leave now.
She is investing in us.
No, this is all the more
reason why I should leave.
I’m a ticking time b*mb.
You both know the truth
that I’ve been perpetrating
a fraud here.
You’re both part of it.
You’re as liable as I am.
If I’m not here,
Quinn’s investment is clean.
I don’t know
if I could do this without you.
Kelsey, you can.
Kelsey, can I have a word with Liza?
I’ll be in my office...
trying not to pass out.
♪ ♪
You know I’m right.
I don’t want to leave
but if I take this job,
I’ll have a career and we’ll have us.
And if I stay
and you take Quinn’s investment
based on me misrepresenting myself...
it’s not gonna end well.
I just know it.
And you think that Kelsey
can run Millennial without you?
I do.
She’s amazing.
And no matter what you call it,
Empirical, Millennial...
at the end of the day,
it’s still your company.
[CHUCKLES]
All right.
- I’ll tell Quinn.
- I’m still her editor.
I’ll tell her myself.
♪ ♪
So there’s no way of getting
past this thing with Malkie?
Well, she really wants a baby...
and I’m really high on a weeknight
and happy that way.
- [GLASSES CLINK]
- [LAUGHS]
That sucks, though. I’m sorry, Mags.
No, no, no, I’m sorry.
I’m sorry that she made you
feel uncomfortable
by asking you for your seed
over dessert. Ugh.
No, honestly... I mean...
it was kind of flattering.
Yo, how awesome would it be
to a have a little kid
running around here, though?
- So you would do it?
- Well, I don’t know...
I mean, for you...
yeah, I would have.
What about for Malkie?
What do you mean?
Well, she asked me
if you would consider it.
You know, for real.
- Okay.
- You don’t have to answer now,
but...
[JAZZ MUSIC]
♪ ♪
I love everyone at Empirical,
but this opportunity
it was too good to pass up.
They’re giving me
- my own imprint.
- Right.
Chick(Y).
I know it sounds silly
but the name grows on you.
Yeah, it sounds like beach reads
with hot pink covers which is fine,
it’s just not you.
You have a more sophisticated taste.
- How much are they offering?
- It’s not about money.
Okay, so what is it about, because
I’m having a hard time
understanding why a young woman
with no prior experience
would leave a thriving imprint
that she helped build from scratch
just as it’s about to blow up
and so far you haven’t given me
a compelling reason.
♪ ♪
Because I’m not a young woman.
I lied about my age
to get my job at Empirical.
I’m in my s.
♪ ♪
Oh my God.
Why?
- How?
- I needed a job.
And this was the only way
that I could get one.
But if I stay at the company,
it endangers your investment.
It’s fraud and now you know.
The optics aren’t good.
Neither are the optics
of f*ring someone
who was fighting against ageism.
And that’s if it even comes out.
It’s gonna come out.
What does Chick(Y) plan to do about it?
They’re gonna bury it.
I’m gonna do you one better.
I’m gonna celebrate it.
- What?
- Oh, God,
did you not read my book, Liza?
You embody every single CLAW principle.
You’re gonna be talking
about this on "The View"...
and "Ellen."
This is gonna be huge for you
- and for Millennial.
- And for your book?
What?
I didn’t even think about that.
CLAW chapter four. "Have a great idea,
let them think that it was theirs."
Ah, see? Then you already know
I’m not gonna let you go.
[ROCK MUSIC]
[UPBEAT MUSIC]
Thank you for coming.
I know this is slumming for you.
Oh, on the contrary.
So I got some big news.
The city picked me for a special team
of sewage engineers for
a really important operation.
That’s terrific. I’m so proud of you.
What, uh...
What exactly am I proud of?
I’ve been named to a task force that’s
gonna take down a fatberg.
I’m sorry; what?
A fatberg. It’s a big one.
It’s below th and Lex.
It’s this congealed mass of
anything you shouldn’t flush,
like cooking fat
or condoms and wet wipes.
It’s like an iceberg
but it’s made of, uh...
- Fat?
- Exactly.
Get this. They found one in London
the size of a .
There’s a chunk of it
in the museum now.
Sorry, I’m freaking out, it’s just...
I’m on the fatberg five.
I’m sorry. I’m sorry, no, I’m sorry.
