With the second season of my new favourite summer show, Drop Dead Diva, premiering Sunday on Lifetime, I thought I'd ask creator/showrunner Josh Berman what viewers have to look forward to this season. Here's what he had to say:
Can you describe the process of writing a typical episode?Winners of the 2009 My TV Awards will be announced and notified in March. Drop Dead Diva is nominated for Best New Show, Best Comedy, Best Actress in a Comedy (Brooke Elliott) and The Be-My-Best-Friend Award (Brooke Elliott).
The new season of Drop Dead Diva premieres in June on Lifetime.
The My TV Nominee Interview Series continues with another 2009 nominee. This time, I spoke with Best Male Reality Star Nominee Reid Rosenthal from The Bachelorette. My favourite bachelor of the season and an incredibly sweet person offscreen, Reid candidly answered all my questions about the show, the girl, the guys and how it really all went down.
What made you decide to go on The Bachelorette?
Good question. I didn’t sign up. A friend of mine from my office saw me dating a bunch of girls, not finding the right one. She signed me up on the website. And a year goes by, felt like a year and I get a call, I thought it was a joke, I hung up on them the first time. I was working on a real estate TV show at the time and told them about it everyone said I should do it, they said “everyone will love you”. And the real estate market was dead, so when’s a better time?
What would you say is the biggest difference between what we see on the show and what really happened while filming?
It’s a lot more entertaining to see the whole thing edited together. The relationships between the guys, was probably the biggest thing that got left out. I feel like if they showed all of that people would feel differently about those people. Overall, it’s pretty accurate. The show gets a bad rap for making things up, but they’re really good about showing what really happened. They just make some things into bigger deals than the really were, but it all happened.
Do you have any regrets from the show?
No, none.
You turned out to be the favourite Bachelor of almost my entire writing staff but didn’t come onto our radar until close to the end of the season, do you feel like you got your fair share of airtime or that the early episodes were more devoted to the guys who caused drama in the house rather than the real contenders for Jillian’s heart?
I kind of like that they built me up in a certain way with my, I guess you can say, “character”. Too much airtime can be a bad thing.
Your decision to come back in the finale to propose, my writers and I saw it coming from the moment Jillian let you go, was it your idea or the producers?
The minute I got kicked off I was like “what the hell just happened?”. I asked them the second I got in the limo, and a couple days later they said they had pulled some strings to get me back on. There are things the world never sees of why I wanted to come back, a complex set of reasoning was there.
How much producer involvement was there in the drama of the show: ed’s leaving and coming back, no one revealing the truth about wes, the attacks on juan, jake’s big announcement, your proposal?
Ed was a surprise to me, he’d been talking about leaving but no one thought he actually would. I didn’t think he liked her as much as it came off in the end, but maybe he was just playing us guys. My game play was either I’m going to like the girl and she likes me, or not. I’m not going to play games with the guys in the house. Ed just seemed like he had more of a strategy. When he left I though I had it made, I was going to the end. I didn’t feel at ease opening up that quickly, but I thought that when the show ended it could have worked out. It was all really just weird.
Was the Juan controversy really that big a deal in the house? And why didn’t anyone seem to stand up for him?
Dave is a confrontational guy, they just butted heads, it was a funny thing.
What are some of your favourite and least favourite moments from your time on the show?
My favourite moments were all part of the Canada trip. I was left alone on the train and I was hanging with the producers, we had to keep ourselves busy. And my date that night, there was this whole magnificent ice sculpture, it was unbelievable.
My least favourite… a lot of the guys didn’t understand the way I thought, so they would kind of gang up on me. They called me “inspeculator gadget” cause I was always trying to figure out what was going on, what we were doing, what the producers were up to. They got annoyed by me. And I think she liked me more than some of the others, she gave me more attention and they didn’t like that. And, obviously, when I got kicked off, I thought I would have one last chance to explain to her my thought process and what the other guys thought of her, I was really surprised.
Who were your favourite guys in the house? Do you keep in touch with any of them?
