Is Andrea Martin’s own mothering style similar to her ‘Great News’ role? That’s between her and her therapist
What does “Great News” star Andrea Martin think of her impromptu chicken imitation? “That will get me no work.”
If there is one word Andrea Martin wouldn’t use to describe her turn in “Great News” as a mother who lands an internship at the news show where her daughter works, it’s “overbearing.”
Sure, her alter ego, Carol, is the kind of mom who has the password to her daughter’s email; does thorough Facebook research on her daughter’s suitors; and teaches her daughter how to ride a bike while on assignment — but “overbearing” she is not, says Martin.
“I don’t like the word ‘overbearing,’” the “SCTV” alum joked during her visit to The Times’ video studio. “I like overly involved, I like overly loving, I like unconditionally loving to the point of obsessive. But I don’t like ‘overbearing’ because that sounds negative. I don’t think there is a negative connotation to that relationship.”
“Great News” hails from Tracey Wigfield (“The Mindy Project,” “30 Rock”) and the bond with her mother, Kathy, serves as the inspiration to the NBC comedy. The series follows a TV news producer, Katie (Briga Heelan), whose mother, Carol, enters the work force late in life as an intern where she works. Wigfield’s former “30 Rock” bosses, Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, are executive producers along with Wigfield.
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For the actress, who has had a rich career in theater, TV and film, it’s been an invigorating period on the small screen. She’s appeared in Hulu’s “Difficult People” — where she plays a slightly more critical TV mom — NBC’s staging of “Hairspray Live,” and CBS’ “The Good Fight.” Then came “Great News,” which wrapped its 10-episode run last month.
Martin, who has two adult sons, says her mother-style is a bit different from Carol’s: “I’ve been called worrisome. I’m an anxious mom but I don’t think I’m an overbearing mom. That’s between me and my therapist.”
She said one thing that struck her when she met with Wigfield over breakfast to hear the pitch for the show was the way Wigfield spoke of her mother.
“Her love for her mom was [unequivocal],” Martin recalled. “Even though she talked about her mom’s idiosyncrasies and talked about her mom’s over-involvement and how much she was a cheerleader for her daughter, and how much she loved being involved in show business, it was really out of respect, generosity, and love. And I loved that. I thought that was a great platform for comedy and really unlike other relationships we’ve seen on television between a mom and a daughter.
Watch the full conversation below:
The common denominator of the moms played by Andrea Martin on “Great News” and “Difficult People” is love.
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