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At one point during my sit-down with the stars of NBC‘s Extended Family, Donald Faison‘s fake medical expertise comes in handy.
Jon Cryer‘s imaginary pacemaker goes off, and TV’s erstwhile Turk Turkleton does his best to “resuscitate” the former Two and a Half Men star with a pair of imaginary defibrillator paddles.
This will make a whole lot more sense once you watch TVLine’s Q&A with Cryer, Faison and Abigail Spencer, whose chemistry is on full display as they tee up their new half-hour comedy.
Extended Family — which aired its first episode Saturday, ahead of its formal premiere on Tuesday, Jan. 2 at 8:30/7:30c — centers on former marrieds Jim and Julia (Cryer and Timeless’ Spencer), who, after an amicable split, agree to continue raising their kids at the family home while taking turns on who stays with them. To show everyone just how OK they are with their divorce, they host a reverse wedding ceremony, which consists of doing away with their rings, tearing up their vows, and having Julia walk back down the aisle as she waves goodbye to her husband of 18 years. It’s their way of showing the world that “consciously uncoupling” doesn’t have to be a bad thing.
“What’s funny about that scene, in particular, is that they’re saying, ‘We’re good with this. We’re going to show you we’re laughing and having fun with each other, and that we’re good with this decision,'” series creator Mike O’Malley explains. “Their relationship has run its course.”
Ultimately, though, “Jim and Julia are lying to themselves [about this new situation] when they say, ‘This is going to be fine. It’s just going to be like Dad is on vacation for a week, then Mom is going to be on vacation for a week.’ They’re trying to gloss over the fact that this major disruption has happened in their lives,” the EP says — and there will be plenty of complications along the way. The first (and most prominent) comes in the form of Boston Celtics owner Trey Taylor (played by Scrubs vet Faison).
“Julia meets Trey, falls in love, and when you meet them in the pilot, they’re engaged,” Spencer reveals. “So, now they’re all trying to make it work.”
It may sound like a convoluted premise, but it’s derived from a true story. Cryer relays that the series is “very loosely based” on the life of Celtics majority owner Wyc Grousbeck, who serves as an executive producer on Extended Family. “He and his wife share an apartment with her ex-husband, and the kids stay there, and they go back and forth to their other apartments.”
It’s an unusual arrangement — and, in the case of Julia and Trey, a lot to ask of a new relationship — but Trey is largely unfazed by it. “Trey wants the family to work, and he loves Julia more than anything,” Faison tells TVLine. “His love for her is what’s keeping him there [initially], but his love for the family unit is what keeps him there eventually.” And in order for this to work, Jim and Trey have to be OK with having each other in their lives.
“Sure, there will be some arguments,” O’Malley concedes. “Jim and Trey have different approaches to solving problems… but I don’t want to see Jon Cryer and Donald Faison, who are both so likable, fighting every week.
“Trey can’t get out of this situation if he is going to marry Julia; Jim comes with the program,” the EP acknowledges. “And if Jim wants to have a thriving divorce and be on good terms with his ex-wife, he can’t be dismissive about her new boyfriend.”
Jim, meanwhile, has to figure out what his future looks like without Julia. “He’s still comfortable being a dad, so he’s really concentrated on that,” Cryer previews. “But now that he’s going to be a single person, it’s a whole different world, and he’s kind of lost his dating skills. At one point, we have an episode where Julia sets him up with a friend of hers… but it does not go well.”
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