Abigail Spencer Talks ‘Extended Family’ Finding Its Groove in Its Season 1 Finale, What One-Word Show She Gets Recognized Most For

Awards Daily talks to Abigail Spencer about her eclectic resume and how NBC’s Extended Family finds its groove in Season 1’s “The Consequences of Considering the Consequences.”

Abigail Spencer’s filmography is extensive, from critically acclaimed shows like Rectify to cult classics like NBC’s Timeless to even a little Netflix phenomenon known as Suits.

“I love one-word shows that have a resurgence apparently,” she says with a laugh.

But the “inception story” of Spencer’s hot streak starts with AMC’s Mad Men.

“The winding road is always that show and that role and that particular season and the run I got to do on it. I worked for 10 years as an actor professionally before that show, but that is really where my journey began. People saw my work for the first time. It’s extraordinary. I was at a party one time, and this guy jumps over a couch, slides in like Patrick Dempsey in one of those ’80s movies, and says to me, ‘Are you Abigail Spencer from Mad Men? You are the Pamela Anderson for intelligent guys.’ Ooh, I was like, Pamela Anderson for smart dudes? By the way, I think it’s so amazing the resurgence she’s having right now.”

While she says she mostly gets recognized by fans for her work as Scottie on Suits, most recently, she was in Hawaii and someone asked her if she was the woman from Extended Family.

“Oh my god! We got it,” she says. “Our first one.”

NBC’s sitcom from show creator Mike O’Malley ended its first season this past March on a high note with the episode, “The Consequences of Considering the Consequences.” A three-hander showcase for Spencer, Jon Cryer, and Donald Faison, you can see the chemistry gel on screen, in a quiz-centric episode reminiscent of Friends’ classic, “The One with the Embryos.”

“I had never met Jon until we had our audition. We had several many Zoom-estry readings and did quite a few scenes from the pilot. I think my audition was all of the scenes. They really wanted to make sure I could do it, and I did, too. I’m not known for comedy; this is a huge pivot into the classic comedy world. I’d never done a multi-cam show. That was secretly where I always wanted to be, but I got caught in that golden wave of television that started with Mad Men, and I got to ride that wave for a good decade if not more. I feel like half-hour sitcoms are the quickest injection of culture into the zeitgeist. You can digest it easily, it’s bite-sized, and these people are in your home every week. It can help you look at your life and escape for 24 minutes and 37 seconds. I wanted to be part of that.”

Extended Family is the first and so far only sitcom Spencer has ever auditioned for, as she immediately felt a connection with her character, Julia—as well as the woman the character is based on.

“Should we call her right now?” she says with a laugh. “On speed dial! During the auditioning process, they told me, the real Julia, Emilia Fazzalari [also an executive producer on the show], was on the call. I’m sorry, what?! I had no idea. The real-life Jim, Julia, and Trey—George Geyer, Emilia, and Boston Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck—are producers on the show. They’re on set with us. It’s wild to watch their story unfold, and I love embodying their dynamic on the show. Really, I just want to spend more time with them!”

Spencer, too, feels like the finale highlights the series finding its groove, especially after all the obstacles it faced getting to air.

“We shot the pilot during the pandemic and had to wait to start shooting, then had to pause for the strike. Comedy is about rhythm, and I feel like we’re really starting to find it. That Pre-Cana episode, that’s what we call it, is really special. The whole episode takes place in one room, and it’s just the three of us. It’s very confident and forward for a Season 1 show.”

It also complicates the relationship between Faison and Spencer’s characters regarding the issue of whether the 40-something divorcee Julia wants to add more kids into the mix.

“When they introduced that, what I loved about it was the care. This isn’t a dealbreaker, but when you are dating someone and you are more mature and on a second big relationship in your 40s and are navigating these things, you can miss some stuff. How do you navigate that together in a healthy way? It was very vulnerable to shoot that moment and have that discussion. It felt very real. Even though we don’t have a cliffhanger, you’d like to see that fully explored. Trey and Julia haven’t gotten married yet.”

While NBC did not pick up Extended Family for a second season, if it does find a new network, Spencer would love to “go to work” with these characters outside of the home. In the meantime, she has plenty of work to do, including producing her first feature called The Actor out later this year.

“Duke Johnson, who directed Anomalisa—this is his first foray into live-action. My co-producers are Ryan Gosling, Ken Kao, and Paul Young. We’re in post on that film, and I don’t act in the movie. Duke and I are lead producers who have been putting this together for 9 years. I guess I’d say I’m really a lifer.”

Extended Family is streaming on Peacock.