Mullally tries 'Motherhood' in new sitcom
Just from her award-winning work as Karen on "Will & Grace," it's clear that Megan Mullally would not be the typical mom.
The lively actress-singer demonstrates that as one of the women fronting "In the Motherhood," an ABC comedy series premiering at 8 p.m. Thursday. The show has an atypical source for its stories: the general public, since script ideas are drawn from people's actual experiences submitted on the program's Web site (www.inthemotherhood.com).
In fact, the sitcom has its roots in an online show that started two years ago, with Chelsea Handler, Jenny McCarthy and Leah Remini ("The King of Queens") as women at various stages of parenting. Now those roles go to Mullally, Cheryl Hines ("Curb Your Enthusiasm") and Jessica St. Clair ("Worst Week").
Mullally plays Rosemary, a serial-bride nonconformist whose behavior might not be deemed the best influence on her teenage son, Syd (Ryan Pinkston). To the great surprise of struggling fellow-mom sisters Jane and Emily (Hines, St. Clair), Syd appears better equipped to field life's daily challenges than his mother.
"I wouldn't have wanted to play another character similar to Karen Walker," two-time Emmy winner Mullally says of the high-pitched-in-all-ways part she's best known for, "but beyond that, I'm really not super-picky. I've seen a lot of actors who were on long-running shows kind of get paralyzed, afraid to make the next move and (worried) whether it's the right or wrong one, then you just never hear from them again.
"My approach is much less scientific: If something comes along that feels like it would be good to do, then I do it. The great thing about this is that we have great chemistry in the cast. That's something we had on 'Will & Grace,' too, and it's rare. You can't go into something expecting that, but right now, I think that's our ace in the hole."
Not a mom in real life, Mullally also appreciates the fact that "In the Motherhood" takes its creative direction from "anything anyone wants to submit — their stories about kooky, crazy family things. I watched the Web series, and I thought it was really cute."
Mullally adds that ABC wants its "Motherhood" to be "edgier" than the Web forerunner, "and it's still evolving, as is my character. She wears leather jackets and motorcycle boots; she's a tough mama, and she's 50 and she owns it. I like playing people who don't have the same self-censorship that others have. It's not that this woman says mean things to other people; she's just more adventurous and a risk taker, which I like."
"Saturday Night Live" alum Horatio Sanz and RonReaco Lee ("Madea Goes to Jail") also are in "In the Motherhood," which relies in part on improvisation, another big lure for Mullally.
"Basically," she explains, "we get a script, then we have a rehearsal, then we rehearse again and improvise off the script. Then the writers take some of our improvisations and incorporate them into the script, we'll shoot that as written, then we'll do takes where we improvise. It gives us a lot of room to experiment and have fun."
Getting back to steady television work means giving up the free-agent status Mullally has enjoyed lately. She did guest shots on NBC's "30 Rock" and CBS' "The New Adventures of Old Christine"; she starred on Broadway in the musical version of Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein"; and she recorded her third album ("Free Again!") with her group, Supreme Music Program.
Those followed Mullally's 2006-07 stint as the host of a syndicated weekday talk show, which she recalls as "a really good experience. I learned a lot about what I want to do and what I don't want to do. It was so much work, the kind of work that can really take a toll on you.
"The one thing I really didn't feel comfortable about was having my name all over the show. That's not my style, and it also wasn't the kind of creative environment I'm used to. The business-of-the-business aspect is fine, but it's not really me."
Mullally isn't the only person in her household with a new series; her husband, actor Nick Offerman, stars with "Saturday Night Live" veteran Amy Poehler in NBC's upcoming show "Parks & Recreation." Also in Mullally's future is a role in this fall's movie remake of the musical drama "Fame," but for the moment, it's mainly "Motherhood" for her.
"I feel lucky," Mullally reflects, "because I have a few different things I enjoy doing, a few options. That absolutely opens up other avenues for me. You're always accruing experience and that helps, but with every job you do, it's like starting from square one. I feel I've done so many things, but every new job is a new world."
