Emmy Nominee Sara Bareilles Says Spark for ‘The Medium Time’ Song Stemmed From Ann Dowd

Awards Daily talks to the multi-talented Sara Bareilles about her Emmy-nominated song “The Medium Time” from Netflix’s Girls5Eva.

Sara Bareilles’s spark for writing the Emmy-nominated “The Medium Time” from Netflix’s Girls5eva was inspired by — of all things — Ann Dowd.

“One day on set, the four of us were singing a song about Ann Dowd the actress [that didn’t make it into the final cut], and we were singing her name over and over again in four-part harmony, laughing with joy, just giddy, just having the best time singing together,” says Bareilles. “When it came time to write this song, I thought I’d love to sing a song where we’d stand and sing together and enjoy making music with our voices together. With this particular character, Dawn doesn’t feel that far away from me, so it’s really easy to find my way into what she’s saying, especially with this song.”

It shows how versatile Bareilles is, as an insanely talented and recognized singer-songwriter, that she can still match the desperation in Dawn, who’s struggling to make a name for herself and her group.

“If you only knew how desperate I feel all the time!” laughs Bareilles. “I don’t have to go anywhere to reach those feelings. They’re all like bees buzzing in my chest at all times. It’s just the most relatable place. You want something. You want to be great. It feels so human to me, that we get fixated on some other way we want to show up in the world, whether it’s to be more successful, younger, thinner, richer, or getting into a relationship, fill in the blank. That ability to want something is just a very relatable place. Dawn, god bless her, has all of her neuroses, and she’s really at odds with wanting herself to have this dream. That’s something she really starts to make peace with in Season 3. It might be silly, but I don’t care, it makes me so happy. The world would be a better place if people allowed themselves to pursue their joy.”

Bareilles says her creative process with the show’s music depends on the scripts. She knew she’d be writing a song called “The Medium Time” — she just didn’t know what the phrase would mean.

“I had a little bit of trouble with that, and I called Meredith [Scardino] who is endlessly helpful and a great brainstorm. She’s queen writer, and writers’ rooms are her happy place. To brainstorm and tease out this concept was super helpful. ‘The Medium Time’ — what does that even mean? We had some great conversations around that, and it started to unlock when I stopped trying to make it funny and make it a sincere moment for these women. Can we really look around and take stock of what we’ve accomplished, in this empty auditorium that we’ve busted our asses to get to?”

In many ways, the girls’ journey reflects the path of the show itself, an underdog from Peacock that somehow found its way to Netflix. Bareilles says Girls5eva has made her a little more willing to “go for it” in terms of her songwriting.

“I think they put us in these insane scenarios over and over again and wearing insane things I’d never wear. Once you do something enough times, it stops feeling so insane. The boundaries of my understanding and capacity have broadened in a beautiful way. In my psyche, what it’s done is broadened my horizons. I don’t know how that doesn’t live in songwriting. It must have an impact. It’s one of the things I’ll take from this experience that has made my life better.”

Even though the show about underdogs is a bit of an underdog itself, it still has a devoted fanbase on sites like X. However, Bareilles says she wouldn’t even know where to start with social media.

“I don’t even know where to go on social media. But I can tell you unequivocally I get stopped on the street about Girls5eva. They want to talk about the show. Girls5eva is the no. 1 thing people want to talk about, and I am here for it. Me, too. I love this show!”

Given that she’s found success in the theater world with writing the music for the stage adaptation of Waitress, would Bareilles ever consider turning Girls5eva into a musical?

“Never even had this idea! I really want a movie. I think anything’s possible. We’re all so enamored with the show and with the universe that’s been built around it and the creatives and people. But I have not even considered that before, and I think that would be hilarious and amazing!”

Girls5eva is streaming on Netflix.