- 1 day ago
The actress joins The Hollywood Reporter to talk all things 'Single Parents,' working in comedy, what she hopes to see next season and how Adam Brody got hurt after his finale cameo.
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00:00Hi, I'm Leighton Meester and I'm in studio with The Hollywood Reporter.
00:07Thank you so much for dropping by.
00:09So excited to talk to you.
00:10Single Parents finale is tonight.
00:12Now, looking back at the show, what stood out to you first about the script and why you wanted to join?
00:18I mean, it definitely started with the team that had sent it.
00:21It was Liz Merriweather and J.J. Philbin and Taron was already attached and I'm just a huge fan of him.
00:28Like even before, but now even more.
00:31So it just seemed like an awesome team.
00:33Jason Weiner was going to be directing and executive producing and just that marriage of the new girl, humor and writing.
00:41Jason coming from Modern Family in that world, it became like its own new family, if you will.
00:46Then seeing the group dynamic on the page, it just made sense.
00:51It was very funny.
00:52I just felt like I was laughing on every page or more.
00:55And I also, on top of that, really connected with my character, Angie.
01:00She's a thread within me of her.
01:04I mean, she's a fully realized person.
01:07And I find her to be in her sardonic, dry, tough wit, like super enjoyable to play and also really fun to kind of thread the line between that side of her and her vulnerability.
01:26And being a single mother and having to be the mom and dad and caretaker and breadwinner for her entire world, you know, trying to make a career, having a kid at a young age.
01:38And so it's been humbling and super fun to do.
01:43And I also knew that it was just going to be this really collaborative experience.
01:47I was going to say that.
01:48Yeah.
01:49Because Liz Merriweather is super collaborative.
01:50Yeah.
01:51I mean, they really are.
01:52J.J. is too.
01:53And, you know, the second I sat down with them, it really was like, you know, oh, this is just such a great, I mean, and not for nothing woman led team who, you know, really let me have so much input on what I do, say, where, with the direction of my character, the music she likes.
02:12The, you know, the jokes I get to say and choose.
02:15So, yeah, it's just fun.
02:18Going off that, what input specifically did you have about kind of how you saw Angie?
02:22Like I said, I mean, I think that there's part of her within me, which is actually the great thing about watching any ensemble show.
02:29For me, it's like every ensemble I've ever watched, I'm like, yeah, are you Charlotte or Samantha or whatever?
02:35But really, like, I feel like, I guess, like, I'm not like any of them specifically.
02:41But what I was going to say is that you're kind of, as a human, like, on screen, it's interesting to watch people be more defined.
02:48Yeah.
02:49But I think everyone can probably see themselves, like, I see myself in everybody or them in me.
02:54Yeah.
02:55I mean, like, I don't know.
02:56I don't want to say too much, but like a little bit of Samantha.
02:59Yeah.
03:00But, yeah, I mean, I think, like, you know, Angie, she's very defined, very specific.
03:08Like I said, she's tough and she's kind of a hard ass.
03:11I mean, she's, like, actually a total hard ass.
03:14I do relate to her in that way to some extent because I know that, you know, chasing a career and having to sort of go head to head against men in your workplace and taking care of a kid and trying to be there for them.
03:31Like all that, you know, seems relatable to some extent probably for every woman, especially mothers.
03:37Yeah, I mean, the other side of her is this vulnerable, you know, sort of facet that I probably just naturally have more.
03:46I think I probably cry more than she does.
03:48Okay.
03:49But that's why it's fun to play her.
03:50She's more tough.
03:51Get in here, bitch.
03:52Welcome to Girls' Night!
03:54This is Girls' Night?
03:55It is now.
03:56Now, with any bond with a parent and their child, obviously, it's special.
04:00But with the show, I mean, I grew up with a single mom.
04:02So, like, Angie and Graham's relationship was really, like, touching.
04:04Like, obviously the show's hilarious, but I got emotional sometimes watching them.
04:07Oh, really? Good.
