For fans and viewers who have already discovered the hilarious new comedy series WEDDING BAND, it comes as no surprise that the stars of the show are having the time of their lives working on it. WEDDING BAND is the perfect combination of adult humor, outrageous storylines, stellar music and an ensemble that keeps us glued in front of our televisions. It also astoundingly makes wedding songs feel cool again. Taking a few minutes in an exclusive interview, co-star Kathryn Fiore share what she loves most about this fun show and her awesome role on it.
What drew you WEDDING BAND and the role of Ingrid?
KATHRYN: It was a script that my agent sent to me and I read it and I immediately fell in love with it ’cause it was so funny and I just loved the idea of doing a one-hour comedy. I’d had only ever done one-hour dramas or sitcoms and I thought a one-hour comedy format was so great. It’s something TBS is really trying to get behind right now for their format. It was also so laugh-out-loud funny. That’s really what drew me to it.
Did you see yourself portraying a police officer, like Ingrid in WEDDING BAND?
KATHRYN: It was so funny ’cause in the pilot they don’t really talk about her being a police officer, which was in the character description but it doesn’t really come up in the pilot. So it was something they told me would happen when we started shooting. I loved it because I sort of have secret detective fantasies anyway. Then a lot of the stuff that happens in the show reminds me of my real life with my husband. We have an episode coming up where Ingrid finds out that Peter Cambor’s character Eddie [Ingrid’s husband] has been secretly eating tacos, which he’s not allowed to have, and that’s actually something that happened with me and my husband where I kept finding bits of cheese in the car from Del Taco, where I forbid him to go.
Did you know from the get-go when you took the role that Ingrid was a cop or was that a surprise?
KATHRYN: It was in the casting character description, but it didn’t come up in any of the auditions. But I love it, and I love Ingrid. I think the relationship she has with Eddie is so cute and so much fun. I just love their dynamic.
They are perhaps one of the healthiest, romantic married couples on television. They have just a really special relationship. Is there something you and Peter do to kind of create that warmth?
KATHRYN: Thank you so much for saying that! That actually means a lot. We do try to do that. It’s funny ’cause when I read the script what really attracted me was that it was the first time that I’ve seen a TV show where a husband and wife were not portrayed as the typical hen-pecked husband and the wife who is always nagging and fighting. I love that they are really in love and that they laugh a lot, and that they have a lot of fun together. That was what we wanted to bring to the show — a kind of a husband and wife that have fun. She does get frustrated with him. I mean who doesn’t get frustrated with their partner once in a while? But every time she sees him play on stage, she kind of falls in love with him all over again and they have such a great sense of playfulness. That was really important to me and Peter — to keep that as a main part of their relationship.
WEDDING BAND is a very musical show and Peter, of course, portrays Eddie who is a member of the band. So are we going to see any duets with Eddie and Ingrid?
KATHRYN: [Laughs] Not this season. I’m secretly hoping that we’ll get to do an “I Love Lucy” with Ricky in a band kind of episode. I think it would be pretty hilarious.
Were you at all trepidatious about taking a role on a show where its seems like everyone sings and dances?
KATHRYN: I have a background in singing and dancing, so I wasn’t too nervous about it, and if they ask me to sing, I can do it. I love it. I think it’s so much fun. Every episode has great new music. It was always so much fun to be on set and watch the guys play because they are actually doing vocals and playing instruments.
That sounds like the funnest job ever. Not only are you getting to be in a cool role, but you’re on a show where they have great music all the time.
KATHRYN: It’s a dream job. It really is — for everybody. We had a blast. Every time we showed up on the set, we’d hear all the music from the sound stage. And for the guys, they got to show up every day and pretend to be rock stars. What could be better?!
Did you have a favorite number or song that they performed as Mother of The Bride?
KATHRYN: Oh my god, they are all great! It’s like every time I’d pick a favorite there would be something else that I found I liked even better. So I don’t think I have a favorite. [Laughs] I loved everything!
That’s such a unique experience, ’cause you’re portraying the one normal character amongst all these kind of wild characters. Did that get a little bit daunting at times, or did you just kind of go with it?
KATHRYN: I liked it ’cause I kind of feel like that in my own life. My parents are both crazy actors and my husband’s family is also in the industry. So it’s like hanging out with wacky people and I often feel like I’m the sane one. [Laughs] So I like it. It’s fun to be a little bit the voice of reason in the show. I think Ingrid and her dynamic with Eddie brings a nice part to the show, a nice warmth.
