Coverage and interviews by Jennifer Ortega, Red Carpet Report Reporter follow Jen on Twitter @JenniferEOrtega
American Housewife is a new sitcom premiering on ABC this October. The show stars Katy Mixon (Mike &Molly/Eastbound &Down) as Katie. Katie along with her husband, Greg (Diedrich Bader) and three kids move to the wealthy neighborhood of Westport, where all the other moms wear Lululemon, drink lots of green juices and look great. Katie immediately feels like a fish out of water. This year at PaleyFest, I was able to chat with cast and creators of this hilarious and relatable show.
Katy Mixon “Katie”
JO: Hi Katy, I’m Jennifer.
KM: Hi, honey. Nice to meet you.
JO: I’m obsessed with your blouse.
KM: It’s the puffed sleeves. It’s Saturday morning, why not wear puffed sleeves? When in doubt wear puffed sleeves.
JO: I feel that way about lace.
KM: Lace is everything.
JO: I’ve been a fan since Eastbound and Down. I love you on that and I love Danny McBride.
KM: He’s everything.
JO: He’s so good.
KM: Oh my goodness.
JO: I’ve watched the trailer for American Housewife and it looks hilarious. The writing seems excellent. What appealed to you about this show?
KM: “Katie” is a character that had to meet herself where she’s at. She literally could not look to the left or the right. She’s self deprecating in a way. But that’s her strength. She’s different. So what attracted me to the role was her finding that. Do you know what I mean? I’m such a big fan of celebrating “you”. There’s nobody else like you in this world. So that’s what attracted me and it was so different from the Victoria character I played on Mike and Molly.
JO: That’s what I love about American Housewife. It’s celebrating your difference.
KM:Everybody has insecurities. No matter where you are or where you come from. And it’s about recognizing it and walking through the fire.
JO: I’m so excited to watch it! Nice to meet you!
KM: Nice to meet you too, honey!
Aaron Kaplan (Executive Producer)
AK: Hi, Jennifer. Nice to meet you.
JO: I watched the trailer and it looks hilarious. What made you want to be involved in American Housewife?
AK: What made me want to be involved? I spoke to Sarah Dunn (show’s creator) last summer and we were talking about doing something together and we were talking about our personal lives. Sarah said to me that her big dilemma was that she was going to be the second fattest housewife from where’s she’s from. I said, “That’s a great television idea.” From there out of the incredible mind of Sarah Dunn came an amazing television series.
JO: Just from the trailer I watched, the writing seemed great and the story seemed so appropriate for these current times.
AK: What it does is it really shines a light on things that people think are important that really aren’t important. What Sarah has done so great with the cast is to create a real family, who despite that they’re living in the “eye of the storm” of beauty, of thinness, of green drinks….despite that, this is a family that will be real and be authentic. I think it is of today, but I also think it is of tomorrow and also yesterday because we are obsessed with so many things that at the end of the day don’t matter.
JO: It’s very true and I think it’s so relatable no matter where you live because everyone has a neighborhood like that, friends like that.
AK: For sure, whether your in Westport or Woodland Hills.
Kenny Schwartz (Executive Producer) & Sarah Dunn (Creator & Executive Producer)
JO: Nice to meet you!
KS: Nice to meet you!
JO: How did you get involved in the show?
KS: My writing partner, Rick Weiner, and I were at ABC. This is the first show Sarah Dunn has created and running a show by yourself is not fun.
SD: What?
KS: Running a show by yourself is not fun.
SD: No, it’s not!
JO: (jokingly) You don’t want to run a show by yourself?
SD: Never! It’s impossible!
Laughter
KS: So Rick and I got the script and I absolutely fell in love with it immediately. It has an amazing point of view and it was written so well. So we met with Sarah and we clicked and we came on board. Now it’s sort of a trifecta of Sarah and me and my writing partner, Rick.
JO: I was just saying, I feel like this show is so relatable wherever in the country you might live.
KS: I completely agree.
JO: We all have times where we feel like an outsider.
KS: Absolutely!
JO: So, Sarah, where did this spark of an idea come from?
SD: Well, I live on the East Coast and I live in a town similar to Westport. The story came straight from my life. The women in my town, they exercise a lot, they look great, they’re great people, I don’t. Like last night I had donuts for dinner.
Laughter
KS: You had a donut diner.
SD: I had a donut diner and I’m a grown woman.
JO: And as a grown women you are allowed to have a donut diner.
