It’s no secret that streaming services are upping the ante when it comes to original programming. From Netflix’s Orange is the New Black, Narcos and House of Cards trifecta to Amazon’s Transparent, streaming series have become the new “must see TV.” And some of the most lauded, with all of the above racking up nominations and trophies at major award ceremonies. But Hulu, home to a handful of well-written original scripted series, has been waiting for its just due. And on December 10 they got it when Casual, the it’s-complicated comedy from producer Jason Reitman (Juno, Up in the Air) and creator Zander Lehmann, was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Television Series—Musical or Comedy.
Starring Tommy Dewey as Alex, Michaela Watkins as Valerie (Alex’s recently divorced sister) and Tara Lynne Barr as Laura (Valerie’s daughter), the trio is a functioning dysfunctional family dealing with divorce, dating and each other. Casual captured an audience with its comedy (sometimes dark, sometimes light) and its charming cast. Parade.com chatted with Barr about what it means to get the nomination, her hopes for season 2 (which begins production next month) and the dawn of a new TV era.
Season one ended with the family seemingly reunited after a series of relationship-threatening events. What do you hope for your character, Laura, and for the family in season two?
As an actor I want monologues every episode; very dramatic, very The Hunt for Red October, very Sean Connery. [laughs] What I want as Tara and as a human being is for everybody to hold hands, sing “Kumbaya” and resolve everything, but that is not necessarily compelling television. I’m hoping that the issues that were left in the balance at the end of season one will be addressed, but I am going to leave that up to Zander [Lehmann] and our awesome writing staff. I’m just going to sit back and let the chips fall where they may.
So you haven’t seen a script yet?
I’ve been trying to get information out of Zander and he’s just been a brick wall. He’ll be like, “you have a lot of good stuff next season,” and then I’ll want him to elaborate and he’ll be like, “nope!” So I’m really looking forward to next season, I just don’t know why. But I think it will be great based on the small amount of information I have been given.
On the show, your characters are extremely—if sometimes inappropriately—close. What’s your relationship off camera?
We get along intensely well. I gush about Tommy and Michaela more than I like to admit. It’s so nice when people are talented and also really terrific people, and that’s not terribly common in Hollywood. You find those actors who are incredibly talented, but maybe take themselves a little bit too seriously, but [Dewey and Watkins] could not be easier to get along with or nicer people.
How has the show changed your life?
Our bosses at Hulu and Lionsgate have been sending us all over the place to promote our show. I’m still relatively new to this sort of thing, so the fact that anybody will pay for my plane ticket and pay for my food while I’m there is just baffling to me! Hopefully, I never get over that because I don’t want to become one of those people who comes to expect all that lushness. And it’s changed my perspective on [television].
How so?
Television is incredible nowadays. I know people are saying it’s the era of too much TV, but a lot of it is really terrific. People are done with just flipping through channels and happening upon a show and thinking, that looks good, I guess I’ll watch it for an hour and maybe if I like it I’ll come back next week.
With streaming services in particular, the audience really has to seek out the shows they watch so you get a more engaged audience of people who seek out the show because it’s aligned with their taste and their preferences. You get an audience that wants to watch—and like—the show.
What was the morning of the Golden Globe nominations like for you?
I woke up to a lot of dings on my phone—a lot of texts, a lot of calls, a lot of emails—and I honestly thought somebody had died! There was a knot in my stomach, and I was like, “Alright, who was it?” And then it was incredible news, but I still had a knot in my stomach because it was one of those adrenaline things where you’re like, “I might throw up right now.”
What does the nomination mean for the show?
It was more than we could have possibly asked for. We’re just happy to be on a show that we like and are proud of, and the fact that other people happen to like it too is beyond what we’d hoped. It’s Hulu’s first Golden Globe nomination, and it’s my first time going to the Globes. We’re just going to be a scrappy bunch all dolled up at the award show. [Hulu is] crazy proud and they’ve put so much effort and love into our show. They are the best collaborators you could ever ask for.
What’s your plan for the awards?
I’ve watched enough award shows in my time that I do think if we win, we will all go up, and we will try very hard not to not fall or say the wrong thing. I hope we all arrive [for the red carpet] in a cool little caravan. Then when we go inside, I’ll try not to follow [Hateful Eight star] Jennifer Jason Leigh and [director] Quentin Tarantino around all night to give him ideas for Kill Bill: Volume 3. My goals are to try to still be able to fit into my dress by the end of the night and try not to stare at the beautiful movie stars all night. Winning a Golden Globe is about third. I think the first two take priority over that.
What are you most looking forward to in 2016?
This is way corny but I’m really looking forward to shooting season two. When we started the first season, of course I was nervous because I didn’t know anybody going into this. I didn’t know the cast, I didn’t know the crew, I didn’t know the creator or producers, so the first half of the experience was me coming to work with sweaty palms and shaky knees and trying not to completely butcher Zander’s scripts and ideas. So season two will be a lot more fun because we are all in love with each other. I think we’re going to hit a nice stride and we’ve got a nice little audience for the show that is really engaged with it. I can’t wait to read scripts. That’s the bottom line. Zander, if you read this, I need some sweet scripts this season!
