Drama Queens - Everybody's Mom with Sharon Lawrence • EP 809

Episode Date: March 3, 2025

In this Thanksgiving episode directed by Joy, special guest Sharon Lawrence joins to recap the drama-filled holiday. Sharon shares some little-known facts about playing mom to all three of our Drama Queens in her career and why she thinks Sylvia is the hero in this episode. The Queens reveal their favorite turkey day moments and Joy takes responsibility for an on-screen blooper. Plus, what do you call Jello Salad? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. It may look different, but native culture is alive. My name is Nicole Garcia, and on Burn Sage, Burn Bridges, we aim to explore that culture. Somewhere along the way, it turned into this full-fledged award-winning comic shop. That's Dr. Lee Francis IV, who opened the first Native comic bookshop. Explore his story along with many other native stories on the show, Burn Sage, Burn Bridges. Listen to Burn Sage Burn Bridges. Listen to Burn Sage Burn Bridges on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

First of all, you don't know me. We're all about that high school, drama girl, drama girl, all about them high school queens. We'll take you for a ride and our comic girl. Drama girl. Cheering for the right team. Drama queens, drama queens, smart girl, rough girl, fashion but you'll tough girl. You could sit with us, girl. Drama queen, drama queens, drama queens, drama queens, drama queens, drama queens.

Hello, everyone. Guys, it's such an exciting episode today. It's season eight, episode nine, between Amazing Grace and Raising Hell, which aired November 16th, 2010, our incredible Thanksgiving episode directed by Bethany Joy Lens. Hello, thank you very much. I freaking love this episode. Joy, do you want to tell our friends at home what it's about? Yes.

Yes. This is the Thanksgiving episode of season eight. it is uh it's the whole gang ends up at nathan and haley's house to spend thanksgiving with their friends and non friends and family and people they wish weren't family and all of the it's just the most fun you crushed it oh thank you and nicky shovelbane wrote it she did a great job too because this episode is such a special one it's not even just the three of us who get to walk down memory lane we have a friend coming to join us today producers will you bring her in who could it be who could it be don't dun dun dun dun

done done done i saw her face for a second i saw her face there she is friends family listeners the myth the legend the icon as rob buckley just said the national treasure sharon is here with us today welcome i am so excited to see you all together. It's very rare that in my life, I've been in the same room with all of you. As a matter of fact, I'm not even sure it's happened, even on One Tree Hill. No, on this episode, I believe it did. Well, were you briefly, though?

Yes, very, very, very briefly. But you must have been sitting at another Thanksgiving table because you had a wound. You had been, you were injured. He played football. He was in. injured. He was injured from being shot. Yes, I had been shot. And then Clay, I mean, we're jumping ahead, but when Clay and Quinn go home, when you think about the number of days and Joy, I wonder if you remember how many days we were in the Nathan and Haley House to do Thanksgiving

dinner, because obviously it was a lot of days. Rob, you probably were there for two days. You probably had a real nice schedule on this episode. I had forgotten how the episode played out. And so when Quinn shows up and she's like, let's get out of here. I was like, oh, did I have a light episode? Hey. Is it just going to be one scene in the bedroom after this for me? And it was. It was. Congratulations, sir. Thank you, everyone. Thank you, line producer. Joy, you did such a good job with this episode. It was so fun to watch. It was so damn funny. You had so many spinning plates. This episode was jam-packed, but I just, I want to start by just saying, like, you did an incredible job with it. Yes. Thank you so much. I'm really, I loved getting this episode put on

my plate. Pardon the pun. Thanksgiving. Okay, maybe it's not that good. I was really happy about this because, and I think maybe they knew I was the right director for it because I love props and I love choreography and the movement, the constant movement of things. And I was always really I have a very natural inclination toward physical memory. So whatever I do in a scene, I can repeat. It's like it's in my body. So I can repeat the exact movements on the exact line, on the exact word. I have a weird, like, memory glitch with all that stuff.

So I think maybe they gave it to me because they knew I could handle, like, all the different moving pieces. But it was not without its challenge. I mean, as natural as that came to me, that was a lot of. And there's so much to talk about with this episode. But I really want to say how excited I was particularly to direct Sharon because Sharon, I had never met you. I think I knew that you were in, but we didn't have any scenes together. And I was frothing at the bit because you are a legend. You've been in this industry.

