Nicole Richie was recently interviewed by Vanity Fair Hollywood about her TV show Candidly Nicole.

Nicole Richie could only attend this year’s New York Fashion Week for 24 hours because of her children’s school schedules. That’s hard to imagine for the Nicole Richie we all remember from 2003, but she’s come a long way since her hard-partying, reality-TV days on The Simple Life. The Nicole Richie of 2015 is now busy being a wife (to Good Charlotte front man, Joel Madden) a mother (to Harlow, 7, and Sparrow, 6), and a clothing and jewelry designer (she created the line House of Harlow 1960 in 2008).

But she hasn’t left TV behind, either; her VH1 series, Candidly Nicole, in which she plays “the pilled-out, alcoholic, crazy, racist version of me,” ends its second season Wednesday. She talked to us about why she’s “very upset” at the way the season has ended, and how she learned it’s not so difficult to form a gang.

VF Hollywood: How are you feeling about the end of the second season?

Nicole Richie: I am very upset. I pitched them that at the end of the season finale, I need to be in a straight jacket; I need to be in a mental institution. I really thought that would round out and explain a lot of what people were seeing throughout the season. And they said no. And I am pissed.

Reason enough!

Really though, it was so much fun. I absolutely love doing this show. It started out as a web series and it was such a small set. A lot of the people that were working on it were my friends. And I did that just so I could feel comfortable, because I was trying something new. When it turned into a TV show—and VH1 has been so great with me—they wanted to keep that vibe. So it’s still a pretty intimate set in that everyone gets along and we’re all friends. It’s just the best job.

I know you’ve said in the past that this show was inspired by your Twitter feed, which is very funny, very irreverent. As the show has grown, has your inspiration? Do you work with a team of writers?

I do work with one writer. It started out as solely based on my Twitter feed, but in the second season, I decided to go more broad and look at things that I was curious about and that other people were interested in. We looked into the world of art, and those feelings people have—like they need to be in multiple places at one time, or there aren’t enough hours in the day. Now that it’s been out for a while, people come up to me all the time and say, “We’d love for you to talk about this.”

Anyone who’s watched you since The Simple Life knows that you’ve always been funny. But you’ve come a long way since then. Did you feel like you had anything to prove this time around?

I don’t know if I’ve ever really connected the two, other than the fact that they’re both TV shows. They’re two very different shows. The Simple Life was about pulling us out of our lives and filming that journey. Candidly Nicole is not reality. It’s more of a mission-based comedy. It’s a totally different thing. I’m also in a totally different place in my life.

Do you feel like the Nicole on Candidly Nicole is what people get in real life, too?

I feel like the Candidly Nicole Nicole is the pilled-out, alcoholic, crazy, racist version of me—which I’m not saying doesn’t exist. But, that is one aspect. We’re all so many different people in different roles in our lives. But this show is just a show. It’s entertainment, and that’s the point.

What’s the best thing you learned this season?

I’ve learned it’s not so difficult to form a gang.

Explain.

It’s actually quite fun. I filmed a gang episode. Before Straight Outta Compton came out, just letting you know. So it’s very on brand. But I was first.

That’s amazing. What do you hope the audience takeaway will be from the show?

I truly just want people to laugh. I want people to really enjoy the show and feel like they are, on some level, a part of it. I am always seeking laughter. When I watch TV, I watch it to laugh. That’s it for me.