It’s going to be a tough season for the comedy department at
NBC, with two of its most beloved (if not highly-rated) hits, bowing out. After 30
Rock calls it quits after 13 episodes this fall, and The Office at the end of the year, the network once known as the
home of “Must-See” comedy will need to find some laughs, fast.
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The cast of The New Normal, left to right:
Justin Bartha, Andrew Rannells, Georgia King,
Bebe Wood, Ellen Barkin, Nene Leakes |
NBC does seem to be pinning its hopes on one new comedy. From Ryan Murphy, the out gay creator of Glee and American Horror Story, and out lesbian writer Ali Adler, The New Normal is a politically
incorrect yet warm look at a gay male couple and the (literally) surrogate
family they build in an attempt to have a baby.
Just this week, it seemed like another sign of NBC’s faith
in The New Normal when the network
announced a special preview of the show’s pilot this coming Monday, September
10 at 10 PM/9 PM Central; they’re hoping to get the show sampled by the viewers
of its lead-in that night, the season premiere of The Voice. The very next night,
September 11, The New Normal will
settle into its regular timeslot, of Tuesdays at 9:30/8:30 Central.
(Of course, you don’t
have to wait until Monday to see the New
Normal pilot: you can watch it right
here.)
Back in July, at the semi-annual convention for TV critics
in Beverly Hills, I sat down with the show’s male leads, The Hangover’s Justin Bartha
and Andrew Rannells, who made a huge
splash with Broadway’s Book of Mormon
and recently appeared on HBO’s Girls,
to talk all about what it means to be Normal.
Must-Hear TV: As we head into a
presidential election where one of the divisive issues is gay rights, what
attracted you to this show, with its unavoidable gay storyline and themes?
Justin Bartha: The
main thing was quality. The quality of
the script, and the quality of the people involved. The show is relevant. It seems timely and seems necessary, and it
is hilarious. Everything attracted me to
this show.
Andrew Rannells: I definitely
echo that sentiment. Also, I think that
Ryan Murphy’s brand of comedy, the way that he handles topical material – in this
case, this homosexual couple, that was very appealing to me. As a homosexual, that I get to be a part of
something like that is very exciting. So
there was a long list of reasons why this seemed to be a great thing to get
involved in. And the show has definitely held up to all of those expectations
as we’ve developed it.
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with The New Normal's Andrew Rannells and Justin Bartha
at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills, CA
July 2012 |
MHTV: You both have
theater backgrounds – Andrew in Book of
Mormon, and Justin, I saw you in 2010 in Lend Me a Tenor. When you
test for a TV pilot, you have to agree to sign away 7 years of your life if it
gets picked up, which might not leave much time for Broadway. This must have been some helluva script –
enough to make you want to do TV?
JB: It’s a similar
answer to the first question – it’s all about quality. For me, everything I was reading just wasn’t
that interesting. And it didn’t seem to
matter. This show seems to matter, and
it’s something to be proud of. And if I could
be proud of something for seven years, I’m down with that.
AR: Absolutely. I think that television offers an interesting
opportunity. If you’re lucky enough to
have some longevity, you get to cover a multitude of issues. I think that Ryan and Ali Adler definitely
are the people to do that. To bring topical
humor to a half-hour format is very exciting.
MHTV: It’s amazing that
we still have to talk about this in 2012, but is there ever any concern for
either of you as an actor about playing a gay character?
JB: Andrew and I both
come at this question from very interesting perspectives. Because I’m a straight man and he’s a gay
man. Both have a little bit of a stigma
playing gay characters, or being “out” in a sense. You, Andrew, obviously have more at stake,
because it’s your personal life attached.
MHTV: But you do, too,
Justin, because people might be eager to nitpick the way a straight actor
chooses to “play gay.” Or maybe they
think the actor himself must be secretly gay.
JB: For me
personally, I thrive off of those things.
I don’t give a shit what people think about me. I think if everyone thinks I’m gay, I’m
flattered. And if people are so
small-minded that they can’t see past sexuality in creativity, then I don’t
want to work for them anyway.
So it’s as simple as that.
It is unfortunate that there hasn’t been portrayal of a homosexual
couple in a realistic sense – and when I say that, I mean showing affection,
and showing what real couples go through.
And I think Andrew and I, Ryan Murphy and Ali Adler, always wanted to
show that. Because there are some great
shows that have been groundbreaking with gay characters, but I’ve never really seen
a realistic portrayal of what goes on behind closed doors with interesting
topics.
MHTV: Like Will on Will & Grace had to be timid at
first about kissing. Will you guys?
JB: I put my tongue
in his mouth, and I will continue to put my tongue in his mouth, and I don’t
care.
MHTV: Andrew, any
concern about playing a gay character?
AR: No. I'm excited to play a gay
character who was this fully developed and fleshed out. I think I would be a fool to not jump at the chance. And then particularly as a homosexual… it
speaks a lot to Will & Grace and
I just mentioned Jim J. Bullock to someone before –
JB: Oh, Jim J.
Bullock. I’m a big fan!
AR: All of that
happened on the rocky path to where we are right now. And I’m very fortunate that I get to benefit
from all of that hard work, personally and professionally. That I get to be out and not penalized in any
way, and to be offered this role, is amazing.
The New Normal
Tuesdays at 9:30/8:30 Central
Beginning September 11
NBC