04:08Can you kind of talk about why it was important to kind of show the dynamic of single parents?
04:12Well, I think that it's cool.
04:15Like, just even the title.
04:16It's comforting.
04:17It's comforting.
04:18I think, you know, it's definitely something that, like, you know, we're broadcasting that this is what the show is about,
04:23and it's not something that's been done before, surprisingly, because that is what at least half of this world is,
04:30is, you know, people who've been divorced or haven't, you know, their relationships haven't worked out,
04:33and they're raising their kid either half the time or all on their own.
04:37So I think that exploring that has been interesting.
04:40Hopefully we're doing it justice, because I think that we do, like, explore how insanely hard it is,
04:45and I know as a mom, but not a single mom, that it is the hardest job in the entire world,
04:50and I can't even imagine not having help.
04:54Like, you know, somebody to go to for the good things and the bad things,
04:58and to just be like, I need a shower or take the baby, you know?
05:01It must be absolutely insane, and the fact that Angie has done it and found an amazing group of friends.
05:08And, of course, like, you know, we try to lighten it and make it relatable and fun.
05:13And I think the other part of it that is interesting is the fact that they are single,
05:18so it's like a wish fulfillment, you know?
05:20Like, there might be some romance.
05:22Like, it's like a, you know, swipe in Tinder, but on a sitcom.
05:26So they have kids, and they're also, you know, the kids are very much in the foreground, which I appreciate,
05:34and I talked early on to the producers and writers about that, you know, whenever you watch a sitcom,
05:39it's like the moms have perfect hair and makeup and their wardrobe and, you know, someone knocks on the door,
05:45and I'm always, like, wondering where the hell are their dogs barking and, like, their kid, like, screaming or, you know, talking to,
05:52it's like they're very much in the foreground.
05:55They have their own storylines, and, of course, they're speaking very adult-like in a lot of these scenarios
06:00because they're just funny, they're comedians themselves.
06:02It's very, I mean, it's very sweet. A lot of our storylines, like, do end up being very sweet,
06:06especially Graham and Angie. I think that he, in real life, is very much like that.
06:10Like, he, you know, he's, like, spunky because he's a little kid actor, so he's, like, a little more,
06:16I don't know, he's a little bit more aware, but he's just the sweetest kid,
06:20and I am really lucky that he gets to, that I get to be his mom.
06:23For you in turn, what is the key to kind of getting this onscreen chemistry right? What would you say?
06:27I mean, you know, I think it's something you can't really make up or, you know, put your finger on.
06:33I think, you know, very early on it was obvious to, I think, both of us, certainly to me, that he's, you know,
06:40that we work well together, that we can certainly be friends outside of work.
06:45He, you know, sort of unusually does not have, or at least does not lead with his ego.
06:53He's really just about making the show and the scene better and helping me and sort of pushing me forward
07:01and making me feel comfortable, and that's when I feel like I'm my best, you know, is when I feel relaxed.
07:07And, you know, he's just a very supportive, in-tune person.
07:12And, you know, a lot of, like, the shenanigans that you see on screen, I think it is just an extension of what we're doing.
07:18Of what's happening off, yeah.
07:19And a lot of, like, inside jokes that have just somehow made it onto film.
07:22That's so great. Are you a Slayer fan like Angie, per se?
07:26No, I'm not. I'm not at all.
07:28Not at all. I don't know why I said that originally to everybody in the room.
07:34I was like, you know what would be cool? If Angie was really into Slayer.
07:38And they were like, yeah, that'd be cool.
07:40And then they've, like, really run with it, and I had to sing a Slayer song.
07:45Belt it out.
07:47And, I mean, like, yeah, like, do headbanging and, like, injure myself.
07:50That was my, like, version of a headbanging.
07:52Yeah, don't do it. Don't do it. It's really bad for you, physically. It is.
07:56It's not good.
07:58And, yeah, the name of the song, the episode is Raining Blood.
08:01Which is just so, it's my favorite episode.