You've had such an incredible, illustrious career and continue to. Guys, Sharon is the reason why I have my manager, by the way, because there was a point of time, like a couple years and I just really wasn't working. much. And I was like, you know who works more than anyone else I know? Sharon Lawrence. Who is representing her? That's wild. I took that meeting. And we have the same manager. Yeah, she's amazing. And Sharon, you're just incredible. So I would love to know, like, what, how this job came to you and what was appealing about it for you and what brought you down to Wilmington. It was an offer, which is lovely. and it was a character that I had started to begin to play

these sort of monster-in-laws, the polish pain in the ass and I, for me it was, I enjoyed those kinds of roles. I still do because they typically are there in the show to change the temperature, to create another vibe. It's what I do on Joe Pickett as a matter. It's what I did on Dynasty. They all have a different profile to them. But I enjoy knowing that I can come in and be asked to sort of hit, hit some trick moves.

And by that, I mean, just change the temperature in whatever way it requires, whether it's someone who is mercurial. or someone who is, can be many different things in a short period of time, shift within a condensed period so that you can't necessarily know if this person is one you're going to, if you're going to be on their side or not. If you have an ambivalence about them because they are not, they might be one note on the page, but I like to play what they call the blue notes, which are, that in jazz, it's what isn't the notes that aren't there. So that's fun for me. On NYPD Blue, I was required to be a good woman.

And it was great. That was a great way to break into television because people trusted me. They trusted what I was going to bring to certain roles. And then I got a chance to change it up and be somebody who don't know if you can trust. And for an actor, you understand that's fun. because ultimately what you want to do is be able to just be layered, create a person who's layered because that's more interesting anyway. The way that you played Sylvia with all those layers becomes an extremely generous thing

for you to do as an actor because what it does is highlight the other layers in different characters that we don't normally get to see, particularly in this episode with Victoria, there's something about who Sylvia is that gives Victoria permission to explore a different part of her personality that was really surprising to me to see, even as a director on set, but going back years later and watching it back, I was so surprised. Well, and particularly because Brooke and Victoria are budding heads in such an intense way, and Victoria's just said, we don't need to talk. And Brooke's like, fine, I thought I had a mom and I guess I don't.

the heightened fight, Sylvia stepping in as an ally for Victoria, actually lets Victoria be more gentle. Yeah, instead of, I see you. Yeah, instead of us just screaming at each other, you give her a soft place to land. And so she softens. And what you're making me realize, which I hate to say I hadn't really thought of until this moment with you,

is that you essentially got brought in to place. this woman for the same reason I got brought in as Brooke. It was to stir the pot. It was to cause conflict and be a pain in the ass to these established people. So, you know, they added me in episode two. And then Brooke and Julian hit this point where we need his mom to come in and cause conflict in our house. And I'm like, oh my God, of course Sylvia drives Brooke crazy because they're so similar. And then that you become friends with my mom who I, in this moment hate, like in this crazy way as an adult reflecting, I'm seeing a whole thing that while I was having the time of my life with you and Daphne, I don't even think I saw

then. And if I may, because you all are, I've played your mothers or your mother-in-laws now since the beginning of the all three of ours, right? Yes. Yes. Bob's on the Hallmark hit movies The Christmas House as a good woman and joy and points out as for Christmas as a good woman

and of course yours Sophia the mother-in-law in One Tree Hill and what I think most people who I realize that they're watching

your show you all realize too that women your age are watching them as mothers they were younger women when you watch or younger people when they watched.

And now Rob, as parents, they're watching. So they, I believe, you're at the show's fans can perhaps have a more gracious understanding of the parents in that show, the authority figures of that show, who weren't just someone to push against or to misunderstand or to try to break free from. When you see in this episode that these two middle-aged women are seated at the kids' tape, basically, you know, but are letting themselves relax, not necessarily help, except when we put the fire out with the fire extinguisher. Which we got to talk about. Oh, my go. Yeah.

