“Look, if six oranges are in a bag, I believe it’s one product,” he says. “But if it’s two oranges not in a bag, that’s two items. And if somebody’s in front of me who doesn’t realize it’s the 10 items or less lane, it kills me.” And for anyone who’s seen Lehr play clueless Greens & Grains store manager Leslie Pool, that sounds about right.
Lehr allowed us to ask more than a 10-item lane would allow, and dished about his fear of improv, employee discounts and finally finding the ketchup aisle.
“10 Items or Less” is shot in a working grocery store during business hours. Do you ever interact with the shoppers?
People will come up to me thinking I’m an actual manager and ask me where the ketchup is. At first, I’d explain I’m an actor, then I was like, the hell with it, and I just started to learn where stuff was.
Don’t they see the cameras?
They don’t. It’s bizarre. But we shoot more like a reality show, not tons of lights. You can tell there’s a set, but we don’t take over the store.
What’s the strangest thing you’ve been asked for?
The crazy thing about this store is that it’s a Jons, which is a supermarket chain. Have you ever been into one?
Nope…
I highly recommend it because you won’t recognize a lot of the products. There’s this one candy they have, it’s shrink-wrapped and inside are a dozen plastic spoons that have been dipped in some gooey, viscous material that’s supposedly tasty.
Sounds delicious. So, the fake store is robbed on the first episode—did that cause any real panic?
Absolutely. There were people who freaked out when the guns came out. We were going to do a holdup show last year, but thought it was a little dramatic. But while we were shooting, the security people for the actual store walked out this handcuffed guy carrying a 9mm—he had pulled a gun in the store. After that we were like, We gotta do a holdup show.
Did you ever work at a grocery store when you were a kid?
Never did. My jobs were mostly restaurant jobs. I started when I was 15 and worked at restaurants all through college. At the production office you can always tell when the actors have made the coffee because it’s really good.
Having never worked in a grocery store, what made you decide to create this particular show?
Well, I have to give that credit to my partner Nancy Hower, who directs all the shows. We had done an entirely improvised movie in the same style that we do the show. We were looking for a place that would be evenly lit because, with the improv, we knew we couldn’t spend a lot of time lighting. It was back when the grocers were on strike and Nancy was the one who said, “Why don’t we do it in a grocery store?”
Does the show have a script at all?
We have really structured outlines, but the cast never sees the script unless they want to. But we shoot in order, so everybody’s figuring out the story as we go.
Do you ever fear getting “stuck” with your improv skills?
I live for that. I’m sort of a junkie for fear. That’s the exciting part of improv—not when things are going well, but when things aren’t. That’s usually when really great stuff can come.
The show got a lot of attention for a web video where you look like you’re choking. What was that?
Sony asked us to make a viral video and Nancy [Hower] said, “Why don’t we do it like we’re doing an interview and you joke as if you’re choking, but then it turns into real choking.” I did it, we posted it and three million people downloaded it—we were shocked. Doing a practical joke has never been my thing, but I gotta say, more people have seen that video than have seen the first episode of my show.
When you’re out shopping for food, do supermarket employees recognize you?
I get a little of that, but when we’re shooting, most of my grocery shopping is done at the store. When the shift is over, the whole crew will shop.
Do you get an employee discount?
No! We don’t. And we should!
Season two of “10 Items or Less” premieres Tuesday, Jan. 15 at 11 p.m./10c on TBS.
