‘Splitting Up Together’: Jenna Fischer Reveals Oliver Hudson’s Dance Past
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[This is the weekly post-mortem column for ABC’s new comedy, Splitting Up Together, courtesy of star Jenna Fischer, who plays Lena. Watch a new episode every Tuesday and then come to TV Insider to read Jenna’s behind-the-scenes insight in her own words! Spoiler Alert: Read ahead only after watching this week’s episode.]
Things are really heating up now! Lena’s date with Wes (Trent Garrett) ends with a bang—literally! But what about Martin (Oliver Hudson)? If he’d been able to dance with Lena would it have saved their relationship?
Personally, I don’t think so. Lena and Martin’s relationship didn’t fail because one person made one mistake one time. It failed because, over many years, many small things went unresolved which led to hundreds of small resentments. The weight of those resentments ultimately sank the marriage boat. That said, I love that he tried. It doesn’t solve everything, but it’s a step in the right direction.
In real life, Oliver does not share Martin’s distaste for dancing. In fact, in his youth, Oliver was in a hip-hop dance group called Rice Krispies. He was Pop. I’m not making this up! They would compete with other groups. Like you, I needed to know more. He explained, “There was no real judged competition but you knew when you were beat… which, for us, was every time. We skulked away to lick our wounds only to return with a new routine that drew even more laughter and ridicule. But we persevered, and got absolutely nowhere.” Oh, Oliver, not true! You got to us and we got your sweet dance moves. He will be showing off more dancing—and his singing—in future episodes!
One of things I love the most about this show is the way it features strong female friendships. Shooting the scene where I walk up the Silverlake stairs with my sister and bestie was hilarious. We had to shoot multiple takes and every time we messed up, we had to start at the bottom again! Lindsay (Price, who plays Camille) and I were jealous that Diane (Farr, who plays Maya) got to sit down in the middle of the scene. I don’t remember how many times we did those stairs exactly, but I do remember feeling like I’d earned an extra dessert at lunch. It’s always fun to hang with those gals between takes as well. Diane feels like the big sister I never had and Lindsay like a trusted friends I’ve known for years. I feel so lucky!
(l-r) Diane Farr, Jenna Fischer and Lindsay Price during filming of episode 3.
I’m especially excited for you all to see next week’s episode. It’s my favorite Martin storyline and Oliver is fantastic as he cares for a sick Milo (Sander Thomas) on his own. Lena goes on another date with Wes but, after learning Milo is sick, struggles to not micro-manage things back at home.
Splitting Up Together, Tuesdays, 9:30/8:30c, ABC.