We'll get there. And skipping on day drinking, I should say, just day drinking. They've earned it. they have they they have earned it and they need to to be careful that they don't forget how their input and impact is still influencing people you know we we're looking at the generation ahead of us to see how they're doing it and is day drinking a good idea in your what we were I think both Daphne who we'd work together we were in class together and Larry Moss is acting class together and then we'd done any series so we were also part of the

environmental movement had bonded us so I think we were in our 40s then maybe fabulous women drinking in the day women that age have to be careful we can't just anesthetize ourselves So even though there's a compassion that I hope we recognize for that generation of characters in the show, it's also a tale about how do you want to, how do you want to be in your, when you're the parents of your grown kids? It's to your credit and Daphne and a lot of the other adult actors on the show, I think, in large part, why the show is still resonating because so many of the kids. kids that were our age when we were airing are now in their adulthood enjoying the adult

storylines because they weren't just figures to push against because you actually brought in all these extra layers that as an adult I can really enjoy the adult storylines now more than I enjoy the kids' storylines even because I can relate to it. Yeah. And who can sit around in the afternoon and drink a but it's Thanksgiving. Yeah. Only I had an alcohol problem. She did. Yeah. that's true yeah that's real and it's not even that's subtle you know it's not a story but it's there and and i yeah oh they wrote it for a reason and i think it's important and i'm glad that they i'm glad that we're able to talk about it now yeah it may look different but native culture is very alive my name is nicole garcia and on burn sage burn bridges

we aim to explore that culture. It was a huge honor to become a television writer because it does feel oddly, like, very traditional. It feels like Bob Dylan going electric that this is something we've been doing for a hundred of years. You carry with you a sense of purpose and confidence. That's Sierra Taylor Ornelis, who with Rutherford Falls

became the first native showrunner in television history. On the podcast, Burn Sage, Burn Bridges, we explore her story, along with other native stories, such as the creation of the first Native Comic-Con or the importance of reservation basketball. Every day, Native people are striving to keep traditions alive while navigating the modern world, influencing and bringing our culture into the mainstream.

Listen to Burn Sage Burn Bridges on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. One of the things that I think is interesting, too, is to see the sort of level of success in career and life of these two women of Sylvia, of Victoria. Sylvia now, as I watch this back, would be my definition of a high functioning addict, you know. She makes everything look great. And then you go like, is it or even? Or is she just having a moment? Because, you know, she's finally got kids in their 20s and she can have.

have drinks with the kids. And isn't that what parents, you know, talk about when their kids are little? Like, wouldn't it be crazy when I have a beer with my son someday kind of thing? And you, you did it in a way where you constantly, as an audience member, go, maybe it's a lot. Maybe it isn't. Maybe she got over-served at the wedding expo, or maybe she wanted to. And it's a credit to the way you play her. And again, to this sort of moment that we're all going, oh, we get things. now that we didn't get then, even when you and I have our moment at the door when Victoria leaves and you say, I just want everyone to be happy, that resonates for me in a way that I don't think I could have seen it then where despite whatever's gone on in the family or whatever's gone on

in the chosen family, which is the friend group and people are having a hard time, but they still really love each other and they're going to work it out and you're going to fight it out because you've done it for 20 years, whatever it is, like you might just have a really hard day and you might just want to have a really nice day where people don't fight and where we can put the differences aside and show up to the thing.

And I think you just understand how long life is in your 40s in a way that you don't in your 20s. And I love that as much as Nikki wrote this incredibly poignant, hilarious episode that gave us all so much to do. And I mean, oh my God, for me and Joy, who both love a prop, to your point. Oh, yeah.

Choreography, bubbling pots, glasses, flour. Oh, my physical comedy. I have so many notes about that. Like my favorite thing to get to do, and then I got to do it with you, and I remember being in the kitchen and being like, and then we're going to come over here, and then we're going to come over here.

Like, it did feel like a dance show. There's so much comedy. And under it, there's this really beautiful life stuff that's really, it's not like we have to hit, you know, beat a dead horse or whatever that phrase is. It just simmers through the whole episode. And I think you're right, Joy. I think it's why so many people in every phase of their lives feel seen by our show because even for us, we made it. And we're like, oh my God, I didn't see that then, but I see it now. Yeah, totally. It's cool. All right. We got to talk about, we're going to get physical comedy.

to talk about the fire extinguisher bit. I had to rewind it and watch it again because I, obviously, I know how great you are, Sharon, so I figured this was just a choice. When Sylvia runs out, she starts spraying it. And in the span of spraying the turkey, you make and break eye contact with Brooke three times. You counted.

