The shock of Tom and Jessie's spontaneous marriage is so last season when family sitcom 18 to Life returns to CBC tonight.
Season two sees the teenage newlyweds continue to navigate the joys of young love. And while their respective parents have learned to accept their nuptials, their neighbourly rivalry doesn't cease so quickly.
Helping to kick off the CBC's winter season of programming, series star Michael Seater says the endearing show's pace and production value reflect the high calibre potential of Canadian television.
"It looks on par with anything else and I think that should be 'Canadian,'" Seater says. "If it looks on par with the stuff you're seeing in the States and it’s as funny, why can’t that be Canadian?"
I spoke with Seater and on-screen wife Stacey Farber at the CBC's winter programming launch to get the scoop on season two, fan reaction to the show, and the secret to the cast's chemistry.
Congratulations on season two! What’s coming up for Jessie and Tom this season?
Stacey Farber: Well one of my favourite episodes, I think it’s so funny, is when Tom and Jessie end up working in the same place and Jessie gets promoted.
Michael Seater: Tom thinks it’s going to be great because they can have a secret romance at work and it’ll be awesome.
SF: and then Jessie takes it more seriously and actually wants to get ahead and get promoted and she does and it causes some problems at home.
Our friends Carter and Ava from the first season, they also have a much bigger part this year. There’s lots of funny stuff with them. We each have storylines separately with our friends. They’re hilarious.
MS: It’s nice to have them become more of their own characters. Often scenes with them were “Here’s my problem. Well, here’s a solution from an outside source.” In season one they were a bit more two dimensional, but now they have their own stuff that they bring to our lives and we have to deal with their problems.
And what kind of hyjinx are the parents getting up to?
MS: It’s nice because this season it’s not just about “They’re young! They’re married! It’s new! What are we going to do?!” It’s now about these characters who are in this situation together, and they’re all in close proximity, so what stories come out of that.
SF: And it’s also not just us versus the parents anymore. We’re divided in different ways.
Do you have favourite scenes to shoot among the ensemble?
MS: Shooting the loft is always fun. It becomes the most intense days because when we get into the loft it’s just [Stacey] and I for like three days straight. Every single scene all day long and the days get pushed extra long. But it’s always extra fun those days because all of a sudden it’s 4 in the morning and you’re like where are we?
What has the fan reaction to the show been like?
MS: I think the show does a pretty good job of being the multigenerational show that it is trying to be. And young people seem to enjoy it. Young married people really like it ‘cause they relate to it even if they’re 30 and they just got married, or if they’re 25. And then it’s really easy for different people to relate to the different characters, you’ve got adults and parents and grandparents who are thinking “Oh my god, if my kids did that . . .”
SF: I’m always surprised how many adults are fans. Because I was on Degrassi before and he was on Life With Derek, so we’re used to much younger audiences. So it’s exciting to have people older than me coming up to me and complimenting me on my show.
Do you think the fans from your previous shows have followed you over to 18 to Life?
MS: Definitely, yeah. The younger viewers of a show like Degrassi and Life With Derek, they’re great because they hook into something and they love the characters, they love the actors so that’s very nice that they follow along to the other stuff you do.
The cast was nominated for the Best Comedy Ensemble award at the Geminis. What was your reaction to being nominated, and what do you think makes the cast’s chemistry work so well?
MS: Well, we lost. But everyone was pretty okay with that, because it’s rare you can get nominated in your first season, and there’s only two comedy awards for acting so that was really great. And I think why we got nominated is because we have such a great time, and we all get along so well and there isn’t barriers of being afraid to look stupid in front of other people.
SF: We’re very comfortable with each other. We hang out off set and we chat between scenes. So it’s a really great working environment and it allows us to feel comfortable to play more and take risks and not feel embarrassed.
18 to Life's returning to CBC's winter schedule along with a bunch of other new and returning series. How important is the CBC’s commitment to original dramatic programming?
SF: Oh my god, long live the CBC. It’s so important.
MS: Their whole moniker of making a high quality Canadian product is fantastic. And I think everybody could learn a lot from them because CBC holds up against the other networks that fill their airwaves with American content, and more than that spend all their advertising budget on promoting American content so people don’t even know when the Canadian stuff is airing. And the CBC holds strong against them and makes quality programs, and I think the other networks should take a cue from them because if we make a product and we advertise that product –
SF: and it’s good!
MS: and if it’s good, people will watch and start appreciating it. But they’re not going to if it’s not there for them to see.
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The second season of 18 to Life premieres tonight at 8:30 p.m. on CBC.