Interview: Annie Potts: ‘GCB’
BY CINDY ELAVSKY
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Unless you’ve been living under a
rock these past few weeks, you know
that ABC’s new hour-long comedy,
soapy drama “GCB” (short for “Good
Christian B------”) airs Sunday nights
at 9. And if you’re already watching
it, you know that this is a show you
don’t want to miss. I got to speak
with series star Annie Potts
(“Designing Women,” “Pretty in
Pink”) recently about her new show
and she is just as thrilled to discuss it
as I was to hear about it.
Daytime Dial: I got to watch the
press screener of “GCB” last summer
when the network was promoting
its new shows, and this show –
along with ABC’s “Revenge” – was
my favorite of all the new series.
Now, at long last, “GCB” is finally
on. Has the wait been hell on you?
Annie Potts: I know! Well, I think
that as much agony as it was, it was
a real compliment to us, because I
think they’ve been saving us to put
us in at just the right moment in time
to ensure our success. I think that
they think that we are great. They
just have a lot of faith and hope in
us.
DD: Plus, it’s not like it’s standard
protocol to premiere new shows only
in the fall. We now have summer
premieres, spring premieres, etc.,
which really benefits the viewer with
more choices. I love that!
AP: Me, too. It’s different now,
like you said, especially with cable
and stuff, with things coming out all
the time. I just started watching
HBO’s “Luck,” which is fantastic,
and PBS’s “Downton Abbey.
It’s so last century to let
everything premiere in the
same two weeks in
September. It’s nuts! It’s like
the old-style warfare, where
it’s like “Charge!” and the
first 400 people in line are
going to be massacred.
There’s a better way to plan this. So,
we think it’s a better mousetrap and
hopefully will be a big success.
DD: After seeing the show, I cannot
picture anyone else in the role of
Gigi than you – it seems tailor-made
for you and your talents.
AP: Thank you. I appreciate it. I
felt the same way when I read it. It
was like, “Oh, this is so my role.
Bobby Harling, who wrote it, is an
old friend of mine – not that he
wrote it for me. I don’t mean to suggest
that. He and I kind of came up
around the same people, and he had,
I think from the start, enormous confidence
that I was going to be able to
pull off Gigi in a way that was
aligned with his vision of her. It has
been really fun.
DD: I like that Gigi isn’t your typical
meddling mom. Everything she
does for her child and grandchildren,
you can see the motive of love
behind it.
AP:Well, that’s kind of come out
in the doing of her. I’m a mother
myself, and sometimes mothers get a
bad rap just because they’ve tried to
do their job. Some people have more
of a knack for it than others do, but
almost all of it falls to, “My mother’s
suffocating me.” Whatever. It’s like:
“Buck up. I’m the one who wiped
your behind and put your meals on
the table, so I’m going to have a say
about your life. Accept it.
Tune in next week, when Annie
and I discuss the late Dixie Carter,
the show’s controversial title and
how “Toddlers & Tiaras” influenced
her take on Gigi.
Associated Images:
‘It has been really fun.’ – Annie Potts
Photo Credit: BOB D’AMICO/ABC
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