NBC’s new half-hour series The New Normal was all set to have its series premiere tomorrow night, but thanks to some rescheduling and extending of The Voice, the series pilot airs tonight (Sept. 10) with another new episode airing on the 11th.
Last week, the pilot was screened at the Paley Center for Media in Los Angeles, where we were able to speak with the cast of the series, which comes from Glee veterans Ali Adler and Ryan Murphy.
Andrew Rannells (The Book Of Mormon) and Justin Bartha (The Hangover) play a gay couple, Bryan and David. “They are in a loving, committed relationship, and they face quite a bit in the next few episodes. They have different ways of dealing with things, so you’ll see a lot of that,” Bartha says. One of those things that they will face is the potential of becoming parents with a surrogate (Goldie) carrying their child.
Is this something they are ready for? Andrew thinks his character, Bryan, is definitely ready. “I think he’s ready for that, the idea of a baby. We’ll see if it lives up to reality, but I think he certainly feels like he’s ready to do it,” he says.
Along the way, they meet Goldie, a young woman who is at a bit of a crossroads in her own life. She is trying to get away from her very volatile “Nana” and hopes to get the best life for her daughter, Shania. While Goldie is incredibly good natured and sweet, her Nana, Jane (played by Ellen Barkin), is a completely different story.
How did she end up being so different from her grandmother? “I think it has a lot to do with your genes and who you are, the spirit you have when you’re born,” Georgia King, who plays Goldie, says. “I don’t mean to sound too mystical, but I think she was born a human being that is so generous, and so full of love and humility. I think she’s probably the polar opposite because she’s been battered by a woman whose opinions are so acerbic and so acidic, and I think she just can’t help but accept anybody for who they are. I think in the past, they must have tussled, and she’s probably tried to teach her Nana that her opinion is different, and why they’re different, but I think the point of the pilot is that she just kind of goes along with it. Shrugs her shoulders, same old every day.”
Fortunately, Shania takes after her mother, and Shania is definitely the center of her mother’s world. “Everything is driven by her daughter, really. Goldie is absolutely adamant that her daughter has better opportunities than she does, that she gets to fulfill any dreams that she wants. Goldie has had such a contained, restricted life, that I think she’s desperate for her daughter to have a better quality of life,” she says.
Enter: the new family — as they all come together in California, when Goldie and Shania meet Bryan and David, and the people that circle their world, including Rocky, who may just be one of the show’s breakout characters. Rocky is played by NeNe Leakes (Glee’s “Coach Roz”). Did we mention that Nana will come to California, and sparks may fly?
“She doesn’t take too kindly to Ellen Barkin’s character. [Nana] is a little bit more racy, she says things that I think are racist… and so, Rocky is not really feeling her right now. But there will be a change if you keep tuning in,” Leakes promises. Bebe Wood, who plays little Shania, also thinks that Nana could cool down. “I think that in other episodes, she might change,” Bebe teases without revealing anything more.
Bartha’s character will also have interesting reactions to Nana. “You’ll see a lot of his passion come out. He is very passionate about politics, and passionate about the issues, and children, so they definitely have different perspectives. They will butt heads,” he promises.
All in all, The New Normal is about a family. “The family at the core of the show might look slightly different than yours or mine, but I think that if you’re lucky enough to live in a family like the one that we’re creating, it is one that’s based on love, and it’s based on a desire to be together,” Rannells says. “The faces are different, the genders might be different, but I think people will be very surprised that the story is not that crazy. The core of it is a story about creating a family, and that’s what we’re telling.”
“At a young age, I moved away from my family, from Nebraska to New York City, and you create the family for yourself with your friends,” Andrew continues. “You don’t always have your biological family around you. So, absolutely. I think that Goldie and Rocky have very much become a part of that extended family – a family of choice, rather than birth.”
The New Normal has a special preview tonight and then it can be seen every week in its usual timeslot of Tuesdays at 9:30 on NBC. Below, take a look at some images from the show:
