Debuting last week, the hot new webseries DATING RULES FROM MY FUTURE SELF has already taken off like wildfire. As seen in the first webisode, Lucy is on the verge of getting married and out-of-the-blue gets these text message warning her to not go through with it. Unsure who exactly is sending the messages, Lucy is uncertain whether to take the advice being offered. But as the series continues, even more adventures are to be had as Lucy discovers that she is receiving text messages from a future-version of herself. Sounds like a sci-fi show, but in reality, this webseries is a fun comedy about a young woman trying to make the right choices in her life. Taking a few minutes in an exclusive interview with theTVaddict.com, the vivacious star and producer Shiri Appleby gave the inside scoop on the series and what is really going on with the mysterious text messages that her character Lucy is receiving from the future.
Why don’t you describe how you got involved both starring and producing DATING RULES FROM MY FUTURE SELF?
SHIRI: The guys at Alloy Entertainment came to me and basically asked me if I wanted to do it, and they said that if I would, that I could produce it and that was something I was really looking forward to and looking to want to do. And I read the read and I thought it was an incredible show and a great concept, and I got involved. And they were really, really awesome letting me be as involved as I wanted to be.
Sounds like a really rare treat in Hollywood, where they come to you with this dream-project.
SHIRI: Yeah, and I was really involved with the director, the writer, casting, production design. I sat in editing every day. I was involved with it from the beginning, so it’s been so incredibly rewarding.
What about Lucy, what can you describe about her and what really drew you to that role?
SHIRI: She is a girl that is learning to start listening to herself, that’s really what the text messaging and the Future Lucy is all about, and she’s got two great friends around her and she’s at that moment in her life where she is starting to blossom, and become a woman and have fun and enjoy her dating life.
Those text messages, are they going to translate more from a warning of “don’t date so-and-so” to more like advice along the lines of “look for a guy who has these qualities”?
SHIRI: It’s more like “let loose,” “have fun” — yeah, she gives her all kinds of advice. Lucy goes through all kinds of things. Future Lucy even says, “stop texting me and go date!” It’s really what you want somebody to hear. It’s not just the sweet things. It’s kind of like the harder things also.
Who writes the texts? Does the writer write those or do you get to write them?
SHIRI: The writer wrote the episodes and the text messages, and then when we’re in editing we tweak to make sure they really work and hit home for the scene where the show was.
Do you ever feel tempted to re-write some of the texts yourself?
SHIRI: I’m definitely part of the process, but we’ve got Sallie Patrick who is from LIFE UNEXPECTED. She is an incredible writer. We got pretty lucky having her aboard.
The show feels like a dream-cast and dream-setting for fans, particularly for those who followed you from LIFE UNEXPECTED. It’s really fun that Sallie’s working with you again!
SHIRI: Thanks!
How would you describe the relationship between Lucy-in-the-present versus Lucy-in-the-future?
SHIRI: Lucy-in-the-future, I think, is a little more desperate. She knows where the story is kind of going, and she doesn’t like it. She’s very lonely. And Lucy-in-the-present is definitely a bit more timid, but is getting the courage and kind of getting the guts to make bolder choices because she has Future Lucy in her life.
Do you think Lucy-in-the-present will become dependent on her future self, or will she learn to become independent of herself as well?
SHIRI: No, she gets made a Future Lucy. She definitely has fights with herself. But, hopefully, she becomes — that they will have a relationship that will be back-and-forth and give-and-take.
I know there are a lot of questions initially whether it could be one of Lucy’s friends pulling a prank on her and trying to help her without her knowledge. Is that explore further or is there a definitive that the future version is actually helping her?
SHIRI: The future version really proves herself.
So it becomes really obvious.
SHIRI: Yeah. She says something that nobody else could know.
The clue! For the upcoming season, it seems like there has been some wonderfully cast men on the show. How many exactly are more romantic prospects and which are more just the friend variety in Lucy’s life?
