In the new NBC comedy series, Jeanie (Téa Leoni) and James (Tim Daly) are set up on a blind date and decide to get married right away and then get to know each other. Jeanie’s children and James’ international job provide challenges to their romance, along with the omnipresence of James’ overbearing and boundaries-ignoring ex-wife Claudia (Jamie Lee Curtis).
Awards Buzz spoke with Leoni, Daly, and Curtis about what’s closest to and furthest from their real selves in their characters. Daly had a quick but definitive answer:
“I’m going to make this very simple. I could probably think of a deeper thing, but the closest is that James and I both love cooking and the thing that probably separates the most is that James is an academic and he’s that kind of thinker and I am most definitely not.”
Curtis clarified what people might think of her and how she actually sees herself:
“I wear black. So does Claudia. I am not aggressive and I am not someone who is snarky outwardly, even though you may think I am. The truth of the matter is I’m actually quite gentle and quiet, which is very dissimilar to Claudia.”
Leoni found a deep connection to her character:
“Jeanie is a slob. I am not. I’m super neat. I just want to say that even hanging out in Jeanie’s apartment is sometimes tough for me. I’m just like, god, can we just like straighten up the coffee table? Anybody. I’m very neat. But I think, honestly, I have a lot in common with Jeanie. There are interesting things that I have in common with her that aren’t maybe so readily known. I love teenagers. When I heard that she was an eighth-grade teacher, that lit me up. I love that age. I have two kids who have been through it. They’re fascinating. They’re sure. They’re not sure. They’re thrilled. They’re scared. They’re so much and they’re so eager. I think, in some ways, in my personal life, I’ve been the mother to teenagers and, in some ways, I’ve handed some of that teenage mindset to Jeanie.”
Watch the video above to see more of their banter and to hear an affecting anecdote about the name of Curtis’ character.
Newlyweds premieres October 23rd on NBC, with new episodes dropping weekly on Fridays at 8:30pm.
