The Stars of Bravo's 'Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce' Spill on the New Season
Your favorite group of kickass ladies from Bravo's first scripted TV show Girlfriends' Guide To Divorce is finally coming back for Season 4 on Thursday, August 17 at 10PM ET/PT. Redbook sat down with stars Lisa Edelstein (who plays best-selling author Abby McCarthy) and Beau Garrett (who plays free spirit Phoebe), to celebrate their return and get the scoop on the new season.
What can fans of the show expect in season four?
Lisa: Abby's main storyline for the first half of the season is her relationship with Barbara [Park & Recreation's Retta] because it's about their business together [their new website Ladyparts]. It's nice because the show is not just about men, it's also about girlfriends and it really digs deep into their relationships and their struggles.
Beau: Phoebe is still married to JD and has a new friend in her life, Gemma, that has obviously caused a little bit of a wall between her and JD, so that relationship is explored. And then Phoebe's also trying to figure out how to survive without the financial income from her ex-husband, which is always interesting.
How has the show evolved from the first season?
Lisa: Initially, it was about a woman getting divorced, how much her life changed, and how much she had to grow and change in order to move forward with her life. But now you really see it's not just about dating, but about finding the real relationships in your life and celebrating those. Certainly, the end of a marriage is the end of a dream and of a fantasy, and it is the death of an idea and mourning that is unavoidable. Even if it was the worst marriage and you're psyched to get out of it, you married that person because you valued an idea, and now you have to figure out who you are, why that ended, and what life you'd like to create for yourself. So all relationships in your life matter. Your girlfriends matter, and finding who you are is the most important thing you can do.
And Lisa, you happened to have gotten married the day before filming the very first episode, right?
Lisa: Yes - it was surreal. I got married the day before I moved to Vancouver to start a show about divorce. The amount of stress I was under during those 2 weeks heading into both a wedding and the biggest job I've ever had was remarkable. For whatever reason, weddings are hugely stressful even if you're psyched. I was never happier than on my wedding day, it was amazing. But the next day I was so sick, so we decided we were going to take this romantic drive up to Vancouver and I had an 103-degree fever and was asleep so my poor husband had to take care of me the whole way there.
What makes each of your roles so fun and fulfilling to play?
Beau: As Beau, I'm free-spirited, but Phoebe has a very different version of that which I thought was really refreshing. She is also a lot more vulnerable than I am because of her naivety about certain things and it was hard for me sometimes to not judge her for some of her choices. She taught me a lot about just letting go of certain things. Her bold fashion choices also taught me a lot about wearing colorful clothes.
Lisa: I really love Abby's resilience. Abby makes a lot of mistakes because that's more interesting to watch and reminds me a lot of I Love Lucy where it's "yay…oh no." When I was a kid I couldn't even watch I Love Lucy because I'd get so upset when she screwed things up. I could only watch the first 5 minutes and the last 5 minutes. Playing Abby is great because I get to work that out. I think for all the female relationships there's a lot of forgiving that goes on, and finding ways through trials that aren't so easy to overcome in real life. So that was refreshing.
Lisa, you had such a memorable role on the hit TV show House. Is there anything you learned from your time on that show that you brought to your Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce role?
Lisa: I learned that if you wear a lot of high heels, you should wear platforms when no one can see your feet if you don't want to die. I was walking down hallways a lot on House. Very practical advice! But no it's a completely different part. House was an incredible experience, but Girlfriends' Guide gave me the opportunity to carry a show, to act my face off, to write, to direct, and to produce. I wish for everyone to get the chance to really take charge. It doesn't happen for everyone, so I'm really grateful for it.
The late Carrie Fisher played your literary agent for a couple of episodes. What was she like?
Lisa: I knew Carrie socially for a long time, certainly not as well as I would have liked. She was a walking legend and everyone around her seemed to know it. It made for a strange life, I think. Working with her was really special. The first time she came on set our usually boisterous crew was silent. She had been a part of all of our childhoods. And then she documented and talked so openly about her descent into madness and back again that seeing her in person, for a lot of them, was intense. But she came with [her dog] Gary in tow, ready for action, prepared to work, and as hilarious as ever. I ran into her just after our pilot was picked up to be made into a series. I told her how much everyone loved our scene and that they couldn't wait to have her back. She was just excited that anyone would want her back. But that was just how she was, self-deprecating to the core.
The following year, when she came back to work again on our show, things had really changed. This time the Carrie we got was frail, confused, and hardly able to get through a scene. It was upsetting and sad but the whole crew, all of us, were rooting for her. Production decided to rewrite all her scenes to be shot in LA so that we wouldn't exhaust her with travel to BC. But by the time we got to LA to do our pick-up scenes, things had gotten worse and she couldn't work. It was hard watching such a powerhouse woman sort of fold into herself and disappear. I think I can speak for all of us when I say: We miss her.
And what has the show taught you both about what it takes to make a relationship work?
Beau: You shouldn't look at relationship endings as failures but as a new beginning and if you can, opportunities for discovery.
Lisa: One of the things that is beautifully portrayed on the show is how committed friends can and should be to each other. These women disappoint at times, betray at times, confuse at times, but mostly they are supportive, accepting and open-hearted. Their love and appreciation for each other overrides any of the annoyances or hurt. That kind of friendship is rarely shown between women on screen, or at least that was true until recently, and it's a good lesson to take to heart. Long friendships, friendships that bridge decades, they will change and mutate with time, but remembering the core understanding of who your friends are is a great way to keep them close for a lifetime.
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