SHIRI: The guys? Well, Vincent played by Martin Starr is really just a friend. Dave, Taylor Kinney’s character, he might be a potential love interest. And there’s a lot of guys that she kind of goes in and out of dating. Like picking up a guy at bar. Going to parties. She does speed-dating. There’s a ton of really cute boys that came in and out of this show. It was pretty fun.
Maybe you could talk about the casting. This seems like a fun cast. How did you come up with everybody?
SHIRI: For Mircea Monroe, Alan (the director) and I had emailed a few executive producers that we knew asking them if they knew of any hot, funny girls, and they all wrote back with Mircea. Alison Becker, we found browsing the PARKS AND REC IMBD page. Martin Starr, I had worked with a few times and I called him. And Alloy had actually worked with Taylor Kinney on THE VAMPIRE DIARIES. So they were really excited about having him on the show. And Bryce Johnson, who plays Brendan, he and I have known each other for years ’cause when I was on ROSWELL, he was on a television show called POPULAR. So we were both on the WB at the same time.
Oh that was fun! That was a great era of the WB.
SHIRI: It was! That was when FELICITY was on.
Were you a fan of FELICITY?
SHIRI: I love FELICITY!
We all miss that. In fact, we miss a lot of WB shows! So where are you filming? What sort of locations are you filming this webisode series?
SHIRI: We shot in Los Angeles. We built a lot of the sets.
What would you say would be clues that the viewers should be keeping an eye out for as they watch the webisodes to kind of enrich the experience for them?
SHIRI: I think to got along with and just have a really good time. The show is meant to be fun and have a bit of a message.
Maybe you could tease some of the upcoming storylines, like the speed dating, the Lucy, Kelsy and Amanda get involved with.
SHIRI: They have parties at the house. Future Lucy is definitely pushing Lucy to go to a bar and hook up with random guys. Lucy learns to stand up for herself with Brendan. And the app that Lucy came up with becomes more and more a possibility.
With this new dating life being pushed upon her and to pursue the things that the future version of herself wants, are we going to have a major cliffhanger at the end of the season or where does this end up at for the first season?
SHIRI: There’s a little bit of a cliffhanger. Yeah, there is. We want to leave everyone wanting more.
Will Brendan be kicked to the curb right away, or will he kind be featured more in the series?
SHIRI: He’s actually not a bad guy. He’s just not the right guy for her. But he pops in and out.
So he’s not completely out of the series, he can come back at any time?
SHIRI: No, no, not at all.
Maybe you could take a little bit about Lucy’s work environment. The twins that she works with as her bosses are funny as anything.
SHIRI: I know! Aren’t they? The Yuan twins. Yeah, she works at this great place where they create apps and she pitches an idea in the opening episode that has a lot of potential but isn’t received very warmly. But the idea definitely comes back around. Maybe somebody else pitches it. But she stands up and definitely asserts herself at work. So as the show goes on, we see her blossom there. I think you start to realize that we’re starting to see how she created this app.
Is there a possibility that she’s being texted from a computer-version of herself, and not her actual physical self in the future?
SHIRI: Oh, that I have no idea about!
That’s probably too sci-fi for your show.
SHIRI: It’s too sci-fi for me! I don’t know. I don’t know about that! [Laughter] But I think we did a really great job and I hope that everybody can tune in! 
To see the next new webisode of DATING RULES FROM MY FUTURE SELF, be sure to keep an eye on the show’s Facebook page. New episodes are posted Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Find out exactly what kinds of advice Lucy is getting from her future self and whether that advice really works. The adventures await!
Tiffany Vogt is the Senior West Coast Editor, contributing as a columnist and entertainment reporter to TheTVAddict.com. She has a great love for television and firmly believes that entertainment is a world of wondrous adventures that deserves to be shared and explored – she invites you to join her. Please feel free to contact Tiffany at Tiffany_Vogt_2000@yahoo.com or follow her at on Twitter (@TVWatchtower).