08:03It's really funny and good.
08:05And there's a goat.
08:06I have a three-year-old who is also singing Raining Blood.
08:08Oh, my gosh.
08:09Because she had to hear it so much.
08:10And she's like, play that scary music.
08:12I'm like, okay.
08:14That's so funny.
08:15I guess that's what you're into.
08:16But, no, I'm, it's not that I'm not a fan.
08:18I just, I can't chill to it.
08:21Which is probably not what you're supposed to do.
08:23Yeah, I mean, you're not supposed to, no.
08:25You're supposed to headbanging and hurt yourself, basically.
08:29What's really fun is we get to learn more about her past and kind of her oddball quirks.
08:33And we see that in the finale where she was working at a music festival.
08:36She meets Graham's father, Derek, played by your husband, Adam Brody.
08:40How excited were you to have him kind of join the show for the finale?
08:43I mean, yeah, it's a wonderful, great, lovely thing.
08:48Yeah.
08:49I mean, it's like having, I mean, he's my best friend and I want to work with him on everything.
08:53And I think he's the best in everything.
08:57And having him come on to set, I had been there for like eight months, you know, and I went there every day and was like, bye, I'm going to work.
09:03He's like meeting your family.
09:05Yeah, my other family.
09:06Your other family, yeah.
09:07My second family.
09:08Yeah, yeah, yeah.
09:09And yeah, it was, he's really good.
09:11I was not at all like worried if he would completely like, you know, do amazing at that part.
09:17Which, you know, it kind of toes the line.
09:19It's this guy who's walked out on his girlfriend who's pregnant.
09:24And so you don't really know like kind of what the, what his intentions were, but maybe he's not the best guy.
09:30I won't give too much away, but it was funny watching Taryn kind of, you know.
09:34Get angry.
09:35Yeah.
09:36And break stuff.
09:37Like beat him up a little bit.
09:38Cause Will's so nice.
09:39So it's, I don't know.
09:40Yeah, yeah.
09:41I think he got hurt.
09:42I mean, actually got hurt.
09:43He did.
09:44Like, yeah, the next day.
09:45I think he just was like, I don't know, I think maybe his jaw or something.
09:48I don't know.
09:49Maybe there's a spoiler.
09:50I don't want to say how.
09:51Your second family beat up your real family.
09:52Yeah.
09:53What a mess.
09:54Yeah.
09:55Were there other ideas of how he might be kind of fit into the show or other character ideas?
09:59Yeah, I mean, like I, you know, we had done a couple movies together and worked together before.
10:04And then when I was doing the last show I was on, sort of like, that was sort of the direction they were taking.
10:11They were like, well, you know, maybe we'll have him on.
10:13And sadly that never came to pass.
10:15The show ended.
10:16Making history.
10:17And then this came around and I was like, ooh, like maybe he could be on the show.
10:22And they were like, okay, we'll keep that in the backs of our minds.
10:24Like, you know, when something comes around that seems right.
10:27Yeah, JJ was telling me we're out here at the TCAs and she was like, you know, it would be great.
10:31Like, we're going to bring in Derek, you know?
10:34We've talked about him all season.
10:36And, you know, and I, I sort of like, he's this very like, legendary, mysterious person who I'm like, it's a garbage human.
10:41I don't want to talk about him.
10:42But I have a lot of like, pent up rage and abandonment issues.
10:46I'm talking about Angie, not myself.
10:48And, and then, and then she's like, you know, and I was like, who's going to be the guy?
10:53And she's like, well, my dream is, you know, Adam Brody.
10:57And so, of course, he was just like, yeah, of course, I'll do it.
11:01Now with him being Graham's father, do you see him coming back for season two and kind of seeing that story go further?
11:06I think so.
11:07I think so.
11:08Yeah.
11:09I mean, it would be, you know, we kind of left it on like a cliffhanger.
11:12I don't, again, we were completely spoiling the finale, but that's what it is.
