You Me Her: More media attention before tonight's show

Tonight (Tuesday February 21) at 8:30 ET/PT, we get the second episode of this season's You Me Her — the Audience Network's romcom in which our three characters from Season 1 have become a full-up polyamorous triad, facing the world together as three. It airs on DirectTV and U-verse and is available from DirecTV on demand or online afterward. (In Canada, Season 2 begins on HBO Canada on March 5.)

Since last week's post, more has appeared in the news.

● The Guardian takes note:

The retro romcom with three-way chemistry

This surprisingly earnest and old-fashioned sitcom explores a very contemporary question – is monogamy the only way?

By Rebecca Nicholson

...Why you’ll love it: You Me Her tells the story of Jack and Emma Trakarsky, a married couple pushing 40 with a nice big house, aspirational jobs and a tepid sex life. ... The wheels are in motion for a retro romcom with an ultra-current twist....

For all its attempts to explore what feels like a contemporary question – is monogamy the only way? – there’s something incredibly earnest and old-fashioned about You Me Her. There is no suggestion that it’s merely about sex and desire, as emotions and attachments between all parties form rapidly, and in fact, what it leans towards is a pretty traditional form of a non-traditional relationship....

But there is something charming about it nonetheless. Poehler and Blanchard are just the right side of sweet, while Priscilla Faia, who plays Izzy, is just the right side of intense. The three-way chemistry is palpable. The lingering shots of Portland are not unpleasant. It sits somewhere between a sex farce and Sleepless In Seattle, which is not a combination that should be successful, but on occasion, when the jokes land as they should, it hits the spot.

The whole article (February 16, 2017).


● On the show's Facebook page is a brief "sneak peak" video of tonight's Episode 2:
www.facebook.com/youmeheraudience/videos/815907768611827.


● HiddenRemote.com interviews the actress who plays Izzy: Meeting “Her” – An Interview with ‘You Me Her’ Star Priscilla Faia (Feb. 14). Some long chunks of it:

We spoke to the rising star, where she gushes about how the Polyamory community has embraced the show and how much she adores Amy Adams.

Hidden Remote: How has the Polyamorous community embraced you and your character?

Priscilla Faia: Last season when we were doing press for the show, we had lots of people from the polyamorous community coming to… we had a few come to our premiere in Austin and we had a bunch of people – which was awesome – come to our premiere in New York.

I think that with any new representation of a community, I think that there’s always going to be holdups about how they’re going to be portrayed because, I think that sometimes when we’re looking at alternative relationships they can be overly sexualized in the media. But I think that’s where our show is different, because our show isn’t about sex, it’s about relationships and that’s what Polyamory is, it’s about having love with more than one person. So in that aspect, the feedback has been great, because you know being in a Polyamorous relationship is just like a regular relationship just with more than one person. So, there’s the positive aspects of that, and the challenges just like with any relationship, and I think that John does a really great job of portraying both sides.

So to answer your question, I think you know from what I’ve heard from the feedback on Twitter and what have you has been positive, which I’m very grateful for we want to represent them in the best way we possibly can.

Hidden Remote: I love that about You Me Her, and [that] the relationship aspect isn’t all about sex.

Priscilla Faia: Me too, that’s why I love the show so much. The reason I love being an actor is storytelling. We want to see the dynamics that happen between people and how that affects life and what have you and, like we said with You Me Her, it’s really relationship-centric and it doesn’t just stop at the three of us – it goes further to our supporting characters, to our best friends, with Nina who is played by Melanie Papalia and Carmen and Dave (Jen Spence and Ennis Esmer) and the neighbors and so on.

Hidden Remote: Izzy is the “unicorn” of the relationship, with the term generally having negative connotations… I don’t see Izzy accepting the usual negativity of that label.

Priscilla Faia: ...For Season 1 there’s definitely more of a unicorn aspect because she comes into this marriage with Jack and Emma and they have difficulties. There are things missing within each other that Izzy fulfills, and that’s what brings them together. And Izzy’s also not committed in any way to them, she gets to come in and out of their marriage so there’s this kind of fairy-like presence of her, when she comes in and changes their world and pops in and out throughout the season.

But in Season 2, we see a shift. In Season 2 we see that Izzy’s desires have changed and that she wants more, she wants the commitment, she wants to actually be with these people. Which is really exciting for me as an actor to play that arc for her, cause whenever we get to watch somebody go through a huge internal shift is always really exciting.

