‘Bless This Mess’ Teases New Pig, Romantic Developments And Streaming-Style Storytelling For Season 2 – TCA

Diane Haithman

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Oinker Alert: season two of ABC’s Bless This Mess will include a pig.

“We are entering the world of pigs, that’s all I’ll say,” offered Elizabeth Meriwether (Single Parents, New Girl ) who, along with series star Lake Bell, executive produces the serie that follows the adventures of a newlywed couple whose plan to ditch big-city living for a simpler life in Nebraska goes awry in pretty much every way possible.

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Added Meriwether mysteriously: “There also may be some piglets. You can’t have enough animals on a show that’s set in the Nebraska farmland.”

Sunday’s TCA panel with the show creators and cast appropriately took place outdoors at Sunset Ranch in Hollywood’s Beachwood Canyon, with plenty of horses and, yes, a pig on hand.

Meriwether and Bell appeared on the panel with cast members Pam Grier, Ed Begley Jr., David Koechner, Lennon Parham and JT Neal. Series star Dax Shepard did not attend due to a prior commitment.

Bell confirmed that she could continue her strained relationship with cows introduced in the first season. However, she confessed that in the course of production she was kissed by a cow, and she liked it.

Well, not a kiss – more like a lick, actually. Grier, who was raised on a farm in Wyoming, took the opportunity to tell Bell that cows like licking people’s skin because it’s salty, so this behavior does not necessarily signify the start of a beautiful friendship.

No one on the panel seemed in the mood to get too serious, but Bell did reveal that she directed the season two premiere episode that will launch the new season on September 24. She added that Shepard also will direct a season two episode.

The creators also said the new season will take the show deeper into the lives of the characters peopling the small town, rather than only focusing mainly on the newlyweds. Meriwether is particularly enjoying the budding romance of Grier and Begley’s quirky characters.

“I love ‘will they or won’t they’ storylines, that’s part of my thing,” Meriwether said. “I love on our show that it’s Connie and Rudy… They’re my Nick and Jess (a reference to the years-long sexual tension between the New Girl characters.)

Meriwether added that this modern-day Green Acres, which was originally developed for Fox, would vary from standard network sitcom protocol and allow the show’s characters to grow and change. One development for Neal’s young character: He will have a personal awakening and get a “kissing partner” in Season 2.

Neal seemed as surprised as anyone to hear about this. The producers said he hadn’t been told because if he had “it would be all over Twitter.” He acknowledged this was true.

Said Meriwether: “I think that network TV has embraced more of a streaming style, storytelling method “that allows characters to evolve. “I was so happy we got to be honest about the (fish out of water) story. These characters have changed. I feel excited about their continued journey into next season. “

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