The TV Chick

Suburgatory is one of those shows that I was intrigued by from the start, but it took a little while to build and win me over. Now that it has, I can’t get enough of it every week. It stars Jeremy Sisto (of Clueless fame) as George, a single father who moves is daughter into the suburbs for a better life. The daughter in question is Tessa, played by Jane Levy. Tessa hates the idea of the suburbs at first but is seeming to warm up to it as the season continues. I love her and George’s friend/parent relationship and the hilarious cast of characters that live in ‘Suburgatory.’ Tonight’s episode centers around Tessa getting her license and Dalia, well, not getting her license. I recently had the chance to chat with Jane Levy, about tonight’s episode “Driving Miss Dalia,” what’s coming up and what’s been her favorite moment on the show so far.

What originally drew you to the role of Tessa?
I guess it was her intelligence. I like to see teenagers who are smart and I also thought she was funny, while not being too offensive. On paper, she was pretty snarky and I thought it would be a challenge to give her a big heart as well. And I thought the script was hilarious, so I took it on.

You and Jeremy Sisto have great chemistry. Was that instant when you first started filming or is it something that developed?
I think it was sort of instant. I don’t know if it was luck, I don’t know if it was Jeremy, I don’t know if it was the casting director, but we just work really well together and we have a lot of fun.

Was your relationship with your parents growing up anything like George and Tessa’s at all?
(laughs) Not really. I had a really healthy, good, communicative relationship and I think we liked each other like George and Tessa like each other. But I have a mom and I definitely called them Mom and Dad, I didn’t call them by their first names.

I’ve already seen tonight’s episode, so what can you share and preview about “Driving Miss Dalia”? It’s hilarious.
Dalia can’t pass her driver’s test, because she’s…stupid. And Tessa, of course, passes immediately and Dalia hires Tessa to become her driver. At first, Tessa’s not into it at all. But once she sees how much cash Dalia’s willing to pay her, she just throws wads of cash at her, she’s says, “Fine, I’ll be your driver.” And the first assignment is to circle a boy’s house that Dalia’a obsessed with. And it turns out that he might like Tessa a little bit more than he likes Dalia. And it’s a really funny episode if you like Dalia, which I do. And she’s so good in it. Carly makes me laugh so hard.

I just laugh at everything she says.
Yeah, me too.

Is Tessa going to maybe get a love interest this season? Perhaps Scott Strauss (the boy Dalia likes too)?
Right now, it’s just SS.

SS with a heart around it.
Yeah! (laughs)

Tonight’s episode showed a little twinge of friendship between Dalia and Tessa. Do you think we might ever see them become friends?
Definitely not. There’s like an ongoing rivalry between Tessa and Dalia, which I love. It’s so fun to play.

Are we going to see Tessa at the Country Club more? That’s another big part of this episode with George trying to join.
Yes, definitely, there will be more Country Club action for Tessa.

Do you have a favorite moment or scene from what we’ve seen so far or something that is coming up?
I had a lot of fun at my Sweet Sixteen birthday party. It was as over the top as it looked on the show. There was a pony and an actual fire breather, and lots of tired extras who were really funny and dancing all night long. And I really enjoyed shooting that. I really enjoy my scenes with Dallas and there’s going to be a bunch more Tessa/Dallas bonding, like the Thanksgiving episode. And I have so much fun working with Cheryl and I think the combination of Tessa and Dallas is so funny and sort of sweet. So there’s going to be more of that coming, too.

What can you tease about the rest of the season? Any exciting episodes coming up that you are looking forward to?
Yeah, some more love interests for George. George seems to be a little bit of a playa. Unfortunately, Tessa doesn’t get as much action as George does. (laughs) A lot of fun, interesting love interests for George and you may actually meet my mother. So, we’ll see.

Be sure to tune in tonight at 8:30 PM to ABC for an all-new Suburgatory!