'Forever': A Couple's Comfortable Coexistence Comes To A Crossroads

In interviews, Maya Rudolph and Fred Armisen have said that what attracted them to the project that became Forever, a slyly surreal 8-episode series premiering on Amazon Prime today, was the prospect of telling a complete story about the same characters over or an extended period of time — and then dropping them.

It's a chance for them to shake off their sketch-comedy training, which exploited their talents for quick changes and big takes; 's limited lifespanand has been just as chameleon-like as ever, but both of those shows supply him a bit more room to settle into his characters. Rudolph, meanwhile, has spent her years since leaving SNL dependably killing it in sketch (albeit in the wince-inducing ) and in smaller comedic roles (and a too-brief, flatly astonishing Dionne Warwick turn on ).