What to Know
- “Abby’s” airs on Thursdays at 9:30 p.m.
- "Abby’s” is shot outdoors in front of a live studio audience, the first time a multi-camera comedy has done so.
- “Abby’s” is executive produced by Josh Malmuth, Michael Schur and David Miner.
Some are calling "Abby's" a modern day "Cheers", but a closer look reveals it's more than modern. It's treading on new comedy ground. "Abby's" was created by "New Girl" alum Josh Malmuth and executive produced by Mike Schur of "The Good Place." As if that comedy pedigree isn't enough, they've brought on Natalie Morales to star. Morales has a long history in comedy with credits that include "Parks and Rec," "Santa Clarita Diet" and "Trophy Wife."
Abby (Morales) runs an unlicensed, makeshift bar in her backyard. It quickly becomes the perfect gathering place for locals to find camaraderie and sanctuary. That is until the homeowner Bill (Nelson Franklin) shows up and becomes the buzzkill on their buzz.
The show is groundbreaking in many ways, one of them being that it's filmed entirely outdoors in front of a live audience. The other being that the lead character of Abby is an openly bisexual veteran who also happens to be Latina. Morales stopped by KNBC to talk to us about her new show and it's challenges.
"We were nervous about it because it's never been done before," Morales said. "We wondered if there was a reason it's never been done before and we found out it was noise."
The cast and crew learned quickly they would have to wait for every plane to fly overhead and passing car to pass before they could roll on another take. But the rest of the sounds in nature fit perfectly with the exterior feel of the show. Morales said for her, the biggest appeal in playing Abby was that she is not a stereotypical sitcom character.
"It's not just about one thing. She's a multifaceted person, and aren't we all?" Morales said.
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The cast of regulars also includes Fred (Neil Flynn, "The Middle," "Scrubs"), Beth (Jessica Chaffin, "Big Mouth"), Rosie (Kimia Behpoornia, "Unicorn Store"), James (Leonard Ouzts, "Master of None"). It airs Thursday nights at 9:30PST on NBC4.
