'A Million Little Things': Creator DJ Nash says a friend's suicide inspired the show and was a 'wake-up call'
Spoiler alert for 'A Million Little Things' Season 2
For DJ Nash, the story of 'A Million Little Things' is personal. In his younger days, the creator used to have a friend who he lost to suicide. And even though he says he was not close to the friend, the suicide affected him deeply.
"There is not a day that goes by when I don't think about that," he tells MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) at the red carpet for the screening and conversation for the series at The Paley Centre for Media.
"It was a wake-up call to go 'how are you going to live differently?', 'how are you going to make sure this [suicide] doesn't happen'."
Yet for a comedy sitcom writer, creating the show was important, even if it came with challenges. "When you're a comedy writer, they don't let you in the drama world, and when you're a drama writer, they don't let you in the comedy world. I was like, 'I don't know I'm going to write this thing.'"
And thus was born 'A Million Little Things'. Revolving around a group of friends who are forced to rethink life after one of them commits suicide, the show holds a special place for fans.
Ron Livingston plays the role of Jon Dixon, a seemingly happy, content man, who commits suicide. And while the actor has been absent for most of Season 2, the creator says he will be present in one of the upcoming episodes titled, 'One Year Later', when Jon will make an appearance.
"[Jon's] story is still not done. It will continue to affect them just as deeply as my friend's death affects me... 'One Year Later' commemorates the one-year anniversary of him taking his life and Ron is in the whole episode. He's probably in it more than any other character."
Is Season 3 on the horizon? The creator doesn't say so, but Jason Ritter tells us that the two have had some discussions on the possibilities.
'A Million Little Things' airs on Thursdays at 10/ 9c on ABC. You can watch the entire video below:
