Nick Caruso
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HBO’s critically acclaimed dramedy Somebody Somewhere is about to kickstart its sophomore season, and when we ask its star Bridget Everett what viewers can expect, she throws us for a loop.
“Well, Sam is pregnant with triplets,” she tells TVLine with a straight face while sitting side-by-side with Jeff Hiller, her costar who plays Sam’s BFF Joel. But once Hiller starts to chuckle, it’s contagious and all three of us are going. While Sam is most certainly not going to become a mom any time soon, major changes are indeed in store for her parents, Ed and Mary Jo.
In May, character actor Mike Hagerty (who played Ed) died at the age of 67, leaving a huge hole in both the cast and Season 2 storyline. While Sam will be without her pops when the new episodes begin (Sunday at 10:30/9:30c), Everett says working with Hagerty was “a dream.”
“He was the [one with] the most credits, for sure. He’s been on a lot of sets, but he had so much gratitude to be on the show, and he was so good on it,” she says. “He was a very special person… warm, funny, the kind of person that talks to everybody on the crew. You really feel like he just wanted to connect with everybody there. So him leaving left a huge, huge hole for us personally and then also the show. But I think that we did the best we could to sort of bring him along with us for Season 2.”
While we can’t divulge exactly what happens to his character, we can tease that Ed’s fate may not be what you’re expecting. But Hagerty’s absence was felt throughout production, with Everett referring to him “a vital person” on set.
She adds: “It’s really hard… it’s still hard to wrap my head around the fact that he’s gone honestly.”
“He was so excited about this season and so excited to be playing this role,” says Hiller. “I really can’t say enough how great he was on camera, but also off camera. Just a wonderful soul.”
Mary Jo’s life is also turned upside down by her character’s worsening disease and Ed’s absence. “She likes to drinky-drink and she’s had herself a little bit of a medical setback too,” teases Everett.
But life moves on for Sam and Joel who, at the beginning of Season 2, are living together as Joel rents out his place for some extra cash. Sam is still struggling to fit into her small Kansas hometown, as she grapples with both loss and acceptance. (Watch a teaser here.) Reads the official description, “Singing is Sam’s saving grace and it leads her on a journey to discover herself and a community of outsiders who don’t fit in but don’t give up, showing that finding your people, and finding your voice, is possible.” And while Sam and Joel have settled into a comfy new existence, new relationships and life events will soon bring about some major changes in their lives.
But no pregnancies or screaming children. Promise.
Looking forward to seeing Sam and Joel pal around again? Let us know if you’ll be watching in the comments below.