Lisa Kudrow has said crises help her to understand the value of entertainment.
The Friends star, who appears in new Netflix comedy Death To 2020, said people “need a break” from the challenges they are facing.
The new programme offers a comedic take on the events of the year.
A year whose story couldn't be told until now … because it was still happening.
Death to 2020, from the creators of Black Mirror. pic.twitter.com/0dLS3lq34a
— Netflix (@netflix) December 21, 2020
Speaking at a press conference for the launch of the programme, Kudrow, 57, said: “I have to say… every time there’s a crisis, I realise how important entertainment is because we need a break.
“It is a big mental health issue too and so that’s why I was really happy to do (Death To 2020).
“Let’s laugh as soon as we can about it and it is there for all time for when you are ready to laugh about it.”
Kudrow stars as a non-official government spokeswoman in the programme, which was been created by Black Mirror’s Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones.
Brooker said the programme is “very different” from anything he has worked on before and 2020 has been “an interesting year to approach”.
He added: “Every year I seem to be saying this is the worst year ever and then along comes 2020 and puts all of that into sharp relief.”
He said the programme offered “a good opportunity to do something that was talking about the year and was also gently tweaking the nose of a format that you would see on Netflix”.
Brooker said working on the programme had been challenging because the year is still unfolding.
“It is tricky to do something where it is a moving target and you are still in the thick of it,” he said.
“It’s been quite a reactive script, it has changed a lot as we have gone through some things we could try and pre-empt but you can’t completely predict.”
Tracey Ullman, Samuel L. Jackson, Hugh Grant, Diane Morgan and Leslie Jones also star in the programme.
Death To 2020 is available on Netflix from Sunday.