Jon Cryer, Donald Faison: 'Extended Family' looks for laughs, civility after divorce

NEW YORK, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Extended Family stars Jon Cryer, Donald Faison and Abigail Spencer say they connected to the story at the heart of NBC's new sitcom because they know what it's like to be divorced but trying to keep things civil for their kids.

Premiering Saturday, the Mike O'Malley-created show follows Jim (Cryer) and Julia (Spencer) -- a divorced couple who take turns living in the family home so they don't disrupt the lives of their children. Faison plays Trey, Julia's successful new fiancé.

"We had happy marriages, but torpedoed them just to get ready for this," Two and a Half Men Emmy winner Cryer joked with UPI in a recent Zoom interview.

"We all gravitated to it for similar, but not exactly the same reasons -- just seeing people trying to work at remaining a family in something of a loving way -- even though the marriage has collapsed, " Cryer said.

"That challenge and the ways that we face it and the ways that we fail is going to be really fun and funny."

Scrubs alum Faison listed working with Cryer as his top reason to join Extended Family.

"But No. 2, there's something special about seeing a group of people on TV trying to get along," he said.

"The failure is what makes them become a tight unit. There's so much room for growth with a divorced couple and a new fiancé," he added.

"There's so much that can happen with that. That's not just one season -- that's a lifetime of storytelling. The possibility of longevity also drove me. There are so many good stories and lessons to be told in Extended Family. We, as a cast, have all experienced it. "

Cryer agreed with a laugh, "Several seasons is very attractive."

Spencer, who is best known for her work in dramas like Timeless and Suits, was determined to try her hand at comedy and challenged her team of representatives to find her the perfect vehicle.

"I said, 'I want to do a live studio audience, multi-camera sitcom. I'd like to shoot in Los Angeles because I am a single mom and want to be there for my son and I'd like it to be great and work with the titans of comedy,'" she said.

"And they said, 'So, you never want to work again?' And can I tell you, this is the only script that they sent me and, 'Check, check, check!' I read it and it felt like 2 seconds. It just flew by and it really sung on the page. When I read it, I was like, 'I am Julia!'"

She said the next step was convincing the network to hire her.

"You don't understand! C'est moi!" Cryer teased her about her campaign to win the role.

Spencer said she understood why NBC hesitated at first.

"It was a beautiful process because I am not known in this space. This is my first sitcom and I've worked with Lionsgate and NBC, who are behind the show. They were like, 'She's not funny.' And I was like, 'What time is the audition?'" Spencer said.

Although the 30-minute, multi-camera comedy with a live audience was the format on which the adult cast members of the show had grown up, Spencer said she didn't think there is anything quite like it on television today.

"I really feel like we need it in the world right now," she said.

"We need a show like this. There is so much going on. We need to gather. We need to laugh. We are living in a lot of extended families and we want to be able to mirror that in culture. This is the opportunity to do it."