SD: To me, that’s a legitimate way to live.
KS: You say you’re a size 14.
SD: I am a size 14 and I keep thinking, is that really true? But it is. I’m a 14 and I have two kids and I don’t exercise.
JO: I like that life! Thank you so much. I’m really excited about this show.
SD: Thank you, Jennifer.
Daniel DiMaggio “Oliver”, Meg Donnelly “Taylor” & Julia Butters “Anna-Kat”
JO: Hi everyone! I’m with Daniel, Julia and Meg. You all play siblings on the show. Do you feel like you have that brother and sisterly bond now?
JB: I do!
DD: One brother and sisters bond.
JO: Yeah, you’re the one guy in the house.
DD: You kind of have to get along with them and I’m so glad these are my sisters. Sometimes, I wish I had a boy on the show I could relate to. I don’t think I’m going to be having many football conversations.
JB: Um, I love football. No, not football, but I like sports.
MD: We’re all only children so now that we have this family dynamic going, it’s awesome. I think it’s a learning experience for all of us and we’re all very close.
JO: Thank you much and congrats on the show!
Diedrich Bader “Greg”
JO: Hi, I’m Jennifer.
DB: Hi, Jennifer!
JO: I love you on Veep.
DB: Thank you!
JO: What’s next for Greg and Katie after the pilot episode?
DB: We’re going in the direction of every married couple in that we’re just trying to raise our kids and go through life the best we possibly can. Anyone who’s felt like a fish out of water will really associate with this show. Trying to keep up with the Joneses is not anything, my character, Greg is interested in at all. He really doesn’t care. They’re in that neighborhood for the schools. But Katie feels judged because she is judged. A lot of women feel judged by other women because lets face it, you guys are not easy on each other.
JO: We’re not nice.
Laughter
DB: Guys are generally better to each other.. So Katie takes it more personally and it’s a tougher adjustment for her.
JO: How is your experience working with real life Katy (Mixon)?
DB: Real life Katy is fantastic. She’s really funny. She’s really sweet. She calls everyone pumpkin. When she first started calling me pumpkin, I was like are we really going to do that? But she stuck with it. Now, if she doesn’t call me pumpkin, I think ooh she’s mad at me.
JO: Or something’s wrong.
DB: I can’t anticipate where she’s going with any line readings which I love. One of the great things about working with Katy Mixon is that she’s a real actor. So when we do scenes we’re really acting off of each other. That doesn’t happen very often. I’ve been on television shows…Veep is not a good example of this, because everyone on Veep is a phenomenal actor….but there are a lot of shows that you do where the actor is okay. So you’re not really acting, You’re doing what you thought of doing while you were driving to the set. So nothing really happens. You’re just getting through it. But with Katy, you don’t know where a scene is going. We do it differently every single time. I don’t even know how they edit it. We really go at each other when we go at each other and it’s great. It’s almost like a real marriage. It’s beautiful. I leave my real wife in the morning and come to my next wife.
JO: Your work wife!
DB: Yes!
JO: Thank you so much!
Carly Hughes “Angela”
JO: Hello!
CH: Hi, how are you?
JO: I’m really excited because you also have an extensive Broadway career.
CH: I do!
JO: I saw you in Beautiful in San Francisco and New York.
CH: You saw me do this!
Carly dances.
JO: I did! Congrats on the show! Can you talk about your character Angela a little?
CH: Angela brings a little sass to the show. She’s one of the best friends. Her and Katy and Doris have this fierce girlfriend bond. And on the show Angela also happens to be a lesbian which is exciting. It’s exciting to portray another human being in society and bring their points of view to life and making it part of everyday vernacular.
JO: I love that! How’s it being working with Katy Mixon?
CH: Great! We’ve known each other since college.
JO: You have?
CH; Yeah and this is our first time working time together. We met in college and I’ve seen her work from afar and she’s seen my work from afar. When we walked in the room we were like, “We’re working together!!” So we get to bring that friendship to the show which just brings layers.
JO: Thank you so much!
CH: Thank you!
Watch the premiere of American Housewife on ABC, Tuesday, October 11th at 8:30 PM
More about American Housewife
Katie Otto (Katy Mixon, “Mike and Molly”), a confident, unapologetic wife and mother of three, raises her flawed family in the wealthy town of Westport, Connecticut, filled with “perfect” mommies and their “perfect” offspring. Watch the season premiere of American Housewife on Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 8:30|7:30c on ABC!
Like on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AmericanHousewife
