Erika Henningsen, who grew up in the '90s, watched Mean Girls long before she played Cady Heron on Broadway. Now she's back for another collaboration with Tina Fey in the second season of Four Seasons, coming to Netflix.
«"I'm so lucky! This is my third project with her, and also my third project with Jeff Richmond, her husband—he wrote the music for 'Mean Girls,' 'Girls5eva,' and directed an episode—and it's just incredible," the actress told TheWrap. "I feel like they've seen me blossom as an actress, but they also know my quirks, insecurities, and neuroses that can get in the way, so they really know how to communicate with me to get the best results, and that's such a gift.".
«"I don't think anyone who obsessively watched 'SNL' and 'Mean Girls' in high school ever thought, 'You know who's going to be your biggest heroine professionally? Tina Fey,'" she added with a laugh. "'Mean Girls' was a staple of my high school life. I literally watched it once a week. And I'm completely serious. I'm not exaggerating, I really did watch it once a week... I just keep praying that I don't miss any of these wonderful opportunities it's given me.".
Henningsen plays Ginny in the comedy series alongside Will Forte, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Marco Calvani, Colman Domingo, and Fey, a group of friends still grieving the sudden death of their friend Nick, played by Steve Carell in the first season. Naturally, his presence is still felt in the new episodes.
«"I learned this from working with Steve, and also when Tina was my director: in theater, things can change a little from night to night, but you kind of agree on what the scene will be in rehearsal, and then your job is to bring it to life each night within the text," Henningsen explained. "I remember shooting the pilot, and I felt like I still approached it as theater. When I worked with Steve in the first season, and then when Tina was my director, things started to come up that made me realize that the great freedom of television is that I'm not an editor. All I have to do is give them as many options as possible, and that's a great freedom.".
«The cast has always been incredibly welcoming. Even though we're from different generations, they never wanted me to feel like an outsider, and they've treated me that way from the start,» she shared. «It's been wonderful filming with Kerry this season. We were kind of enemies in season one, so what's it like to be friends in season two? It's been really nice. I'm lucky because I'm an old soul at heart. This is the best cast I've ever worked with. Tina and I are reading the same book right now. My favorite thing is working with people over 50 who want to have dinner at 5:30 and be in their pajamas by 10.».
Additionally, it was revealed that the actors from Alan Alda's original 1981 film of the same name also enjoyed watching the remake.
«I really loved the movie and the character of Ginny, played by Bess Armstrong. After the first season, Bess wrote Tina a beautiful letter and simply said, „Thank you for keeping this character intact,“ so that in the movie, she wasn’t just this young archetype,» Henningsen recalls. «She has character, and she’s able to interact with people who are generations older than her without being meek or silly; she’s a real, multifaceted person, and I really loved that. I love that the movie showed that, and I love that it meant so much to Bess Armstrong in the »80s when women weren’t portrayed that way.”.
While we won't spoil all the secrets of season two just yet since it only dropped on Thursday, the Hazbin Hotel actress shared what she hopes viewers should take away from season two after binge-watching the episodes over the weekend.
«"I hope they understand how important it is to maintain friendships, even when you get married and have kids. My favorite scenes this season are some of the scenes between Colman and Tina because they remind me of me and my gay best friend, Gray [Henson], who played Damian in Mean Girls: The Musical," she said. "I just left New York for L.A., and there's a storyline in season two where Colman Domingo's character goes to Italy, and the friction that causes between friends is palpable.".
«"I thought, 'Yes, this is true, because our friends are as important to us as family, and if we don't nurture and protect those relationships, we're going to lose the person who knew us when we were that weird 21-year-old girl singing Barbra Streisand in the university auditorium,'" Henningsen concluded.
Both seasons of Seasons are now available to watch on Netflix.
The article "Erika Henningsen Reveals What She Borrowed From Steve Carell for Season 2 of 'Seasons'" first appeared on TheWrap. .