One of my favorite moments last month during our Queen of Katwe press trip in Los Angeles was our visit to the set of The Real O’Neals. (Tuesdays at 9:30 on ABC) I “discovered” this show by accident one day when I was in bed under the weather. I ended up binge-watching the entire season and laughing out loud even though I was hurting.
The show is about an Irish Catholic family with a mother that wants to appear “perfect” but is divorcing, and centers around their son, Kenny, who just came out of the closet. ….that summary sentence did the show no justice.. my bad.
When I found out we were visiting the set I was soooo geeked. Everything is so well done on the show, from the writing to acting and directing, down to the wardrobe and sets. I was pumped to meet the people who make it all happen.
Walking through the O’Neals’ house was surreal for me.
We were on set when they were preparing for their Christmas episode. We learned that they are always several weeks ahead on production. The cast and crew will work for a week on one episode and then move on to the next, but they always have a few episodes buffer between what’s airing and what’s being worked on.
The other bloggers and I went all up in the set! I felt like the O’Neals adopted Jamaican daughter.
We were given a thoughtful and super informative tour by one of the producers. We lucked out and got to meet Matt Shivley and Bebe Wood who play Jimmy and Shannon on The Real O’Neals. They were very cute and sweet, cracking jokes and hanging with us mombloggers. It was nice seeing those two interact, they seemed sibling-ish even in real life. They both seemed to be very smart too. I knew Matt had to be smart since his character on the show is so dumb...er….interesting. 🙂
We got some details about the coming season and saw all the different areas that the cast shoots. They took us to the green screen that was set up for one of Kenny’s little imagination scenes. (spoiler alert: it’s a lil 80s ‘let’s get physical’ video style! Keep an eye out for it this season)
Tune in to the Real O’Neals tonight at 9:30 to catch all the hilarity. Here’s a quickie if you’re not familiar with the show.
Real O’Neal’s is at the end of a night-long comedy fest on ABC. Starting wtih The Middle at 8pm, American Housewife at 8:30, and Fresh Off the Boat at 9pm. Check out ABC on demand if you want to bingewatch seasons of these shows too. That’s always a great way to spend a lazy afternoon.
Will you be watching The Real O’Neals tonight?
Everything is so well-arranged .so well done on the show, from the writing to acting and directing. it would be great to have some wonderful moments there