Ingrid plays a pivotal kind of position since she not only brings the heart and soul of a very strong relationship on the show, but she also brings the kind of badass “I’m going to make sure these boys are behaving” kind of attitude as well. So it seems like she’s keeping them all herded together at times.
KATHRYN: [Laughs] She is a bit of the warden of the show. It’s fun ’cause I like her badassness — if I can make up that word.
If the show gets picked up for a second season, are you hoping for not only musical opportunities, but a chance to strut your stuff as a cop too?
KATHRYN: Yeah, I’d love that. I love it when I get to be in her uniform and you get to see her at work. So I’d love more opportunities for that.
Ingrid is such a complex character, which is wonderful on a comedy series. What would you describe is her core element that makes Ingrid who she is?
KATHRYN: She loves her family. I really think that’s where she lives. She is so passionate about Eddie and I think that she is torn because she needs him to earn money and she needs him to be a great dad and needs him to be around, but she loves that he’s in a band and that he’s pursuing his dream. That’s who she fell in love with. So I think it really comes down to that she wants what is best for him and for her family. That’s kind of the heart of Ingrid. She loves her husband.
The other curious thing so far is that it doesn’t seem like Ingrid interacts with the other female characters on the show very much. Ingrid is definitely a part of Eddie’s world. So did you get an opportunity to work with Melora Hardin and Jenny Wade at all?
KATHRYN: Yes. In fact, not this week, but the week after Ingrid is going to interact a lot with Jenny Wade’s character. We may or may not be posing as lesbian girlfriends. So that’s going to happen. [Laughs]
Wow, what did you think when you read that in the script?
KATHRYN: It was one of those moments when Jenny and I were at the table read and we kind of look at the writers and go, “Really, guys?” But it’s funny. Ingrid starts getting roped more into the wacky antics a little more towards the end of the season.
How can she avoid them?! They come up with such crazy things. I love the writing and I love the way the characters interact. But at the same time, I’m like, “Wow, they are going for it here!” So what can you tease about the upcoming episode for this week?
KATHRYN: There’s a boy band that the guys have to open for and this is the episode where Ingrid does some detective work on Eddie and she figures out that he’s been eating secret tacos. So she’s interacting a lot with the guys and using her cop skills to help them with their caper in this week’s episode. We’re sort of spoofing the whole boy-band, which is really funny.
Is this the Def Leppard episode? Adam Schlesinger mentioned how much he enjoyed working on that episode as well.
KATHRYN: Isn’t he great?! Adam’s amazing.
Talking briefly turning to your upcoming film “30 Nights of Paranormal Activity with the Devil Inside the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” what can you share about that? We know it’s a zombie kind of supernatural spoofy show.
KATHRYN: It’s a spoof of all of those movies that are kind of big right now: “Paranormal Activity,” and the like and it’s just a very silly, raunchy comedy. It’s also a lot of fun. I think it’s a great date-night movie. It’s very silly, but it’s funny. I think people will really like it.
When you get a script like that and you see it has zombies, do you think, “I have to be in that!”?
KATHRYN: It’s funny ’cause I’m a huge horror movie fan. I love horror movies and I’ve done a few serious horror movies and when I read it, I was like, “Ohhhhh!” I love a spoof movie, so when I read it, I thought, “This will be really fun to do!” And we had a lot of fun shooting it.
Just looking at what you are working on right now, does it seem like you are drawn to these kinds of outrageous, wacky films and TV shows?
KATHRYN: It seems like that’s what I always end up doing. It’s fun to goof around when you go to work and I’ve been very lucky that a lot of the jobs I’ve had were a lot of fun and wacky. I like that. I think when I first started acting I think I thought I’d be doing very serious sort of Merchant Ivory films, but it really didn’t pan out that way. [Laughs]
Sounds like you’re having fun, which is the best thing to be doing.
KATHRYN: It is! I’m having a lot of fun.
To see more of the crazy escapades and antics of Ingrid, Eddie and the rest of the WEDDING BAND – including their upcoming boy-band extravaganza – be sure to tune in for an all new episode on Saturday, December 8th at 10PM on TBS.
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).