Jaime Pressly On What Makes 'MOM' Resonate With Viewers: 'There's A Lot Of Heart And Vulnerability'
(CBS LOCAL)- An all-new episode of MOM comes to CBS tonight at 9:00PM ET/PT. Tonight's episode "Astronauts And Fat Trimmings" will see some growing tension in Jill and Andy's relationship. Bonnie and Adam step in to offer some advice.
CBS' Matt Weiss spoke to Jaime Pressly, who plays Jill, about the new season, COVID protocols and what makes the show resonate with viewers.
MW: Hi Jaime! MOM returns with a new episode tonight and before we get into specifics about this season, how good does it feel to even have new episodes coming out this year?
JP: It feels so great to be back to work on our particular show where it was already a well-oiled machine. I think was a little afraid of all the protocols and what we're going to do and how it's going to work but after the first week it was nothing. We know what we've got to do. Everybody follows the protocols.
We wear masks like we're supposed to. We only take them off certain times, we're tested four times a week. Other than those extra steps we have to take, it's like nothing changed; everything's great. Everybody's happy to be back at work and I'm happy to be away from my kids. [laughs]
MW: I'm sure a lot of people can definitely relate to that feeling! The show's been on eight seasons now, which is incredible, congratulations on that. What do you think it is about the show that's resonated with people to stay on the air this long?
JP: I think it's a great show that has a lot of heart. Anytime there's a lot of heart and vulnerability it endears the show or the characters to the audience. The fact that all these women are going through some form of recovery and not just from addiction, but my character had suffered a miscarriage a few seasons ago and was suffering from infertility. We've suffered from death and all kinds of stuff that everybody can relate to. I don't know anybody that doesn't love to laugh either so there's that.
MW: They say that comedy is tragedy plus timing. I feel like MOM does a great job of finding that balance and talking about serious issues but at the end of the day it will make you laugh.
JP: Yeah, comedy is the best medicine. Laughter is the best medicine. I think that anytime you can take a step back after you've gotten through whatever the bad stuff is, it's the easiest way to come out of something is to learn to find the funny in it.
Sometimes there just isn't anything funny though and that's what I love about our show is that like the shows I grew up watching, our producers and writers are not afraid to end on a low note. Not everything is a punch line all the time. They have this incredible ability to find great comedy from real life drama. Kudos to them for being able to do that because that's not something I could do. It's a very difficult fine line to walk, but they walk it beautifully.
MW: Definitely a tough job. To all the fans out there who were waiting for new episodes what can they look forward to now?
JP: I can't preview the rest of the season because it has not been previewed to me. [laughs] I can tell you that Jill goes through some issues with her boyfriend Andy where she decides she wants to have the kind of relationship that Bonnie and Adam have and take a relationship to the next level. She puts her foot down and it doesn't really work out for her as well as she thought it would.
She also goes in and Tammy takes her to the Young Girls charity that she had donated to and gets her involved in mentoring these girls. Jill learns a lot about herself in there and ends up falling in love with some of these little girls. There's a lot of great stuff in here but that's all I know so far because we're still right in it.
MW: That'll work, we're all looking forward to seeing how things unfold! Thank you so much for the time and all the best. Stay safe!
JP: Thank you, you too!
Tune in for all-new episodes of MOM on Thursday nights at 9:00PM ET/PT, only on CBS and streaming on CBS All Access. Check your local listings for more information.