Hidden Remote: She is experiencing what the Poly community calls “New Relationship Energy” two-fold with Jack and Emma. What benefits is she experiencing and what’s the biggest issue she’ll find herself struggling with in Season 2?

Priscilla Faia: That’s kind of what Season 2 is about, new relationships. Sorry what’d you call it? I want to get this right, New Relationship Energy? ... John Scott Shepard — who is our Showrunner, Executive Producer, and he created the series — talks about Season 2 being now we’re in the realistic area of what happens when you’re in a relationship. What is it like having three people in a home, living, sleeping, and being intimate together, and the complications that arise from that. There’s always someone left out in a three-person dynamic. There’s always somebody that’s going to be left out, and how do they move past those complications and move towards each other instead of away, and we explore all of that in Season 2.

...And with any relationship, especially that of with multiple partners, you have to move into the love instead of the lust. I think that Izzy wants that, so I don’t think the new energy going away is something that she even considers possible. ... Izzy just believes that everybody deserves to have the life that they desire and you know, she’s someone who jumps in first and figures it out later....

You know when you’re going about life and something big happens and you go, “Oh, I have to grow up a little bit”? I think that that’s what’s happening....

Hidden Remote: Who would you say Izzy is most attracted to in her new Poly relationship, Jack or Emma?

Priscilla Faia: I don’t think it’s who she’s more attracted to, she is falling deeply for both of them equally. But within any dynamic where there’s more than one person, there’s a shift. Every moment of “who are you connecting with more?” in that moment, “who’s falling on the wayside?” in another moment. So there’s this constant shift between the three of them, of pulling into one another and pulling back – because it’s new. It’s new and they’re trying to figure this out....

Hidden Remote: Is there a specific scene you’re particularly excited for fans to see?

Priscilla Faia: Yeah, you know in the second episode I believe, they come out to the neighborhood to say “this is our reality, this is who we are”, and I’m really excited for everyone to see what happens, because you know in Season 1 Jack and Emma and Izzy all try very hard to keep it a secret because they’re afraid of the scrutiny and the judgment and when they finally do it, it’s surprising. I’m really excited for people to see that....

● TheGate.ca has another interview with Faia.

When season two returns on February 14, things are more complicated than ever. Izzy has moved in with Jack and Emma. Their living arrangement is out in the open. Can this unconventional romance thrive in a society based on tradition and that clearly defines what love should be?

...Where do we find this trio in season two?

Faia: “This season is all about now that we’ve decided we want to do this, what does it look like? We are learning this on the fly....

This season is about bravery. Bravery is living a life that you want, that makes you happy, but it’s nothing like you intended it to look like. We explore the reality of coming out to their friends and the unexpected response they get. I think there’s a misconception of, ‘Oh. What are you talking about?’ We’re past that, I feel. We’re past the judgment of that. In this world, they are much more accepting of those things, so we get to navigate them through that.

Despite their brave decisions or choices, in what ways are they at a crossroad this year? How have the emotional stakes been raised?

Faia: First of all, they’ve all moved in together. What does that look like? Moving in with anybody, whether it be one person or two people, is an adjustment. ... Izzy’s status in this relationship really shifts. She becomes more of an adult and stands up for what she really wants, which is this relationship. The stakes are raised because things are getting more serious. It’s about building deep intimate relationships.

How rewarding has it been to be on a show that breaks stereotypes and fosters conversations about what love really is?

I love being a part of something that shakes things up. It’s important to have shows where we can think and ask questions and break the barriers. Tradition puts us into boxes and it’s important to celebrate the different communities and creative outlets people have. We’re tapping into this new wave about how people are living their lives.

If one person who is stuck in their life watches our show and says, “What if I live my life a different way?” that makes me really happy. I think it’s incredible.

● And therefore, the right-wing site NewsBusters is hot and bothered:

You might wonder why a telecommunications company, together with Entertainment One, is hosting a show that attempts to normalize “throuples,” or romantic threesomes....

Just as Will & Grace normalized the gay lifestyle in the early 2000s, You Me Her is a blatant attempt to normalize polyamory. Despite what many progressives would deny, sexual deviancy is a slippery slope. Gay marriage paved the way for other heretofore taboo behaviors. Deadline's Pete Hammond called polyamory "TV's new sexual frontier." And show creator John Scott Shepherd has confessed as much, describing his attempt to "mainstream" the behavior and make it "relatable."

Folks who watch, please tell us your impressions in the comments below.

[Permalink]