And it's so perfect because it's like you're, still going, and you're like, are you going to stop me? It's this weird thing because it goes on to me. It felt like it went on too far, but the fact that you keep bringing attention back to Brooke was just so wonderfully awkward and fun. Like, almost like you were, maybe, is you taking a little pleasure in it now? Because it feels like three seconds too far, you know? It felt like, is this, this is what you want me to, this isn't, this is not what you

wanted. Oh, yeah. Well, first of all, I, I, I love. how silly the wardrobe was for this. And I think that's part of what made that, that she's already dressed before the turk, you know, already. Yeah, yeah. Ready to go. And wearing, wearing a shrug, by the way. You were wearing a shrug? Uh-huh. It's a little half sweater that, you know, comes only to hear, but covers up your arms. Yeah. Right. It's a shrug. It's so 80s. I remember loving those in the 90s. Those are Fiona Apple's, like, favorite.

and a skirt um she's going someplace she hasn't been before right so she's and she's very excited she's overly excited i think and in heels which changes the physicality of every year when you're doing something like that it's it you feel um almost like a badass but not quite And I think that's what was showing up in that, the fact that she's going to be the hero here. I am going to fix what Brooke is always going to break. I will always fix it. And I can do it wearing my silk blouse and healed. Yeah.

And she's certainly not a cook, but she's been criticizing Brooke the whole time, right? With the apple pie. Justifiably so, though. Justifiably so. with the apple tart. The apple pie. I said the delivery on that was so good. Is that an apple peel?

Oh, that's interesting. I hope no one chokes. Okay, bye. Yeah, so she's not straight up mean, but she has an opinion and she notices everything. I think she prides herself on noticing everything. And the fact that she knew where their fire extinguisher was. Uh-huh. How many people in your lives that don't live in the household have figured that?

That struck me as odd that someone with such a good eye as Brooke would have a fire extinguisher in open visibility, like an open eyesight. Like, it felt like I would have just guessed at Brooks House. It would have been in a cabinet somewhere. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, we should have done that. Well, it was accessible for the three shot. I wonder what that stuff was that we breathed in.

You know, you have to, the safety. factors of that is my favorite was the three shot of us staring at it looking at it like an american gothic gone back exactly and i loved the beat of quiet before austin who who committed again hats off to him he commits to the bit so hard that he's just the most precious person all of us looking at it and knowing we have to replan our whole day and he just says maybe we can scrape it off And that's where you see you and I, you and I fully agree. We both just go, boom. It's just like a perfect moment.

Also, the way that I didn't even realize it was happening until a bit in that it was perfectly contrasting Brooke and Haley, like their domestic abilities. I didn't realize it's like the second time that it went immediately back to back where Haley is so calm, so in her element, so in control. And then it goes back to Brooke, which is hilarious because Brooke is normally very poised, very aware and in control. And she is wildly out of her depth. Putting apple peels and tarts. It's so fun to see, though, the level of commitment. You committed fully as well. I mean, you were just rushing around like your hairs and your face.

You had the glasses, which I loved this element of the glasses, which, you know, have we even seen broken glasses before? I don't know. But it worked 100%. And the gloves. The dress made me very happy. I'm going to do a callback here, which is not about this show. But the gloves give it a level of accessibility. They're awkward, but they are very relatable.

And on NYPD Blue years ago, actually, when Andy proposes to Sylvia on, and that's the other Sylvia, I played. How weird. I played two, yes. I know. I was wondering if they named you Sylvia on this as sort of like a nod. Homage. Yeah. Maybe. It's just a weird, weird thing.

Yeah. We're, Sylvia Costas, in my Pedy Blue, is doing the dishes. No longer work clothes, but I have an apron on and gloves. The rubber gloves. Rubber gloves. And that's when he proposes. Oh. And it's so sweet, that domestic life that we all. relate to, no matter how nice our kitchen is or not, whether it's a palace or a galley, that just

speaks to something in our culture. It's such a lovely moment for Brooke, too, because just the season that she's in, of exploring totally new parts of herself, her personality, like, okay, I'm going to branch out and do something very different. I love Julian in this, too, the way he just sort of stays out of your way and gives you the space to explore. There was something about fluffy salad. Another line he threw over his shoulder that I love. I love this whole back and forth, but jello salad, fluffy salad and Ambrosia, which are all the same thing. Maybe the same thing. Maybe they're not. Sharon, I don't know. You're Southern. Tell us, is there a difference? Absolutely are. They

involved canned fruit typically. If you're going to make it, it's usually canned fruit that you've drained some of the syrup off of, if you don't want it as sweet, and jello and cool it. And another reason I said yes to the offer to do entry hills is because I'm from North Carolina. Yeah. I got to go home for three months because that's pretty much how long I was in the show and be on the coast. And I know, as we say, sort of white trash southern food and that's. And it's because it is accessible. There are ingredients that you can keep in your pantry.

