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Its a wonderfully cheesy and heartwarming piece of work, anchored by Levys remarkable commitment to the concept.
You recently said onTwitterthat the season-one episode Zoeys Extraordinary Glitch is your favorite thing youve ever made.
Why is that?I get to do so much in that 42 minutes or however long it is.
I get to dance on top of tables.
I get to be smooched by John Clarence Stewart.
Tonally, that kind of work is what I love to do as an actress, which is …
I dont really even know how to describe it.
And I just feel like I did a really good job at it.
It kind of distills the entire show in its broad range.
How scary is that?
Im not a trained dancer or singer, and its a lot to pull off.
I guess people think its funny.
All of my former anxiety, especially anticipatory, was at its highest level.
This is turning into therapy!
A lot of these have this year.
Trust me.Its a good question.
Yes, its difficult to gauge in the moment.
Thats why directors exist.
Im somebody who, as an actress, I think directors are your most important collaborator and ally.
Jon Turteltaub, who directed this episode, I loved so much.
We connected very quickly.
Hes got such a perverse sense of humor.
How do you keep watching performances interesting?
This is like a mental illness or a superpower or whatever that happensthroughZoey.
I think of Zoey as a projector, and she projects the song.
I know its a little heady when I talk about it.
And through Zoey, you experience the song the way that Zoey does.
For that to happen, Jane has to have an experience.
For me, Ive been crafting that these songs come out of Zoey.
Its all just happening in her brain.
Im watching my incredibly talented castmates perform.
Each one is different.
Each song is different.
Im very personally affected by music, which I think most people are.
The music is playing when Im watching.
Im always thinking about Zoeys journey and her arc and where she is in these numbers.
Theyre going to teach Zoey something that she has to do.
She has to act on these things that she hears, and so thats all part of the listening.
It was an incredible collaboration to pull that off.
Have you ever been able to get a song you like into the show?
He doesnt listen to me.
Theres your headline [laughs].
Is there a reason?
Have you tried to get in some really obscure stuff?Honestly, I dont suggest songs that often.
Its not really my wheelhouse.
I take a stab at stay in my lane.
I feel like I know a lot about acting but not about musical theater and not about pop music.
Im trying to think.
No, I dont think any song I ever requested made it in.
Wait, thats not true!
I suggested something thats in season two.
I suggested Nina Simone for one of the characters, and we did it.
We were allflooredthat both of them were willing to come guest on our show.
Austin was very starstruck with Renee.
You sound better in the studio than you do on the set.
Bernadette came in and was like, Nah, Im just going to sing.
And she sang it every time.
It was full-body chills.
Couldnt believe it was happening.
And such a lovely person.
I remember thinking,If these people want to do this, maybe it will be good.
Lets talk a bit about season two.
You kind of lost a centerpiece with Peter [Gallagher].
Were you worried about how to move on from that arc without having that center?Yeah, absolutely.
Thank God Im not the writer of the show [laughs].
They broke it in a way that works for you, without spoiling?Yes.
While were making the thing, Im still in the zone of crafting and discovering and exploring.
Not only did we lose Peter, Zoey loses the mentor in Joan in episode one.
I feel very bad for Zoey.
Were going to see her struggle with that.
And two strong counters for you as performers in Peter and Lauren.
How do you get past that anxiety?
Just trust the team?For me, it was less anxiety and more sadness.
I truly felt sad because I loved those characters so much.
Shes so weird and kind of unhinged, but the relationship between her and Zoey is so sweet.
I felt sad not having both of those actors to work with.
Both of them are so affecting to me.
I feel really close with both of them.
Im an actor for hire.
I love this show so much, and Im continually having conversations with Mandy and Austin.
In terms of crafting season two and Zoeys arc, I dont totally have a say in that.
One day, I hope to be able to produce shows.
Speaking of producing, whats it like to shoot a show in a post-COVID world?
Its not exactly a two-hander.
Like everybody else, I had been sitting in my house with my boyfriend for five months.
Lionsgate contracted this team of scientists and doctors to keep us safe.
And then we yell cut and masks go on and you go to your secluded area.
Its a little bizarre, but I also feel really lucky that I get to do this.
The show doesnt address it at all, right?No.
So its like going into a world where it doesnt exist for half of your time.
Its got to be strange.Its mostly nice, to be honest.
It feels to me a bit like the show might be more popular now than when season one ended.
Why do you think its growing?Because were running out of content!
We have to watchsomething.
Thats the first time Ive heard this idea.
Youve seen some of theyear-end praise.Is it just a factor of more people writing about it?Maybe.
When we were making this show, we were making a show about a woman grieving.
We didnt know when it came out that we would be going through such a mass collective grieving process.
In that way, its been sort of mind-blowing.
I was thinking a lot about our show yesterday.
Something Ive been thinking about a lot this fall.
Thats the whole reason I do this job.
