Somebody Somewhere's Jeff Hiller, Tim Bagley Break Down Joel's 'Difficult' And 'Painful' Family Decision
Times they are a-changin' for the Somebody Somewhere crew, and Sam worries she'll soon be short one very best friend. No more nightly tuck-ins? No more dinky dinkies? Say it ain't so!
In Sunday's episode, Joel and Brad take a huge step in their relationship. One that requires agreeing on fridge pictures (the jury's still out), appliances on the kitchen counter (nope!) and the proper way to store Corningware in the cabinet. Yes, the new-ish couple moved in together, and even though his life is changing, Joel promised Sam they'd still talk on the regular. Despite Sam's reservations about how their friendship will adapt, she was surprised to hear Joel say that he and Brad weren't going to have kids, despite the fact that it's something he always wanted.
"I don't think he's just like, 'It's fine, whatever. It doesn't matter.' I think it's been a labored decision," Jeff Hiller tells TVLine, "and I think it's difficult and painful. I think he's grieving it. But I think he also realizes that he loves Brad enough to make that compromise in his life, which I know I've done in my life, and it's not as simple as just being like, 'I'm OK with it!' But eventually, it's like, 'I'm willing to make that choice' and I think that's where [Joel] is too."
Adds Tim Bagley (who plays Brad): "A lot of times when you're in a relationship with somebody and you're like, 'I strictly don't want to do this' and then all of a sudden, things start shifting and changing, and the next thing you know, you're on board. Who knows what's gonna happen with them later?"
Regardless of where they fall on the topic of kids, moving in with someone, even as a grown adult, still has its difficulties. For Joel and Brad, compromise is key, but you'll have to keep watching to see how it all pans out.
"It's hard to blend," says Hiller. "It's hard to move in with somebody when you're a 22-year-old roommate. It's really hard when you're on the other end of life. [Laughs] I just love that the show takes the time to explore that thing that we've all experienced but you never see on TV. I think it's really important."
"To blend your lives together is a process, and so they're still learning about each other," says Bagley. "I mean, Brad's particular about how he piles up his Corningware! If I met somebody like that, I'd be like, 'OK, we're done. This is a dealbreaker for me.' [Laughs] And Jeff's character is just like, 'OK!' To me, that's what's funny about the show. It takes little things like that that feel real and authentic, and just exposes them."
At the end of the episode, Sam crashes on the couch after Joel and Brad's housewarming party. Less-than-sober, she heartbreakingly asks Joel, "Do I bring you down?" It's a sad reflection of where Sam's head is at amidst all of the change happening around her, including Joel's new living situation. But while Sam continues to adapt throughout her sometimes bumpy journey, Hiller says the two friends have found "a nice place."
"At the top of Season 2, they were super close, but it was maybe a little unhealthy, maybe a little too close," he says. "I mean, they were literally s–tting together. [Laughs] So I think that they found this nice, nice place. But it's also just like any relationship. I think a friendship is constant. It's a living organism and it's always changing. And I think that the big thing about this season is discovering how they can continue having that intimacy, having that closeness, but also find intimacy with other people too, so that it's not a friendship that blocks out the rest of the world."
"She's just a really good actor," he says about Bridget Everett and perfecting their characters' special dynamic. "[She] makes it easy to bounce off of and the space is safe, so you're allowed to try things and be weird and silly and fun. I just like her. She's funny and fun to hang around, so it's kind of easy."
He adds with a hearty laugh: "Unless you're trying to vote on an award, then it was very hard and we worked at it very complicatedly!"