Is it regional, whether you call it Fluffy Salad, Jello Salad, or Ambrosia? Oh, let's not also forget that it's also called Pink Charlene by Skills, who is making essentially the same. And green stuff. And green stuff, you say, which, by the way, that runner is so freaking funny, that green stuff is like the panacea for everyone. Yes. And that you hit me with it. And I'm like, is that a money joke? Like, it's such a good, this, this, this regional thing, which then, it also is interesting, because to your point, Sharon, it's, it's a southern commonality in a kitchen, but every family has their own nicknames for things.

Yeah, where does that come from? I just think it's a really sweet runner about what everybody does. And of course, Victoria's going to call it Ambrosia, because it's fancy. Well, we called it Ambrosia in Jersey. But in Texas, it was. was fluffy salad. But I don't know in North Carolina, it's jello salad here, just that last Thanksgiving, somebody brought green stuff jello salad. And nobody called it fluffy salad or Ambrosia. No. People in California say jello salad. Well, you can also make a jello mold with the fruit in it that doesn't have the cool whip. So it's not, it's the bright green like, like his beautiful green sweater today, rather than the light green, which is because you've added.

What did you grow up calling it, Sharon? Ambrosia. If it had the whipped cream, it was Ambrosia. Because it didn't look up, right? That whipped cream makes it more, it's just lighter than... More genteel? Gentile. And I'd like to think that Pink Charlene was also what Skills was thinking of Sylvia, because my hair was red.

I'm obsessed with this. It's flirtation, which hilarious. So good. And all the boys lined up to play cornhole. So when he walks in and sees you and you guys are throwing the looks and Julian's like, what? All the boys are like, oh, yeah, he's done this before. And I never realized, like, until that moment, how badly I really, really wished Barbara had been there too because we needed way more scenes with the three of you guys. Where is Deb, by the way?

When was the last time we saw her? Did she go somewhere? I don't know. Like, she's been gone for a while. I don't feel like we've seen her in this season, have we? No. When was, literally when was the last time we saw Deb? Have we seen Dan yet this season?

No. Don't think so. Definitely not. All right, so that was weird. That's weird. You do get Gregory Harrison. You get Paul finally getting to act with Greg because we are friends from way back and friends again from environmental stuff, He'll the Bay, which will know my passion for

here in California, but we just water an ocean conservation in general. And how he entreat were Treat Williams, who played Rob and My's father, I mean, Rob and the Christmas House movies, they were friends. So, so great. They talked about each other, you know. Small world. Yeah, yeah. It was so sweet. It may look different, but native culture is very alive. My name is Nicole Garcia, and on Burn Sage, Burn Bridges, we aim to explore that culture. It was a huge honor to become a television writer because it does feel oddly, like, very traditional. It feels like Bob Dylan going electric, that this is something we've been doing for a hundred of years.

You carry with you a sense of purpose and confidence. That's Sierra Teller Ornellis, who with Rutherford Falls became the first native showrunner in television history. On the podcast, Burn Sage Burn Bridges, we explore her story, along with other Native stories, such as the creation of the first Native Comic-Con or the importance of reservation basketball. Every day, Native people are striving to keep traditions alive while navigating the modern world, influencing and bringing our culture into the mainstream. Listen to Burn Sage, Burn Bridges, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you guys want to go in order of the episode? Because the next stuff we have is like Chase. Yes.

Let's get into that because I wanted to ask you about that. I got to say, that is, I was surprised at how invested and entertained I was watching Chase be by himself in an empty bar, keeping himself entertained. He was so good. So I was curious. Like, was that fun to shoot? I mean, did you, did you just sort of let him rip? How was it? So fun.

