00:00What's up, guys? It's Emily Curl, and I'm so excited because today I'm talking to the star of the new
00:05comedy series,
00:06Single Parents, the one and only Leighton Meester.
00:09Hi.
00:09Hi, Leighton. Thanks so much for being here today.
00:11Thank you for having me.
00:12Of course.
00:13So Single Parents centers on Single Parents and follows them as they raise their kids, look for love, and survive
00:20parenthood.
00:20What else can our audience expect from the show?
00:23Hopefully lots of laughs.
00:25I think that that's what we're hoping for, to kind of bring some humor to a subject that's actually really
00:31hard.
00:31I've single parented only for brief stints, and it's the hardest job in the world, so they're sort of relying
00:37on each other.
00:37But then the flip side of it is that I hope, I feel that we've brought a lot of heart
00:43to it, too.
00:44We all feel like a little family, both on and off set.
00:48So I feel like hopefully that translates for people and they feel the, like, familial kind of warmth of it.
00:55It seems like such a fun cast, too.
00:57Do you guys have fun while you shoot it?
00:58Yes, yes.
00:59It's one of the main reasons why I was excited to do this show because I knew that everyone was
01:05so nice, everyone's so funny, like, in real life and also on screen.
01:11So it's just, like, it's just a joy.
01:13Perfect mix.
01:15So you said before that being a mom has helped you relate to your character that you play Angie.
01:19Has Angie taught you anything you will or won't do when it comes to parenting your daughter Arlo?
01:25Well, she has a son who is, I hesitate to use the word clingy, but, like, there's no other word
01:33that I can think of.
01:34Like, he's kind of obsessed with her and he, like, won't let her go.
01:36And she sort of puts on the act that she's, like, she wants some freedom away from him.
01:43And she does.
01:43She, like, wants him to fully sleep over at his friend's house when he goes for a sleepover because he
01:47always calls and, like, needs to come home.
01:49And she never gets to really, like, go all the way and, like, sleep over at someone's house if she's
01:54in the beginning stages of a relationship.
01:56So I feel like that is sort of, like, a mask, really.
02:03I think it's really that she kind of needs him and she needs to let go.
02:07So I'm hoping I don't do that with my child.
02:11Like, it's interesting.
02:12Like, a lot of the time I think that your kid picks up on what you need from them.
02:18And so even though, like, you'll be, like, they cry when I go out of the room.
02:22And that's kind of, like, what babies do sometimes.
02:23But they also sometimes, I think, sense you missing them.
02:27And they, like, know it, you know.
02:28They're just way smarter than we are.
02:30Yeah.
02:30And they feel things.
02:31Yeah, I appreciate that.
02:33So Single Parents is also created, executive produced, and show run by women, some of whom are also single parents,
02:39which is amazing.
02:40Do you feel like this environment was different from other sets that you've been on because of that?
02:45Definitely.
02:45I mean, I think that just this era, this moment is really wonderful.
02:48And it's kind of a no-brainer to sign on to a project that has so many people that I
02:54admire just off the bat.
02:56But also the fact that it's, you know, J.J. Philbin and Liz Merriweather, Erin O'Malley, people who are women
03:01showrunners, women producers, writers.
03:04The, you know, writers' room is filled with women, a lot of single moms who can really bring a lot
03:09to it and who are just, like, funny, awesome people.
03:12So I think that was a big reason why, you know, really talking to them and kind of getting the
03:17sense that, you know, they could give so much to the show with their experience.
03:24But also, I don't know, women.
03:27It's like, you want to be on women, you know?
03:29It's just, it's a nice feeling.
03:30It's definitely a great, a great, a great atmosphere.
03:34And then I feel like when you have people who've lived those stories, it just makes the complexities of the
03:38stories on screen even better.
03:40Yeah.
03:40And I mean, I think that it just gives room for the female characters, like Angie or Poppy, who Kim
03:45Marie Lewis plays, just so much more depth.
03:49Like, it just gives the character the ability to have, like, something beyond what the male, a male writer could
03:58even think of.
03:59Not that they don't lend their own voice and have a great perspective, but just having someone who's actually a
04:05single mom or actually a mother or actually, you know, fielding, like, Tinder and Single World.
04:10Like, all that stuff mixed together in the writer's room, mixed with, like, amazing experience, you know, from other projects
04:17and being just bosses.
04:19Like, they have a lot of input on, you know, how complex and grounded these female characters can be.