11:16Make sure you still watch yourself.
11:17It is a cliffhanger.
11:18And, you know, not exactly knowing where we stand.
11:21I don't think we totally wrap it up.
11:23No.
11:24But it brings Will and Angie closer, Will played by Taryn.
11:28And I don't know if it's going to be a good thing or a bad thing that Derek is maybe somewhat back in her life,
11:32or she at least knows where he is and what he's up to.
11:35Maybe she still has feelings or maybe she doesn't and just hates him.
11:39So what's exciting you most kind of now about working in a company?
11:42You know, I'm just excited.
11:43I'm hoping, fingers crossed, that the show comes back so that I can really continue to explore and just really have fun.
11:51I have so much fun doing this show.
11:53And like I said, I mean, I love playing Angie.
11:55I think she's sort of a dream role for me to be able to mix so many different facets of a person together.
12:05She's so grounded and well written and I'm really lucky to do that and to call that my job.
12:12And beyond that, I mean, just, yeah, I would love to continue to do comedy.
12:18It's definitely like a wonderful way of life, you know, to go to work and laugh and tell jokes and have fun.
12:25One thing I wanted to ask you, when we were first introduced to you, obviously, on Gossip Girl,
12:28do you ever look back and recognize the comedic elements to that show?
12:31Because it was, a lot of it was driven by Blair and her one-liners.
12:35Yeah, sure, yeah.
12:36I mean, just the, like, the cadence and the way that it was written was, I think, easy to sort of find, like, funny moments.
12:45And, you know, certain actors on that, specifically, I would say, Zuzana Sarkovsky, who's played the girl.
12:53Who you're really close with.
12:54Yeah.
12:55Yeah, that's so awesome.
12:56She's super funny in real life and on screen.
12:58Blair and Derota, yeah.
12:59Yeah.
13:00And Margaret Cullen, who played Blair's mom.
13:02She's very funny and, I mean, you know, I feel like those specific relationships where you could kind of,
13:08there was so much history and shorthand and, but I think those were the scenes that I had the most fun with.
13:14That's awesome.
13:15You were also recently on The Orville.
13:16How was that performing, singing on the show?
13:18Oh, yeah.
13:19That was, there was some things I do.
13:21That's what I was trying to think of.
13:22Angie needs to sing on the show, yeah.
13:23Yeah.
13:24Well, no, I think, I think that that character on The Orville was, she's a singer.
13:31And Angie's not.
13:32And I like that.
13:33I like that she's not a singer.
13:34Like, she's not, she's not good.
13:36Now for season two of Single Parents, which we hope we get.
13:39I know.
13:40This is a plug.
13:41This is why I'm here.
13:42This is exactly why I'm here.
13:44What do you want to see?
13:45Like, what else do you want to see kind of happen?
13:47Well, I think we sort of planted the seeds of maybe there could be feelings between Angie and another character.
13:56And I think it may be obvious to some people.
13:59The two people I think it's the least obvious to is Angie and this person.
14:03Angie.
14:04Yeah.
14:05Where they're just sort of like, what, what, what?
14:07Yeah, yeah, yeah.
14:08They sort of like kind of have feelings for each other.
14:11But, you know, they're friends, it's complicated.
14:13We'll probably bring music in as well.
14:15Yeah.
14:16I think that that is something that we've had here and there on the show.
14:19And I think, you know, exploring Angie's relationship with Graham and Graham's dad, I think would be really sort of fascinating.
14:28Because Graham is like, all at once, like a little mama's boy and a Casanova, which maybe Casanovas are all little mama's boys.
14:34I don't know.
14:35He brought a bunch of cologne to the camp.
14:37Yeah, yeah, exactly.
14:38Like, he's kind of like becoming a man.
14:40Yeah.
14:41And I think Angie has to come to terms with that.
14:42Thank you so much for being here.
14:44Seriously, this was great.
14:45So great talking with you.
14:46Yeah.
14:47The Single Parents finale tonight on ABC.
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