Yeah, it was so fun. A lot of this episode, what I prefer to do as an actor and what I hoped that you guys enjoyed was I'd like to just show up and say, like, where do you guys want to be? Like, tell me where you want to be in the room and then we'll put lights up. And if something's going to really make life complicated, then I'll tell you. But otherwise, like, let's just do this a few times and see where everybody in. hands up. Um, so with, with, um, Stephen, because it was just him, it was really fun to just be able to say, like, we have to make each moment here a little bit different. So it's not

just the same thing over and over. Um, and obviously there was some written in, but, uh, he is so reliable as an actor to, to know that he's not going to do a schick or a bit. He's not looking for the laugh. He's not a needy actor. So when the camera's on him, he's just in the moment and doing whatever he's feeling. And it all pops out to me. It was like, just put the camera on him and let him go. And he showed up. He turned up. The amount of dust on the bottle that he pulls down from that shelf was like somebody did drywall work on the ceiling of the bar and it only fell on that bottle. I don't know what happened. It was like he unearthed a relic in Indiana Jones in the temple. It was like it was the oldest. It was a comedic amount of dust. And what's hilarious is you can see everything else around the bottle is perfectly clean. It was like he picked up a bottle from 1525. Yes. And brought it back. I mean, it was so much dust. It has to be my fault. I just don't know what I said. Like maybe because I was watching on the monitor and the monitor is so small. And I was like, I can't see the dust. This is what I feel like probably happened, is that I was like, I can't see the dust. Can we add more? And I just didn't understand that I was going to see a lot more. Right. Because now we're watching it all in the updated 4K. And you're like, oh, oh, goodness. It has to be my fault. Oh, God. The DP, Peter Kowalski, he didn't stop you.

He might have. He might have tried. I also might have just been like, no, like, she's unstoppable. You know, Pete's also so sincere and supportive that, you know, if I had been excited about this thing with the dust, he might have just been like, just give her more dust, whatever. Let her have a. You're right. Honestly, I kind of loved it. It gave me that vibe of like an extinct spirit, you know, something that was really important. And to your point, watching Stephen is so fun.

And it gave me, you know, when you look at your friends and you have those. sort of out-of-body moments where you're like, God, I'm so proud. And I don't mean that to be annoying. I'm not like your mom. But I remember how nervous Stephen was when we first started working together in the Clean Teen storyline. Yes. I mean, just there were things that terrified him. And he was such a sweet addition to our little crew. And, you know, we all had the best time together. And I had this weird out-of-body experience when he committed to that turkey walk and gobble in this sequence. And I was like, look at this kid. He's so in his body. He's so at ease. He's leaning into every joke and just being free. And I was like, God,

this is really, this is so cool. Like, we literally grew up together. Yeah. I just love it. He learned so much and he grew so much. And it was really fun to watch him in this episode. That vocal gobble that he did With Tim McKinney standing behind him Beyond Very impressive Stephen is a man of many talents I just love that Nikki

Thought of having a bartender On Thanksgiving be so bored First of all, why is trick open on Thanksgiving It's another story I guess But why But the fact that she thought of having a bartender Come up with Thanksgiving Meals in a glass

Like drinks in a glass, yeah, meals in a glass. The stuffing, oh, so good. There is a little beat and you almost missed it, but it came out of the Millie Marvin and Skills storyline where mouth alludes to the fact that Chase isn't coming because he wanted people who were alone on Thanksgiving to have somewhere to go. Which is so sweet because it gives you this button of like, oh, that's really nice. you know, he just, he just, he's newly single and sad, his heart's broken. He's going to go open the bar for the other lonely folks. And then it's just him. It's like, it's such a hat on a hat in a good way of the fact that Chase is literally the only person who is alone right now. And then literally the one guy that shows up who walks right back out. Tim McKinney was our,

he was one of our stunt coordinators, right? Or like the lock that was he. Effects. Thank you. Yes. Oh my gosh. I mean, what a, what a good old boy. And. It was really fun having him in. He's one of them guys talks like this. He's like real, you know, he's real south, southern. And I loved that he'd never been on camera before he just walked in and stared at him. And the fact that this is the lonely guy in town who's like, I'm not even, I'm not lonely enough for this. Yeah.

I'm out. I'm like, never mind. I also, fun fact about Tim, just the sweetest man who was the one who taught us all about every sort of North Carolina wildlife from. like the weird insects to like the things you wanted to avoid in the water. He just was an encyclopedia of the local natural world. And Tim is the person who back then made me know that someday I wanted to become a beekeeper because Timmy used to bring his honey into work. And I started picking his brain about beekeeping. And he's the reason that I finally did it. Oh, I love that. Sweet man. Who is the one who would bring?

I bring moonshine because I got some moonshine from one of the crazy. Oh, yeah. No, we're not allowed to say. Scratch that. I still have two jars left, Sharon. Still. Oh, and people ask, they're like, can I? And I'm like, don't touch it.

