Q&A: How Chicago Party Aunt became a Netflix series: Improvisor Chris Witaske is the man behind the woman
CHICAGO — Five years ago, a Twitter account with the handle Chicago Party Aunt appeared out of the digital mist as if conjured to life by the spirit of Bill Swerski and those old “Saturday Night Live” Super Fans sketches from the ‘90s.
An affectionate riff on a specific and proudly old school Chicago personality, the Chicago Party Aunt’s bawdy white lady exploits are legendary (in her own mind). Consider this exchange: Last month, the Billy Goat Tavern tweeted out a photo of two bar stools with the caption: “Every bar stool has a story.” Chicago Party Aunt’s reply: “I made out with Mike Royko on the one on the left!”
Now she’s the star of her own Netflix animated comedy and she has a name: Diane Dunbrowski. Or just Dye-yaaan in Chicagoese.
The account’s boozy namesake is the creation of Chicago sketch and improv
