Michelle Buteau Is Here To Normalize Doing Sh*t On Your Own Timeline

I don't know who originally decided that Jan. 1 had to be a hard deadline for resolutions, but it never sat well with me. That first week of the first month of the new year doesn't exactly tee you up to feel like your best new self. You're recovering from December, the kids are still home, you probably have to (begrudgingly) return to work. Somehow you're supposed to just wake up energized and reborn? Bish, please. And you know what? Michelle Buteau agrees.

For Buteau, 2026 is shaping up to be another big year. She’s the creator and star of Netflix’s hilarious hit series Survival of the Thickest, currently back in production for its third and final season; a history-making comedian who became the first woman to record a stand-up special at Radio City Music Hall; and, particularly contextual to this conversation, a mom who fully understands that “new year, new me” energy doesn’t magically kick in on Jan. 1.

That’s why teaming up with Premier Protein for its “new, New Year” campaign — which encourages people to start fresh when they’re actually ready — felt like a natural fit for Buteau. She’s always championed doing life on your own terms. “My mission statement is always it doesn’t matter how you get there as long as you get there and give yourself grace,” she told us over Zoom.

It's just one of the many ways Buteau showed up in our conversation exactly like you'd imagine: wildly funny, a little unhinged (at one point, she pulled her leg up and pointed her foot skyward to show me her socks), and refreshingly real about everything from resolutions to the inherent messiness of motherhood.

SM: As a working mom with a million things going on, what does easing into a new year actually look like for you?

MB: It looks like self-care, but to be honest ... I don't have the time to take a vacation, and that's everybody's go-to answer for me. You need to get away. It's like, ‘Do you know how much work it is to get away?’ I have to plan this, and that person and this person, and then pack and then go. And I have to worry about Instagram pictures and my outfits, and come back. Then I have to reintroduce myself to my family and everyone else and fix what you ruined when I was away, and do laundry and just jump back into work. And that's not fun for me. I like to find the rest, the civility, the health in everyday moments.

SM: Protein has kind of become the personality trait of the internet lately — everyone’s obsessed. What’s the weirdest way you’ve tried to get your protein in?

MB: I'm one of those girlies that crave protein, to be honest. It's a little protein shake in my coffee, and then I have a boiled egg with kimchi on it. And then I'll have a snack with rolled turkey slices with spicy mustard. And I'm married to a European Dutch dude that he’s, like, quarter percent sandwich ... But I don't like sandwiches. I like the things that are in sandwiches. And I really love lifting weights, and I'll just do weird squats in the middle of a conversation because I'm a goddess and I need a goddess stretch. So I'm a weirdo, but a good one.

SM: And you like dancing, right? You’re a dancing person.

MB: Are you a dancing person, or are you like, oh no?

SM: Oh, I am a dancing person. Basically, I don’t understand why I’m not actually a Disney princess, because I spend my entire life dancing and singing around the house. My kids think it’s ‘cringe.’ I don’t care.

MB: I don't care either. At this point, I'm a co-producer of a KPop Demon Hunters song.

SM: Moms are tired. What’s the most unhinged thing you’ve caught yourself doing lately where you’re like, wait, am I OK? Are we OK?

MB: Oh yeah, so many things. But the thing I could actually share publicly: Don't ask me what I'm doing with dirty towels. I am just ... we're out here. But also, I think at one point I forgot to use a fork. I was just eating with my hands. But not only did I forget to use a fork, I was serving my kids at the dinner table. I'm like (handing out string beans), ‘Have string beans.’ They're like, ‘What are you doing?’ I'm like, ‘What are you doing?’

SM: They probably thought it was so much fun.

MB: No, but that's OK. They made me a card. They were nice to me.

SM: Oh, that's so sweet.

MB: Yeah, they could read the room.

SM: You’ve done so many big, iconic things — Radio City, Netflix, tours — but what are some little wins lately that made you feel unstoppable?

MB: If my kitchen counter stays just clear, wow. Wow. I don't understand what oil of oregano is. It feels like acid, but I put it in my mouth. I'm just like, I don't know. Everyone keeps telling me I need to. Also, I did this really crazy thing where I washed clothes, I dried them, then I folded them, and I put them away.

SM: Now you're just talking crazy.

MB: I'm wild. I am unhinged. Come get her.

SM: Since we’re talking about big projects and moving into a new year, what kind of stories do you want to tell next that maybe would’ve felt out of reach earlier in your career?

MB: It's so funny that you say that because even when I started comedy, there would be only one female on the lineup. And I remember thinking the only two-hander comedy movie is Thelma and Louise. And I'm like, ‘Where are the female movies?’ So it's really exciting to be in this time where we're sharing our stories, we're raw, we're vulnerable, we're into it. We have language and vocabulary about what our bodies are going through. It's just this beautiful water-cooler talk where we could just share now where we couldn't before. And I love that so much. That's sort of the mission statement in everything I do.

I did this movie with Leslie Mann, Isla Fisher, and Anna Ferris, and like, what? Comedic powerhouses. It's called Spa Weekend, and it's about four tired women who are forced to give themselves a break and go away for the weekend because they are almost refusing to let go of the responsibility that they have — and that life couldn't work without them. But that is part of life, too. It's just, like, rest is productive. So that was a really fun movie.

I'm also going on tour, and the comedy tour is going to be called Surviving and Thriving because I feel like we are always in two places at once. So yeah, whatever surviving and/or thriving means for you, I love that for you. It's going to be very funny, and there's no refunds. Sorry.

SM: As a mom, what’s something parenting has completely ruined for you but in a way that you kind of love?

MB: Having nice things. Giving value to these things that you buy, and then they break, or they were white, LOL. Girl, what? Now they're not — they're just like a weird egg shade. And privacy. But I love it. I love it so much. It's an emotional puppy pile. Is it pile-up or pile? Forgetting words!

It's so great. Every day feels like some sort of panic room where I need a new clue to figure out how to get to the next thing. But the village is just, like, humanity. Everyone's going to help me. You know what I mean? I love being out with my twins, especially in an airport. I can't believe I'm actually saying that, but it's true because people just show up and just help. And having children makes me want to be a better person, but also it feels like it shows me the humanity and what's good about it in the world when people want to just help us and don't even know us.

So I don't even remember the question.

SM: I don't either. That was so beautiful, though, everything you said.

MB: That's all that matters then, sis.

Through Jan. 11, those in select cities (NYC, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Miami, and Atlanta) can visit GoGet2026.com from 5 a.m. - 9 a.m. to claim a free Premier Protein shake delivered straight to their door, while supplies last.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.