Don't touch it. I'm hoarding the last of the supply. I like imagining the next time something so special and big happens in your life. And everyone's sending you really expensive champagne and fine wines. in like 40-year-old whiskies. And they're like, what are you going to open? And you're like, I have a mason jar in my garage with some moonshine that I've been saving. Peach moonsh.

Is it in the blue bottles? Like the little water bottles? I have two of the small size mason jars with the screw tops left. And one's blueberry and one's peach. I got that much. I was over there for a few months. I feel like it came in a, in a, it was glass. Thank God.

whatever it was, it was glass. He knew to do that. Uh-huh. Yeah. You know, something that I want to mention when you're talking about the natural world, one of the things that gave me such joy watching it again and made me remember about it because I've had a recent experience with it, that beautiful coastline, that coastal waterway, football game happens.

That location. That exterior peers and the trees with the moths, the trees with the mons, on the men. What time of year did we film it? Was it the fall? Or was that? I feel like it was, yeah, like summer was headed out. I don't remember us being exceedingly warm that day.

The weather was perfect. It couldn't have been better. Oh, yeah. Victoria turned around when she was leaving prison and there were beautiful trees in their foliage behind her. Yeah. Yes. Well, if you think about it, you know, we started shooting in July.

And, like, mid-July, because it was always, I always had to fly back, like, the day after my birthday. So I'd travel, usually the ninth, that we'd start on the 10th or 11th. And then this episode aired November 16th. So, you know, every week we got closer and closer to the air dates, because we'd start airing in September. So I would think we filmed this mid-September, early October. And kudos to you joy because that house and that property, Nathan and Haley's house, was so stunning. And I feel like it was criminally underutilized. It was like we would get as far as the pool and never any farther.

And I love that you did the steady cam walk and talk of Nathan and Haley, where I believe they end up walking out onto the dock. So you really get the full scope of how big and beautiful that yard is. Yeah. Oh, thanks. there was so much that we, because it was a stacked episode with so many people, as often as I could rope a lot of shots into, yeah, like as much as I could put into a condensed moment, like one study cam shot, like even the opening with the plates on the table and everything. I was like, we just have to do this in one. We don't have time for everything else. Yeah. Because it was.

It was a lot of stuff. But it was such a cool way to Rob's point. You had to be efficient because, you know, shooting a football game is a nightmare. But that walk-and-talk used the space and one of the kind of gags of, you know, a show like ours, Nathan and Haley's house, including the pool for our friends at home, was built on stage. Yeah. So so often when we filmed on their patio,

you never saw the yard because we weren't there. We had to rent that house and move the family out into a hotel every time we filmed there. So the fact that we had probably, I don't know, four or five days outside meant we actually got to see it. And it really is, you know, to your point, Sharon, it's so breathtaking and that golden light that starts in the fall and the water behind everyone. I mean, there's a shot on Kate Vogel and, you know, her and Jana are fighting as Mia and Alex. And I know I'm supposed to be caught up in the drama. and I'm just like, wow, look at the water behind her.

She was gorgeous. Look at the lawn. And I was like, oh, my God, stop doing that. Rewind and watch the scene. But I got lost in it. Our show was so much about the town, like that Wilmington really was a character in the story when we started. And, you know, eight seasons in, I think, and we had so many directors that would come in and they were doing their, they were doing good work. but it was all focused on us and so much interior stuff.

And I think that I'm just really glad any chance that we got to spend time outside on camera in Wilmington because I missed it. I missed seeing the town as a character. And I didn't realize how much we had been missing it until you see it in all its glory in episodes like this and some others that I think are coming out. It's so cool.

It's all that you got that many good days of weather in a row that you could count on, you know, because the weather is changing then and the storms and the rain will come up. So you have, you're blessed by the directing gods, as you should be. And I'm going to take this moment right now to say, which I should have started with, congratulations to all of you for your interest in directing in film is made. How I was so proud to know that you all, that I got to work with you, Sophia, as a director in the Halloween episode. And, of course, you, because my work with women in film years earlier was all about that happening. So I just want to shout it out that the show delivered on what my generation of women was really working for and hoping for.

We see the results and you all did us proud. So thank you. Oh, thanks. That's great. Thank you. All right, King. Here's the deal. You don't get National Treasure Sharon Lawrence and not talk for hours on end.

which is exactly what we did. So we're going to cap this off here and come back for another episode, chock full of Sharon Lawrence, Grace, behind-the-scenes stories, and all kinds of goodness. Hey, thanks for listening. Don't forget to leave us a review.

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