I was invited as press to cover this press junket. All opinions are my own.
Have you watched The Real O’Neals yet? This hilarious new comedy is on the ABC Network Tuesdays at 8:30pm EST. We had the opportunity to sit down with the cast recently for an exclusive interview and sneak peek at tonight’s episode too. In case you missed my previous post, check out the Q&A session with the show producers and talent.
Jay R. Ferguson & Noah Galvin Interview
You can tell that the whole cast of The Real O’Neals really loves one another. When Jay and Noah sit down to chat with us, the two can’t decide who uses more hair product. Noah jokes that Jay “has a system,” which Jay quickly admits “I have a very low maintenance system.” Noah then calls him out for having a set of hairbands and Jay proceeds to explain that he does like to wear headbands, one for working out, and the other for all other times. That’s “his system.”
Picking up from our Q&A with castmates Mary and Matt, we ask Jay, so a little bird told us that somebody likes to scare other people. Jay : “Oh, well. I love to scare and break character, so I guess they’re talking about me.” We then asked what his favorite prank is, and Jay shared, “the pranks are kind of spontaneous but the scaring is very simple. It’s just me very quietly running up behind them and screaming as loud as I can while I grab their shoulders and shake them.”
Noah reminds Jay of the buzzing sound he makes, and Jay adds, “oh, yeah. I have this little sound that I do that makes it sound like there’s a bee flying by your ear. And so that’s one of my favorite things to do.” Noah: “that’s a really good one. ‘Cause if you’re just chilling on your phone in between takes and Jay comes over and like drives by and you’re like”…(begins swatting at his ear).
The two also spoke about the shows’ topics being met with some controversy. Jay adds, “One of my big dreams for the show is to certainly win over people that may have thought that they wouldn’t like the show or respond to the show. My whole family on both sides is deep south Southern Baptist…raised in church, you know. So I know a lot of them had some [reservations], but then they gave it a chance. The hearts and minds have already been changed and you know, you can really change hearts with laughter. I’m firm believer in that philosophy.”
Noah mentions, “My dad’s Catholic. He goes to church literally every morning. He loves our show.” Also saying about the audition process, “The audition process for me was, like, two months. It was really grueling and I fought for this job really, really hard. So when people are like, “How did it come to you?” I’m like, “Well, I worked my ass off for it.” And like it’s not really something that I had any decision in. Once I got it, I got it. And I think the decision for me then was like choosing to come out and be an openly gay person playing this gay character.”
Noah went on to share that he has received some messages from kids struggling with their own process of coming out, and how he’s glad the show has helped them gain the courage to do so.
We really appreciated the cast taking time out of their day to chat with us. They were so genuine and funny. We had a great time.
Tonight’s The Real O’Neals episode is titled: “The Real Retreat” in which Jimmy is unexpectedly named Faith Leader for the weekend at the Catholic Youth Retreat, a jealous Kenny decides to take on his older brother’s role as ring leader of the bad kids. Home alone without the kids, Pat invites a new lady friend over, and Eileen can’t help but enlist Jodi to spy on them, with surprising results.
About The Real O’Neals:
“To people in their Chicago community, the O’Neals appear to be your all-American perfect family, and if it were up to Eileen (Martha Plimpton), she’d prefer to keep it that way. Eileen is a mom who prides herself on her unparalleled organizational skills and also strives to put on the best charity event at her church every year. Early in the season, a crack in family armor forces Eileen to admit that her marriage is on the rocks and that her family may be a bit of a mess. Eventually being not-so-perfect is something that Eileen finds very liberating and humiliating at the same time.”
Photos courtesy of Coralie Seright and ABC.
Ireon Williams says
I’ve never heard of them until now