The breakout Peacock hit “Girls5Eva” is dialing up the funny for Season 2, adding veteran comedy actors Amy Sedaris and Neil Flynn.
Sitting down at Variety‘s SXSW Studio in Austin, Texas, on Saturday, series creator Meredith Scardino revealed that the beloved Sedaris and Flynn will star as the parents of Busy Philipps’ character Summer Dutkowsky — one of the members of the titular girl group fighting for a comeback.
Sedaris is best known for her iconic Comedy Central series “Strangers With Candy,” as well as dozens of memorable film and TV roles in work like “Broad City” and “Maid in Manhattan.” She was also Emmy-nominated for her crafting series “At Home With Amy Sedaris.”
Flynn co-led the long-running ABC sitcom “The Middle,” which earned him a Critics Choice nomination. He was also a recurring mainstay on “Scrubs.” His film credits include playing Lindsay Lohan’s father in “Mean Girls,” “Major League” and Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Magnolia.”
Scardino was joined in-studio by her lead cast: Philipps, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Sara Bareilles and Paula Pell.
When we last saw the women of “Girls5Eva,” they’d rocked a local Jingle Ball concert with their eponymous hit, which Scardino said provides a glimmer of professional hope for the next batch of episodes.
“The bet paid off, because somebody in the crowd noticed them and gave them a small record deal. So this season is about them making their first album on their own terms,” she said.
The group also gave credit for the show’s alchemy to executive producer Tina Fey, who was invaluable in putting the cast together. “She was the first one who mentioned Sara in the role of Dawn, and she had worked with Renée on her movie ‘Sisters.’ We were big fans of Paula and Busy, too,” said Scardino. “It was Tina helping make the phone calls.”
That call, Philipps said, was one she almost missed.
“I almost didn’t call her back. It was truly a day, and there was a kerfuffle where a Postmate forgot my tortillas. So I walked to the corner bodega to get tortillas and remembered there was someone I had to call back,” the actor said. “Tina said, ‘I’m so glad you called me, we’re trying to figure out this thing by tomorrow.’”
“Girls5Eva” Season 2 hits Peacock on May 5.