I still keep in touch with Mark, Tanner P, Simon, both Mikes, and Wes occasionally over Facebook or something, I hung out with Dave once since the show ended, Kiptyn, obviously, and Jesse. That’s it. That’s the weird part, we were pretty close on the show but Ed and I don’t talk anymore, I guess that makes sense.
Because you were returning in the finale, you didn’t get to participate in the Men Tell All episode, are there some things about the season that you would have liked to get off your chest and tell the audience, Chris and the other guys?
Not really. They knew me pretty well and I got portrayed accurately.
How uncomfortable was the After The Final Rose episode and seeing Jillian for the first time?
It wasn’t really that strange actually. It was a little weird at first, I was still confused about her decision. The weird part was being in front of the studio audience, some girl asked me out.
Speaking of that proposition, did you jump right back into the dating pool after the show?
I took a little bit of time after the show. I don’t like to stew on things, it just didn’t work out. So, I took a couple weeks but that was all.
Are you dating someone now?
Let’s just say I’m dating.
Do you think your time on the show changed your outlook on romance and relationships or just your outlook on reality TV?
It definitely helped my outlook on relationships because you spend so much time analyzing one relationship. You talk about it, do interviews, spend the whole time on it. Chris [Harrison] said recently that it’s kind of like therapy, and it really is. I definitely learned something and am a better person.
Do you get recognized now for the show? How has the exposure effected your everyday life?
It’s been a positive thing, I’m meeting with producers in NY, it seems like there are some TV opportunities coming to me. I have a few ideas to meet with people about.
and
Are you watching the new season?
I’ve seen a few episodes, it’s fine. The show’s never been for me anyway, it’s just not my kind of TV. I’m a big nerd, I watch the discovery channel, Curb your Enthusiasm, Seinfeld and Entourage, that’s about it. From what I’ve heard, though, the girls are crazy, my mom tells me they’re incredibly dramatic.
In the first interview of our 2009 "My TV Nominee Series", I had the amazing opportunity to speak one on one with one of My TV's favourite actresses. The lovely and talented Ms. Amy Acker (of Angel and Alias fame) was gracious enough to take a few minutes of her time to talk about her My TV nomination (best female guest star, Dollhouse), her favourite roles, reading Shakespeare, working with Whedon and how badly she wants to join the cast of Big Love.
[laughs] I’m too embarrassed to watch the episode where I played a man.
That’s the great thing about working with Joss [Whedon] and on 'Alias'. I’m just so lucky, I get to do so many things, you never know what you’re going to play. The man was out of my comfort zone, and Whiskey being so sexy, that is not me at all, that was probably the one that I was most scared of.
Do you have a favourite role, series or episode you’ve worked on?
Maybe Fred. Maybe because it was my first real job and getting to do the show for so long. And just the way she started out and changed and became Illyria at the end, I would say Fred.
What would you say is the one thing you think fans would be surprised to learn about working with Joss Whedon?
Hmmm… I feel like he’s very much how he writes, funny and smart and everything you’d want him to be. He’s one of my best friends in the world, I’m just glad to have the opportunity to get to work with him. He never tries to be anything other than who he is. He’s such a nice and caring director who always wants to push everybody out of their comfort zone, so its always exciting. There’s always something you feel you can’t do and Joss has this ability to bring it out of you.
One of my favourite stories from the TV industry is the idea for Illyria coming from a Shakespeare reading at Joss’ house. I’m a Shakespeare nut myself, are these readings a regular occurrence? Who is the usual crowd who participates? And What are some of your favourite roles to read?
Joss’ wife built the most amazing house in the world, they have this amphitheatre in the backyard. The readings used to be a lot more common during Angel, like once a month. (The 'Angel' group was really into it, Alexis [Denisof], J [August Richards] and all those guys really loved doing it). We did one that I was a part of during 'Dollhouse', we did 'Hamlet'. Olivia [Williams] was amazing; it’s always so fun to see these people you associate with their characters doing the Shakespeare reading. A while ago, one of the first ones was 'Midsummer [Night’s Dream]', I was Helena, which I’ve always wanted to play. I’m not going to say there isn’t champagne and wine, its like a casual party, there just happens to be Shakespeare.