Alliteration is just...
it’s my Achilles heel.
You know this is dangerous.
Most plumbers’ wives forbid them
from going anywhere near a fatberg.
Really?
- Should you even be doing this?
- Well, I have to.
- I got a duty.
- [SNICKERS] Sorry.
You said "duty." I...
I... you said "duty."
- Come on... where are you going?
- For a walk.
To the roof. I don’t know.
Okay, don’t be ridiculous.
That’s what I am to you, isn’t it?
No.
Look.
My job might not be
as glamorous as yours,
but this is a big deal to me.
I don’t want to feel bad about it.
♪ ♪
[DOOR OPENS AND SHUTS]
I need you to book me
a facial and a massage
- at Guerlain after work.
- Good morning.
Is this a couple’s massage?
I’m a grown woman, Liza.
I don’t need a man
to hold my hand
through a spa treatment.
Got it.
Is everything okay with you and Enzo?
It’s not. He stormed out last night.
He won’t answer any of my texts.
We may have come
to the end of the road.
What? Why?
You guys are so sweet together.
Liza, I am old enough to know myself
and two things I am not are one: sweet.
And two...
compatible with a plumber.
Well, who cares what he does
if the feelings are there?
Well, I guess they’re not.
It was fun,
but it was doomed from the start.
And we were kidding ourselves
to think otherwise.
Get me an espresso, please.
I’m sorry, Diana.
Even when you know it won’t work,
it’s still hard when it doesn’t.
Are you still here?
♪ ♪
[KNOCKS]
- Oh, I thought you were in DC?
- I decided not to go.
Oh. You decided that?
- Did you need something?
- [CLEARS THROAT]
Why didn’t you take Devereux’s book
when you had the chance?
Charles told me.
Fine, I didn’t want my name
on a book that I didn’t edit.
You have never
passed an opportunity to take credit,
and that’s gonna be
the biggest book of the year.
So what did you feel? Sorry for me?
Or you thought it might be fun
watching me go through the hell
of promoting an ex’s book, why?
Because... I was in love with you.
Are you screwing with me right now?
Because you don’t say that
to someone in the past tense
for the first time
unless you’re trying to
- make them feel like an assh*le.
- At least I said it.
And you should be happy.
You won.
- I didn’t want to win.
- Yes, you did.
All right? So did I.
Look, that’s who we are.
That’s what we do.
Or did, before Millennial
capsized Empirical.
Where did you hear that?
I talk to Charles too.
All right, I know what
the new pecking order
is around here.
So this isn’t even
a competition anymore.
♪ ♪
So congratulations.
♪ ♪
Close the door on your way out.
♪ ♪
[UPBEAT MUSIC]
There’s no good way out of this.
I mean, if I go, Quinn could
pull her investment.
If I stay, we’re in the...
we’re in the same mess we’re in now.
But it won’t be the same.
I discovered that
the -something former assistant
is now a -something editor.
I’m very surprised.
I look at her...
completely differently.
I maybe even ask her on a date
and my only question will be,
will she say yes?
Tough.
They still have
a reporting relationship.
But she’s not an assistant anymore.
She’s a Millennial co-founder.
She’s an executive.
People meet at work all the time.
And these people have no secret past?
None whatsoever.
Huh, well, hmm. He’s a little stuffy.
Recently divorced.
Will they have any chemistry?
Is he fun?
Well, she’ll just have to
find out for herself.
Well, let’s say she says...
yes.
They go to dinner and...
Maybe they click.
Maybe.
And maybe...
he can hold her hand at the office.
And in the street.
Everywhere.
The way that he has wanted to do...
for as long as he can remember.
[PHONE CHIMING]
Is she going to get that?
She’d rather not.
Damn it. I’m sorry.
[SIGHS]
- Everything all right?
- Of course not.
- It’s Cheryl Sussman.
- _
♪ ♪
You can’t make an omelet
without breaking some eggs.
♪ ♪
- That’s "Hamlet."
- [LAUGHS]
♪ ♪
Hello, Zaddy-to-be. Please join me
in the meditation circle.
Shoes off, okay?
I am so happy you came to me
with this problem.
- Okay, what is this?
- It’s a cacao ceremony.
