EXCLUSIVE | 'United We Fall' star Christina Vidal says her onscreen daughters are the 'most professional ever'
As more television networks rely on borrowing foreign shows to keep their audiences entertained, some have been lucky with pre-shot brand new shows that just couldn't quite make it to the 2019-2020 segment. For ABC however, things have blown up with its new sitcom 'United We Fall' that brings the comedic genius of Will Sasso to the screen, accompanied by a snarky, smug Jane Curtin and a fiery Latina mom-of-two played by Christina Vidal.
It's your regular lighthearted sitcom, with Sasso and Vidal playing Bill and Jo, a married couple and parents of two daughters below the age of seven. Testing and trying in the journey of parenting, while the couple discover they might not be all that horrible at it, they are also met with ample criticism from Curtin's Sandy, Bill's eagle-eyed, high maintenance mother who lives with them, along with Jo's equally judgmental brother Chuy. And if Vidal is to be asked, Sasso's "incomparable" comedic genius and "impressive" child co-stars are some of the biggest highlights of her experience.
"So much good character experience," is the first thing Vidal reflects about playing Jo in the sitcom. MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) caught up with Vidal who has just had a baby, and whom you might remember as the lead vocalist from Lindsay Lohan's garage band in 'Freaky Friday'. Since then, Vidal has dabbled in music and continued in comedy as she believes, "I get it, the energy of comedy. I'm just very comfortable there for some reason. I like to keep it light and I just want to laugh and have fun and make people laugh." Perhaps why Vidal, who would like to explore a single-camera comedy someday, went ahead with the ABC sitcom as her comeback to television.
"I've always wanted to be on a sitcom," she enthuses, about what drew her to the show. "I love the writing. I love the genre," she explains, stepping into the shoes of her character Jo who works at the family construction business and is an active full-time mommy to her two daughters, Emily and Lulu. For the added zhush is the character's whole fiery Latinaside where big family and an overbearing brother are the butt of all jokes from Sasso's sassy Bill's side. For Vidal however, it is the impeccable chemistry she and Sasso share onscreen that gets things really going for the sitcom.
"We had chemistry from the very beginning," Vidal tells us, adding how it's been they both "kind of hoped we get to do it," after their first table read. "Just being on set with him," is an experience Vidal adds, explaining how "he just does a really good job of thinking of the angles that I don't think of, and setting me up to be funnier than I am. I think he just gets it, you know?" Anybody who's watched the new comedy does, amirite?
The other big bonus of playing the character are Vidal's three young co-stars who play her daughters, Emily and Lulu. Emily is played by seven-year-old Ella Grace Helton, who Vidal says is the most professional actor ever. "She (Ella) actually called Will and I mom and dad offset," Vidal reminisces, adding "So she really stays in character. She's very professional." Her other daughter Lulu is played by identical twins Ireland and Sedona Carvajal, who, along with Helton "are just really good about keeping you in the moment and connecting with you. They let you do whatever's going to make the scene. They're very open to play, which is impressive for such young kids."
As for what's to come in the following episodes of the sitcom's debut season, Vidal warns us beforehand "I'm so bad at this because I don't want give anything away, but what can I think of what's coming up?" She manages just fine, teasing "More of the sweet couple and their history and relationship." Nicely handled, must say. But Vidal also continues to tease when asked about the prospects of another season. "They don't tell me anything!" Vidal quips, adding "I would probably be the last person to know that right now."
But she does bear the hope that another installment happens sometimes. "We're all excited and encouraged by how well the show is doing," Vidal gushes, also adding "It's a very interesting time right now, all over the world, but also in our nation and in our business. So we don't know what it's going to look like moving forward, but I certainly hope we get a second season." 'United We Fall' airs on Wednesdays at 8 pm on ABC.