Writer's Note:

The one unifying aspect of this economic crisis is that the desperation is hitting all classes. It is no longer just the one on the low end of the totem pole that is scrambling financially. As the crisis started, I heard many stories of people that couldn't figure out how to pay their rent or their mortgage and found their struggles stalling at the deaf ears of their unsympathetic landlords who in most cases did not need that rent, and in even more cases, were never particularly attentive and responsible landlords to begin with. But as time rolled on, and the once lucrative American real estate market fell in shambles, these same opportunistic landlords found themselves in the same position of their tenants. And well, I thought that was funny. Hence, this scene.

Writer's Note:

Way way back when I began this project, I wrote about five episodes-- one of which was this one. A portrait of two couples at two different sides of the spectrum during this economic crisis, financially and romantically. We have Connor and Maura Callux, a financially successful couple with the newly added stress of keeping their businesses afloat while also trying to adjust to their separated lives and impending divorce. And we have Hank and Beth, a couple that couldn't be more solid in their relationship but who has financial strains that could easily break them. From the get-go, these were two scenes that I had quite a lot invested in getting just right, as did Michele, Chris Coffey, and Gerry, my very close friends whom turned in ravishing performances here. It was always one of our favorites on the page. Lovely Gerry who plays my boyfriend Hank went out the day of our shoot and bought two dozen roses to decorate Beth's bedroom with, so it would be one less thing for me to worry about (yes, he IS a bit of a prince!) and we ended up with a room that was vibrant in color. On the other hand, the bedroom we used for Maura and Connor was very spare, and our creative DP Chris Shimojima was inspired to shoot the scene half in shadow. Both Michele and Chris, who play the Calluxes, also arrived with wardrobe in shades of black and grey. Then add the bed in, which was white with touches of green and we ended up with this beautiful, retro visual that almost looked like a 60s movie to me. Put this all together, and we have two scenes about two struggling couples that both simply occur on a bed which couldn't look more different from one another. And which also shows the complicated and bittersweet nature of loving someone in good times and bad, which I think is a lovely treat for Valentine's Day.

Writer's Note:

So I met the adorable Meredith Zinner at a screenwriting workshop about a year ago. We both shared the same acting coach but never met before. We hit it off right away and when I shared with her that I was shooting a webseries with a bunch of our mutual friends, she mentioned that she'd love to work on it if a role ever came up. (I actually took her seriously.) I immediately went home and created what I hoped would be a juicy character role for her-- Priscilla, an uptight suburbanite with a bad case of perfectionism. Luckily I didn't embarass myself because she said she would do it! Originally I conceived of this character being introduced in a different manner but it wasn't really coming together, and again, it was my mother who chimed in with her wisdom-- why can't she be Andy's ex? (I really need to give her a credit here. Bad daughter, bad daughter.) Anyway, again, this scene sort of wrote itself, since the characters were so well-defined and the conflict -- they used to be well-off, and he presumes she still is-- was built in. I also need to shout out a big thanks to Dore and Brian, my very best friends, who graciously let us take over their gorgeous house for a day.

Writer's Note:

So, how many creative ways can we allude to a child but not actually show the child? Well, here is solution #2. In Episode 3, the scene between Astrid and the smitten Daddy, Nate, was written to begin after his daughter Poppy has already tucked herself away in Astrid's rehearsal room, so we wouldn't have to go through the trouble of casting a child. Once we saw the location, our DP Chris suggested someone pretend to be "Poppy" within the room, so you'd see her shadow moving around behind the blinds. (He's a clever one.) It worked out beautifully, and we managed to have the illusion of a little girl in the scene. So, when I got to writing my next scene for Astrid, I thought well, where the heck can I put Poppy in this one?! Hmmm... What if she's locked herself in a bathroom and Astrid is trying to get her out? And since Astrid is trying to max out her coaching to pay off her debt, what if she's doublebooked herself at a pageant? A recipe for disaster, as we all know how these moms can get if their child is not getting enough attention.