04:27And it's really, it's special and really, like, challenging and wonderful to play that.
04:32Yeah, I bet.
04:33That's incredible.
04:33Yeah.
04:34So you're married to Adam Brody, and you guys have laughed off before that Seth Cohen married Blair Waldorf.
04:39Besides from those worlds, do you guys ever think that you'd collaborate and work together on projects?
04:45We have done two movies together in the past.
04:49The first movie that we did, called The Oranges, this was, like, in 2010, when we kind of, like, started
04:53to get to know each other as friends.
04:55And then the next movie that we did, Life Partners, that was, like, 2013, and we were already together at
05:00that point.
05:01And, I mean, I love working with him.
05:03He's great.
05:04You know, he's obviously my best friend.
05:05And so I always want to work with my friends.
05:08Right.
05:09That's funny.
05:11And, but I would love for him to be on Single Parents.
05:14I think he'd be into that if it was the right, I mean, we'll find the right thing at some
05:18point, hopefully.
05:20Fingers crossed.
05:22But, yeah, I mean, I would love to.
05:24Yeah.
05:24I want to.
05:24It's fun.
05:25Yeah.
05:25So, speaking on the Gossip Girl train, it's been 11 years since then, what do you think makes Blair Waldorf
05:31so iconic so many years later?
05:34I think it really was, I mean, it was a combination of so many things.
05:38It was, it really was crystallized in a moment that was just that very beginning time.
05:44It was, like, I remember we were either doing the pilot or the show had just gotten picked up, and
05:47it was, like, everyone was just getting the first iPhone.
05:50So, like, I had a razor when I started that show.
05:53Oh, razors were everything.
05:54Very, very, like, you click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, H.
06:00Click, click, click, click, click, E.
06:01And it's just, like, it's, it's just, you got used to it.
06:04But, like, you know, it was really grainy photos and videos, and you can hold, like, 12 of them.
06:09So, it just, like, became a whole different thing.
06:11And even saying the word spotted, like, that was kind of, like, Twitter maybe was just about to start.
06:16It wasn't really around.
06:17So, I feel like in that moment, it just sort of all came together.
06:21And it's also, like, the, you know, the time, the place, the people, all of it together, the look of
06:27the show.
06:27I mean, I think it makes sense.
06:29It was, like, these, you know, these young people who are, like, fabulous and rich.
06:34And it's kind of, like, people, I don't know, like to sort of lose touch with reality for a minute
06:40and watch a show and, like, sit back and fantasize, I guess.
06:43Right.
06:43So, yeah.
06:44I love it.
06:44So, Blair is so well loved.
06:46But for me, my favorite character of yours ever is Childe Stanton from Country Strong.
06:51Oh, my God.
06:51And I'm huge.
06:52So, I'm from the South.
06:53I love country music.
06:54Where?
06:54And north of Atlanta, like, near, like, Dallas, Kennesaw area.
06:58Oh, cool.
06:59Yeah.
06:59Wait, are you from?
07:00I'm from Florida.
07:01A lot of my family lived in Valdosta, so I spent a lot of time there as well.
07:05Yeah.
07:06And, like, north Florida, which is way more southern than southern, like, south Florida.
07:12But, yeah, we're pretty south there, too.
07:14Yeah, yeah, yeah.
07:15My family, like, loves Nashville, too.
07:17We, like, live and die for Nashville.
07:18I love Nashville.
07:19It's so fun.
07:20It's great.
07:20So, and I still love your music.
07:22And I just think, I mean, I love that movie.
07:24But do you think that you, like, could you see something in the future coming out with more music or
07:28doing maybe more country things?
07:31Yeah, I have written and I'm now producing and in the process of making my next album.
07:39So, hopefully in the next year it'll be coming out.
07:42So, yeah, watch out for it.
07:44Oh, I can't wait for that, honestly.
07:46So, besides the new album, Single Parents, what other projects do you have working on that you can tell us
07:50about?
07:50That's it. That's all I got.
07:51That's a busy schedule.
07:52Raising a Kid, another one.
07:53Yeah, that's, like, the main project.
07:55There you go.
07:56Sort of, like, my pet project.
07:58Yeah, I love it.
08:00Well, Leighton, thank you so much for joining us today.
08:01You guys at home, make sure to check out Single Parents.
08:04It's out now and will be out every Wednesday at 930 p.m. on ABC.
08:07And we'll see you guys next time.