Do you have any plans to do theatre now that you’re in New York? Maybe finally get to play
Helena?
I haven’t been here long enough, but I have the spring off so I’m hoping to do some theatre. I haven’t done it since college. My husband’s in 'Rock of Ages' on Broadway right now, it’s his dream job.
Do you watch a lot of TV? What are some of your favourite series?
My favourite show right now is 'Big Love', I’d love to be on that show. I would go to Utah, I don’t care, I love that show.
Dollhouse is a confusing show even for a viewing audience. Bouncing from scene to scene and only seeing part of the picture can you, the actors, make sense of the series as you’re going along? Do you watch the show when it airs?
Yeah, kind of, I would say. It sometimes felt like if we started to figure it out too much we’d just have more questions. I think we understood what we were trying to do with our characters. I found that I really had to watch it because I wasn’t in all the episodes so if I didn’t watch I’d be really lost. But the writers do a really good job of answering any questions we have.
*SPOILER ALERT* Did you have any idea your character was a doll? Was that all in Joss’ master plan or was it like Illyria, a sudden series-changing idea?
He actually had said that if it works out he wanted to make that happen. I knew from the beginning that that was his ideal plan.
You’ve got a new series for ABC [Happy Town] coming down the pike, how’s that shaping up and how does it compare to what you’ve done before?
I think its gonna be really exciting. It has a lot of the same qualities as 'Dollhouse' and 'Alias'; a lot of interesting characters. Everybody changes a lot throughout the story. It’s set in a small town. I think its gonna be really good. Everybody keeps saying “There’s really nothing like this”, those are the fun shows to be on. It’s a real mystery, you don’t really know if there’s going to become a magical element or what. [Happy Town, which shoots in Ontario, premieres on ABC in April].
Have you and Joss ever considered teaming up to do a show with you at the center?
Anything Joss is doing I’m excited to try to work on and make him want to cast me in. He has so many ideas and things he’s always working on. But that would be so great.
and now for the goofy questions...
Who do you choose to help you fight off the zombies in the apocalypse, Buffy or Echo?
I’ll go with Echo because I know her better
Who’s smarter, Fred or Topher?
I think Fred could easily take Topher.
Who would you rather meet in a dark alley, Alpha or the Wolfram & Hart senior partners?
I think I’d go with the Wolfram & Hart guys.
If you could co-star with anyone in the world who would it be?
Ginnifer Goodwin, so I could be on 'Big Love'.
How about someone you’ve already worked with? Anyone you’d love to work with again?
I would say Alexis [Denisof]. He’s such a great actor to work with, I miss doing scenes with him.
If you could be imprinted, doll-style with anyone at all, who would you choose and why?
I don’t know! [frets for a good long while over this one].
Settle one of my favourite TV love triangles of all time: Wes or Gunn?
Ohhh, Wes. It was ultimately supposed to be Wes.
Is there anything you’d like to add?
I don’t think so. Thanks for talking to me and thanks so much for the nomination!
Thanks a lot Amy! My TV Award Winners will be announced in March.
Oh, and because I jokingly promised her I'd add this:
Dear Big Love Showrunners,
"Thanks so much for acknowledging my guest performance on Desperate Housewives. Marc Cherry wrote a great episode, and it was so much fun working with all the wonderfully talented ladies of Wisteria Lane."
"This is great news. I'm honored! It's an overwhelming experience to have your work be recognized in this way. Honestly, being on the show weighed very little in comparison to the actual hands-on work that we were doing with the incredible instructors and so it is in many ways hard to consider myself a 'TV personality'! But I am very grateful for all the support I have been given post-show. Canada harvests a very gracious family of artists, one which I am so proud to become a part of."
"Thank you so much for nominating me for
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