It’s a little bit like ayahuasca
but without all the puking and PTSD.
I thought maybe
we would just talk about this
over some tacos or something?
Adorable... but no.
Fatherhood is far too great
a decision for someone
to just tell you what to do, okay?
- Sit down.
- Right. Okay.
- Sacred cacao from Guatemala.
- Right.
Drink it.
- Ugh.
- Excellent, good, good, good.
That just means it’s ready. Finish it.
- [GROANS]
- Good.
- Ah!
- Good.
Okay. Now what?
We call the cacao mother. Lie down.
So... is the cacao mother
supposed to tell me if I’m gonna be
- a sperm donor or not?
- Oh, stop being so literal.
No, she... she is merely here
to guide you
to your truest self
so that you can answer
this massive question
without any regret.
Kay.
Kay...
[CLANG!]
[SOFT GUITAR MUSIC]
[CLANG!]
♪ ♪
[CLANG!]
Did it work? Did you get your answer?
[UPBEAT MUSIC]
Yeah.
I think I did.
[UPBEAT MUSIC]
Hi, I’m here to meet Cheryl Sussman.
You must be here
for the Chick(Y) party.
- Party?
- In the back.
They’re just waiting
for the guest of honor.
♪ ♪
Oh, God.
Liza. Come on over.
♪ ♪
Welcome to Chick(Y).
- Hi.
- Meet your new flock.
Wow, what a surprise.
I thought this was
just going to be you and me?
Everyone was just
so excited to meet you.
- [CHIRPS]
- Did you bring the contracts?
[STAMMERING]
Cheryl, I... I have something
I need to discuss with you.
Do you think we could speak
away from the giant peep?
That giant peep
just happens to be Peg Dobson,
our VP of special projects.
And there isn’t anything
that you can’t say
in front of Meg... Peg.
Okay.
- Cheryl...
- Mm-hmm.
I appreciate everything
that you have done for me
but I can’t take this job.
Are you kidding me?
After all I’ve done for you?!
Are you kidding me?
You’re gonna regret this, Liza!
Get out of my face!
- Get out of my face!
- ♪
♪
What happened?
Okay, now that
you’re not taking that job
can I just tell you that Chick(Y) is
the worst name for an imprint.
Like, do they not want
one man buying their books?
Well, it’s actually Chick
with a Y chromosome.
Ew.
Oh my God. Did you see the news?
♪ ♪
A troubling scene here
as a sanitation worker
has gone missing
while trying to extricate
a large obstruction known as
a fatberg from the bowels
of the New York sewer system.
Enzo De Luca was last seen
three hours ago
while trying to dislodge
the enormous mass
of calcified sewage.
That’s Enzo.
I’ve gotta get over there.
♪ ♪
Nobody flush anything.
♪ ♪
So I thought about what you asked.
I thought about it a lot.
I meditated on it; I...
- cacaoed about it.
- You what?
Never mind, um... the point is...
I’ve decided...
I mean, I got some real clarity.
When I do have a kid,
I want it to be my kid.
You know? I want it to be...
With someone that I...
really love.
I know that sounds
kind of selfish but...
It doesn’t sound selfish, it sounds...
- Honest.
- Mm.
And I can’t wait for that to happen.
I thought you weren’t into kids?
I’m into spoiling them. See?
[UPBEAT MUSIC]
♪ ♪
Hey.
Hey.
What are you doing?
- I quit.
- What? Why?
You know what’s going on.
The company’s changing.
There’s not room for me anymore.
Well, you don’t have to quit.
Why don’t you stay
and work for Millennial?
♪ ♪
Oh...
I could never work for you.
Why?
Because... I’m so much better.
[GASPS] You already got
another job, didn’t you?
♪ ♪
Ah!
[SIRENS WAILING]
[INDISTINCT CROWD CHATTER]
No, no. I am his girlfriend.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪ ♪
Enzo.
[APPLAUSE AND CHEERING]
Whoo!
[UPBEAT MUSIC]
I told you it was dangerous.
♪ ♪
Let’s get you a shower.
♪ ♪
So we have a problem.
My entire group was
just emailed a blind item
that’s due to run in Page Six tomorrow.
"What major publisher
has been having a torrid affair
"with his -year-old assistant?
