Warning: The following contains spoilers for Tuesday Zoey’s extraordinary playlist Season Opening. Go ahead at your own risk!
Zoey’s extraordinary playlist showrunner Austin Winsburg is well aware that some viewers They are not a fan of unnecessary love triangles. So instead of extrapolating the mystery of honorary heroine Max against Simon, the season two premiere on Tuesday found Zoe to choose between the two handsome men. After seeing a recorded video message from her late father, encouraging his family to continue their lives after his death, Zoe finally chats with Max. The past six weeks have given her plenty of time to think, and now it’s time to “keep going” … by kissing Max!
Below, Winsberg explains why Zoey’s decision was a bold choice of show and what it means for Simon, the companion who lost Zoey’s heart. The EP also talks about bringing back Peter Gallagher as Zoey’s beloved father and reviews how Max and Mo’s new commercial venture will affect their friendship. (And to see if Joan Lauren Graham makes a comeback, click Here.)
TVLINE | Zoe seems to be making a decision when it comes to Max. So what is their relationship status moving forward? Are they dating officially now?
They definitely seem to be heading in that direction.
TVLINE | “Looks like” in looks are deceptive?
[Laughs] No, I think they’re definitely trying to be together.
TVLINE | What made the time right now to pursue things with Max?
The messages she receives from her father in Episode 1, it’s just an idea to go ahead and move on and have to make life decisions, you can’t stay neutral I felt that was also true regarding our love triangle in general. I felt we had to make some choices regarding the love triangle. I just feel like Zoe, herself, feels like, “I can’t keep dealing with these two men. I need to make the decision.” So she chooses. And then we’ll deal with the consequences.
TVLINE | Was there a lot of controversy in the writers’ room about it being too early in the season for her to make a choice, or about who to pick?
When I was just out on the field this season, when we first started talking in the hall, [we discussed] How long have we wanted to go back and forth, “Does this guy have to be, or does he have to be that guy?” There were a lot of strong feelings in the room that Zoe would turn 30 this year on the show, and that a lot of that kind of behavior might seem a little too young. Also, kind of reading Twitter boards and all of that, there’s definitely a faction of people who don’t like love triangles. [Laughs] I felt, at some point, what was real, you know? If someone kept straining two people for a long period of time, it might be one or both of those people, in the end, kind of like, “You know? I don’t want to do this anymore.” So I felt it was a bolder choice to make a choice instead. From continuing to live in a state of indecision.
TVLINE | Where does that choice leave Simon, still with a torch, if that Jet song number is any indication?
Simon has done a lot of self-growth and has undergone a lot of his therapy. There was, unfortunately, a scene we had to cut, as he talked a lot about this in Episode 1. Simon tries a lot – and we hear this from him in Episode 3 – to support Zoey in whatever Zoey wants to do. He knows what it means to lose someone, he understands the challenges of that, and he doesn’t want to pressure her into something. So he just wants to be there to support her on her emotional journey. And while he may not be thrilled that Max is her pick, he also tries to respect what Zoe wants.
TVLINE | Will he be advancing romance? May there be a new love interest for him?
This is something we’ll definitely explore, and move forward.
TVLINE | I loved the way I was able to incorporate Peter Gallagher in the premiere. Do you find other chances to bring it back every once in a while?
Yeah. I was too reluctant to get down Dexter or Under six feet The way … we already have a magic idea in the show with musical numbers. She thought of adding another big idea that she could have these conversations with her dad all the time maybe it was like one magic idea too much. So it’s just about being creative in the ways we bring it back.
TVLINE | The way she displayed the “Carry On” number, with some of the actors kinda freezing framing, was pretty cute.
Thank you. This was definitely difficult for [choreographer] Mandy [Moore] I am discovering it. How do we keep everyone in the frame? Also, we liked the symbolic notion that everyone just froze in time, in an instant, with what happened with Mitch … That song, “Carry On,” is a very topical theme of what we’re going through throughout the show season, and it’s everyone stuck in different ways. Everyone deals with death in different ways. But we all have to find ways to keep going, regardless of the tragedy we just went through. Once we solved this frozen idea, you definitely helped us create this number.
TVLINE | And how will Max and Mo’s new commercial venture succeed for them? Is mixing up friendship and work a good idea?
It is one of the main story points of this season that we will explore through all the episodes. I think you are right – what is it like to work with friends who have two completely different personalities? One is too right, the other is too left. How could this creative and artistic mind mesh with an entrepreneur and logic person? We’ll see a lot of growing pains between them as they try to navigate to start this ambitious restaurant idea together.
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