When I first spoke with Martha Plimpton back in October, I referred to her new show — “Raising Hope” — as the most underrated new comedy of the year. And as the season has played out, the show hasn’t made me regret that statement for one second. In fact, it’s only gotten smarter, funnier and more underrated as the weeks wore on.
But when “Hope” returns tonight, paired with a new “Glee,” it kicks off a string of absolutely amazing episodes that just might see it break through that ratings glass ceiling thanks to some spot-on comedy, brilliant performances and shocking plot twists — well, that last one is according to Martha Plimpton, who dropped some very interesting info about the season finale.
PopWrap: We last chatted in October, how have you enjoyed where season one has gone?
Martha Plimpton: I’m really loving it – I think [creator] Greg Garcia is a really brilliant writer. He’s smart and sharp and I think he wants to make a quality show. It’s really important to him that people find the show creatively interesting as well as funny. He’s definitely not a guy who’s into messages and morals, but the core of the show is where Greg’s core is – really genuine, authentic stories.
PW: And yet the show does a great job of delivering morality lessons.
Martha: [laughs] I agree. I think that stems from the idea that it’s not funny if it’s not coming from a human place. For Greg, it’s just not funny if there’s no humanity behind it. That’s what I love about this show – these people aren’t snarky or sarcastic, they’re on the same team, they’re in it together.
PW: In some weird way, The Chance’s might be the most functional family on television.
Martha: God, that’s frightening [laughs]. But I know what you mean. Even if there are conflicts, they’re about how can we accomplish a goal together. One person might think their idea is better but that’s about as dark as it gets.
PW: Is there anything about the show you’re especially fond of?
Martha: I love the relationship Virginia has with her husband Burt a lot. I like that they were kids together, that they’ve grown up together and that there is still a part of them in this arrested state of youthful romance. I really like that Greg has created this relationship between husband and wife that isn’t adversarial.
PW: Right, it’s not some shrewish wife ruining her fat husband’s day.
Martha: Right, she’s not standing there going “tsk tsk” — I love that Virginia is screwing up with everybody else.
PW: I adore just how in love the two clearly are — something you don’t always see with teen parents 20-odd years on.
Martha: As far as the success of relationships after they’ve had a kid as teenagers, we take a couple of liberties there [laughs]. It is fiction after all. But through the luck of the draw, in the “Raising Hope” world, we manage to make it work. I’m sure there are other people who’ve made it work, but the point is whether you have a kid at 15, 25, 35 or 45, it’s always like, “whoa, I did not expect this to be my life.” In that regard, this family is universally accessible.
PW: The family also represents the idea that family is what you make it, with the Sabrina character becoming like an unofficial member of The Chance Family.
Martha: I like that too. Obviously that’s a testament to good writing and Shannon [Woodward] who has taken what could have been a straight-forward love interest and made her really funny, really imaginative and really quick. She brings a dry, funny, hip kind of wit to the show.
PW: Same goes for you — seeing as this is your first real balls out comedy, how have you enjoyed sharpening that funny bone?
Martha: It is a lot of fun. The lucky thing is the writing is so good, I don’t have to worry about bringing the funny. I’m not coming to work every day wondering, “how can I be hilaaaaarious?” [laughs] I’m just trying to stay honest with it because the more jokey you get, the less actually funny something tends to be. I feel like I do my best if I’m trying to keep it real.
PW: Looking ahead, what are you really excited for fans to see?
Martha: The season finale is a big flashback episode that takes place 5 years in the past and you see where everybody was before the show started. We’re seeing how these people got into some of the fixes they’re in – it’s before Hope so you’ll see some of Jimmy’s rebellious youth. We’ll see how they ended up living in this house, we’ll see Maw-Maw in a consistently lucid state for a whole episode, what happened to her — stuff like that. There was an episode where Barney mentioned that he used to be 400 lbs. Well, in this episode he is. Little things like that which you’ll love if you’ve been watching. And there’s a very interesting twist in Jimmy & Sabrina’s relationship.
“Raising Hope” airs Tuesdays at 9pm on Fox
Photo: Fox