L.L. Moore was just the tip
of the iceberg
at this company."
Why would you base
any decision on a blind item?
Well, it wasn’t hard
to find the source.
She seemed pretty eager
for us to know it was her.
Are you familiar with Cheryl Sussman
from Plaza Publishing?
Ah, as you know, she’s been...
trying to poach Liza from the company.
So before I call my lawyer
to deny this...
do you wanna tell me if it’s true?
It’s completely consensual.
And Liza is not ,
as you know.
So her lie I can spin
because ageism is wrong, but
having an affair with
an assistant in your office,
that I can’t spin. Not in this climate.
And you’re the public face
of the company, so...
So what are you saying?
We’re going to have to
withdraw our offer.
We can’t afford the liability.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
I’m sorry.
What if I’m not the public face?
♪ ♪
I think there’s another way.
[ETHEREAL MUSIC]
♪ ♪
[KNOCKING]
Josh. Door.
[KNOCKING]
♪ ♪
[SCREAMS]
- Oh, my God.
- What?
The cacao mother. We called her,
- and she’s here.
- What are you talking about?
Open the door. Get the door.
♪ ♪
Hey, Clare.
Hi.
Excuse me, everyone.
Could I have
your attention for a minute?
As you all know,
Empirical has not been immune
to the turbulence that the rest
of the publishing industry
is experiencing.
But I am pleased to say that
we are more prepared than ever
to stay the course.
Thanks to a sizeable investment
from our very own author...
Quinn Tyler.
[APPLAUSE]
It’s an honor to be part
of such an incredible company.
The history is prolific,
but I’m even more excited
about its future.
Now, I made this the home
for my book not because
it offered me the most money
or the highest profile
but because of the passion
of two people:
Kelsey Peters and Liza Miller.
[APPLAUSE]
What they have done
for Millennial print
is astonishing.
Because of their creativity
and ingenuity,
they have made it the envy
of the publishing world.
And we’re gonna make it
the focus of this company
going forward.
And that is why...
it is my distinct honor...
to introduce you
to your new publisher...
- Kelsey Peters.
- Whoo!
- [APPLAUSE]
- Come on. Kelsey, come here.
♪ ♪
Now, Kelsey isn’t the only
promotion we have today.
It is my honor to introduce to you
your new Chairman of the Board,
Charles Brooks.
♪ ♪
Quite the palace coup.
I can’t believe
Charles would accept it.
But he just got promoted, didn’t he?
The Chairman of the Board
only comes in for...
quarterly meetings.
The occasional budget approval.
They’re putting him out to pasture.
♪ ♪
Charles. Is it true?
Did they force you out?
Why would Quinn do this?
She found out about...
us.
And that didn’t sit well
with her investors.
Oh my God, Charles, I am so sorry.
The company... survives.
It’s a good thing.
This is not a good thing.
This is your life.
It... It was.
And...
maybe... maybe it’s
time for a new one...
with you and with my kids.
♪ ♪
My father’s company is still alive...
and I get to watch you help run it.
- But...
- Liza.
I have got...
everything I want.
I’m happy.
♪ ♪
Then so am I.
["FALLINGWATER" BY MAGGIE ROGERS PLAYS]
♪ Set me free ♪
♪ You were like falling water ♪
♪ Coming down on me ♪
♪ I never loved you ♪
♪ Fully in the way I could ♪
♪ I fought the current ♪
♪ Running just the way you would ♪
♪ And now I’m... ♪
♪ In the creek ♪
♪ ♪
♪ I never gave you everything ♪
♪ I wish I could ♪
♪ And now I’m... ♪
♪ And it’s getting harder ♪
[ELECTRONIC MUSIC]
♪ ♪
05x12 - Lizability
Watch/Buy Amazon
Based on the novel by Pamela Redmond Satran, "Younger" follows 40-year old Liza, a suddenly single mother who tries to get back into the working world. After being mistaken for younger than she really is, Lisa decides to take the chance to reboot her career and her love life as a 26-year old.
Based on the novel by Pamela Redmond Satran, "Younger" follows 40-year old Liza, a suddenly single mother who tries to get back into the working world. After being mistaken for younger than she really is, Lisa decides to take the chance to reboot her career and her love life as a 26-year old.