Actress Marcia Gay Harden on how her new series, “So Help Me Todd,” mixes comedy and drama – CBS News
Marcia Gay Harden knows something about both comedy and drama. The Oscar and Tony Award-winning actress said she was drawn into her new role on the CBS show “So Help Me Todd” because of the way the show blends the two genres together.
“It’s a legal show, so you get a case of the week, but … it is comical as well. I love physical comedy, I love being in comedy, there’s like nothing else,” Harden told “CBS Mornings” on Wednesday.
Harden plays Margaret Wright, who hires her son, Todd, played by actor Skylar Astin, as the in-house investigator for her law firm in hopes of repairing their damaged relationship. They work together solving cases while hashing out their mother-son drama.
She said that she and Astin have a really good relationship and the script allows them to play off each other and improvise lines.
“He’s a master at throwing lines in, and I throw physical things in. He’s really good at like little comments at the end. And then they make it better, it’s like little buttons. Then I’ll say, ‘What about if my character falls off her chair on this moment?’ They are like, ‘OK, try it,'” said Harden.
Another surprising thing most viewers wouldn’t know about “So Help Me Todd” is that it is being produced by Stage 29 Productions, which is the production company behind the TV show “Dr. Phil” Harden said that it’s not surprising to see Dr. Phil McGraw himself on set from time to time.
“He has come to set before. He did this whole analysis of the mother/son relationship — like, ‘Well, I’d say that’s dysfunctional. Your mother’s a little controlling, isn’t she?’ And it’s like we’re literally getting therapy on set,” she said.
“So Help Me Todd” airs on CBS on Thursdays at 9 p.m./8 p.m. Central. You can also watch it on Paramount+.