So, apparently I've caught you as you're heading into a Hot in Cleveland table reading. What are those like?
It's usually [laughs] pretty funny! We have all of the people from the network in the studio, which is sort of a small group compared to most network shows. Then there's the cast and some of the crew heads, and we sit around at sort of a U-shaped table and read the script, and the director reads the stage directions. It's when we first have our guest cast come and read with us, and this week, Susan Lucci is a guest.
Were you on board with the idea of an "old-fashioned" sitcom from the start?
I think their intention was to go back to the classic sitcom form, which served very well for a very long time. To me, the secret of a good comedy is always having great writers -- as well as casting it right, but you really need to start with people who write well. We have a very stellar group of writers. Their pedigree is amazing. I think four of them are from Frasier, one wrote for Just Shoot Me for awhile -- they're just really smart and do more than just jokes. They really understand how to build characters.
Part of what's interesting about Hot in Cleveland is it seems like the cast is playing new versions of parts we've seen them in before. Do you think Victoria is a souped-up form of Just Shoot Me's Nina Van Horn?
What's intriguing about this one is when they approached me, they said, "We don't know if you want to play anything this close to Nina." But for me, it would be Nina ten years later and probably 20 points higher in terms of her IQ. She's a lot more of aware of things than Nina was -- she was more an idiot savant. I think Victoria is somebody who's much more aware of, like, what's going on and trying to figure out how to get through the next 50 years. Or 40. Well, let's be real, maybe 35.
Now, your old Just Shoot Me co-star George Segal is starring on the upcoming TV Land show Retired at 35. Does this mean you'll be reunited with him at all?
Oh, I surely will! I think they're going to relaunch [Hot in Cleveland] when they put his show on the air, and there's been some talk about putting us back to back, which would be wonderful. So we can go out and pound the pavement together again. I adore George.
Talk about the perks of working on this type of sitcom. Alan Ruck told Movieline that multicam comedies are great because they're like one-act plays where you get to do your lines again if you mess up.
Well, you get to have a life, which is the first thing. And if you have kids or a husband or wife and friends, you get to have a normal life and have dinner with them. I have a niece who lives with us, and I sometimes take her to school before I go to work. I sometimes ride my horse before I go to work. I get to have dinner with my family most nights of the week. Friday is the one night we go late, and there is something that is so palpable about getting in front of an audience and having that energy. It just touches everybody in the best possible way. We have a real jones for this kind of work.
You've obviously filmed more of this season than we've seen. Can you talk about the surprising ways in which your character evolves?
My character -- I'm not sure how much she evolves. [Laughs.] But what I love about this show, they keep throwing us into situations where we think we can do what we used to do 20, 30 years ago. We recently had a wonderful episode and Huey Lewis was the guest. He and I had a wild. crazy, torrid affair in our twenties, and we're reunited and trying to relive what we used to do. And of course, my back goes out, he has a medical ordeal, the whole thing is just poking at some of the real concerns people have when they're older. You can't quite repeat what you did when you were a kid, and how do you make that fit into your life at this point?
What's it like to work with Betty White during this pretty unprecedented renaissance in her career?
I have to tell you, it's one of the most affirming relationships I've had. She's so inspired us, and in particular, me. I'm in my late fifties, Jane [Leeves] and Valerie [Bertinelli] are in their late forties. This is a town where people have been programmed not to reveal their real ages because someone won't think you're young enough to play a certain part. And Betty has given us all the courage and the pride in owning who we are at this stage in our lives and the experience that has brought us to this point.
What do get from working with Jane and Valerie? At this point you're all sitcom veterans.
Absolutely. One of those rare things... when you become part of an ensemble, you want to find your particular niche in this piece. We all realized early on that we bring something unique to this. We have great mutual respect and really get along like a house on fire. We all make each other laugh -- there have been many times where the makeup artists have to come over with Kleenex to repair the mascara from crying from laughing so hard. It's like playing tennis with great players. Everybody hits the ball back, and we all sort of get to excel that particular kind of comedy we do best.
Now, pardon this dorky superfan question, but--
Did you just out yourself as a dork?
Yes, we've reached the revelatory part of the interview. You were in a TV movie called Take My Advice: The Ann and Abby Story where you played Ann Landers and Abigail Van Buren.
I loved that!
I remember watching it and thinking you were such a natural fit for the role, which I wouldn't have guessed instinctively. How did embodying those two feel for you?
The interesting thing is that people probably know me best from my comedy, but I started out as a dramatic actress. I do a lot of plays in between my television work, or independent roles where I get to stretch and do those kind of roles. I'm probably best known for my work on Just Shoot Me and Dream On and Frasier and all that, but I come out of a theater background and so that was actually not so foreign to me.
Was there a certain pressure playing two of the most well-known female writers of the past 100 years?
Oh, I think there always is. And of course, I was probably not the most obvious choice, but it was offered to me, and I thought, "What a delicious thing to be able to play twin sisters." It was great fun, and I loved the clothes. I just love that whole time. I'm very into that period.
Your old HBO show Dream On has its own devotees. When people approach you on the street, do they often bring up that show?
It's amazing how many people come up to me and say, "You know what show I really loved? Dream On." It really was sort of a cult classic, and it was critically a hit, but so few people had HBO in those days. I sort of wished they had put it away and evolved and re-released it because it was such a brilliant show and so ahead of its time.
Lastly, do you miss anything about Just Shoot Me?
I just love those people. I love that character. She was such fun, and when you play a character for seven years, she becomes your sort-of alter ego. I enjoyed her immensely, it was such a fun character to play. I'm sure it was part of the reason I signed on to do this one. In some ways there are similarities: It's a chance to be outrageous and get paid for it.