DROP DEAD DIVA: Get the Scoop on What’s To Come

In celebration of the upcoming season premiere of the popular Lifetime dramedy Drop Dead Diva this Sunday, NiceGirlsTV was recently invited to take part in a conference call with the series creator, Josh Berman, as well as regular cast members Brooke Elliott, who plays lead character Jane Bingham, and April Bowlby, who plays Jane’s best friend Stacy Barrett.

For those who need a refresher, Drop Dead Diva, now in its fourth season, is about a vapid aspiring model named Deb Dobkins, who is killed in a car accident but brought back to life as an intelligent plus-size lawyer named Jane Bingham.

Over the past three seasons, Deb – as Jane – has had to adapt to a whole new life with all of its complications and excitements, its ups and downs and its triumphs and losses. This season will be no different but this time around it would appear that Deb is finally accepting of her life as Jane.

The following is an excerpt of that conference call where the ladies and Josh talk about what to expect during this current season:

Question: Brooke, could you talk a little about where Jane’s feelings lie for Grayson (Jackson Hurst) this season?

Brooke: That’s so confusing for Jane. Her love life is going to be such a roller coaster. When we left her (in the season three finale she was) going off to Italy with Owen (Lex Medlin) and that relationship does blossom and move forward. And yet there’s Grayson (who) keeps popping in every once in a while. Grayson’s feelings actually start to change a little bit. He starts to entice Jane and while she doesn’t really see that at first, she obviously always notices Grayson. (So she’s) torn because she really does love Owen by Grayson’s kind of always in the back of her heart.

Question: Josh, what kind of dynamic does having Lex on the show now bring to the cast?

Josh: Lex Medlin is such a wonderful person, a phenomenal actor. Whenever you’re lucky enough to have someone like that (in the) ensemble…you want to write to that. Originally we brought Lex in for just a couple of episodes and I think we all fell in love with him, (making) him a series regular this year. He has allowed us to take Jane’s character in another direction. I think the Jane of season one…would have never seen herself falling in love with anybody else let alone Owen because she is Deb and she was so in love with Grayson. After three years, her character has grown so much…she opened her heart to love somebody other than Grayson…that has been a joy to write.

Comment: Thank you guys for lending Ben Feldman (who played Jane’s guardian angel Fred) to Mad Men. He’s doing a great job.

Josh: We miss Ben, but you haven’t seen the last of him on our show.

Question: What do you continue to enjoy the most about working on the show?

Josh: What I enjoy is that these characters continue to get richer and more complex. I think with each passing season, I’m allowed to take these characters in new and more exciting directions. You start off with…one hour to tell the story of so many people that you just can’t go…very deep. But now after three seasons, we cannot only get to know these characters, but we take them in new directions. Stacy is a great case in point because for three seasons…(she) thought the ultimate success in life was to be an actress and a model. (But this) season, Stacy uses her brain to achieve a new level of success, starting her own business. Telling that kind of story is what makes a show so rewarding.

Brooke: I continue to enjoy the blend of Deb and Jane. It is Deb’s soul in Jane’s body so there’s no soul fighting going on…it’s always Deb’s perspective, but as she grows and changes in Jane’s life, she is essentially Jane. I love finding that mixture, love finding the little quirks. The script analysis part of this show has always been one of my favorite parts and it remains so.

Question: Josh, what vision do you want to bring from your imagination to the screen this season?

Josh: It’s funny you say that because by now I feel my actors are talking to me in my head all the time. I hear Jane’s voice, I hear Stacy’s voice as I’m writing so it’s so much nicer than when I am looking at a blank page. This season is all about the characters’ growth and confidence. For Jane, she really grows emotionally; she makes some very clear decisions about her romantic life that propels her forward. Like any good drama it is two steps forward and one step back. She may be questioning her decisions, but there’s a real emotional maturity that comes to Deb (as Jane) when she realizes she’s moving on. She’s leaving behind some of her preconceived notions of what her life may have been, finding just as much joy in what her life is becoming.

[Josh continues] In terms of Stacy’s growth, she’s let go of her dream of becoming an actress and model, pursuing a dream of being a business woman (instead), which wasn’t a dream she knew she had. She’s discovering that she is finding more satisfaction in using her brain.

Question: Has there been a storyline that you’ve wanted to include in the show but it didn’t happen for whatever reason and could you tell us what that reason was?

Josh: I pitched something for the very first episode that I was not allowed to do until this year. Episode four of this season is based on a true story…about a makeover show. A woman in Los Angeles was promised a complete makeover. The producers spent months with her, (telling her they would) transform her into a “beautiful person”; but the day before the first surgery, (a) producer called (the woman telling) her she was too ugly, that they couldn’t fix her and the woman committed suicide. I really wanted to expose that side of reality television…kind of deconstruct the beauty myth. It’s kind of a messy subject matter…but this season I really pushed for it. Four years later, we shot an episode that is really meaningful and poignant. I think only in success would a show be able to tell that story.

Question: What happens when we come back this season between Fred and Stacy (after Grayson kissing Stacy in the season finale) and how does the show handle Fred’s departure?

April: There’s a lot that happens in season four…a lot is covered…Fred and Stacy have it out. I don’t know how to answer that, but you will be surprised how it works out.

Josh: I would say that the whole Stacy/Fred relationship has been building to the season premiere and in every way the relationship comes to a head. You don’t want to miss this episode if you’re a Stacy/Fred fan. It’s the first time that I’ve ever seen an editor get emotional while showing me a cut…between Fred and Stacy. There (are) lots of times where (TV) relationships…don’t honor the viewers, but in this case, we really, really honor the people that have been invested in that relationship.

Question: What about the relationship between Jane and Stacy after Grayson kissed Stacy?

Brooke: That’s a little tricky for a little while…it’s a little rocky. I’m going to say there (are) some pretty gnarly fight scenes in the first couple of episode, but like all good girlfriends, we kind of smooth it out and figure out a way to smooth it out. But it is really intense.

While Josh and the ladies couldn’t reveal too much so as not to spoil tomorrow night’s season premiere, they did give a little scoop about what to expect. So, make sure to tune in to find out what really does happen between Stacy and Jane, where Stacy and Fred’s relationship goes and what lies in store for all of the characters in the season four premiere of Drop Dead Diva, which will air on Lifetime tomorrow night (June 3) at 9/8c.