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Season 6 of TV Land’s Younger is back and better than ever! Liza (Sutton Foster) and Charles (Peter Hermann) are now openly dating, which was only possible after Charles stepped down as head of Empirical. Kelsey (Hilary Duff) is running the show at work, as Millennial is now the flagship imprint of Empirical, with Head of Marketing Diana (Miriam Shor) now her equal. And as for Nico Tortorella’s Josh? Instead of pining over Liza, Josh is dealing with his now-pregnant green card wife, Claire!
In addition to all the juicy, candy-coated drama, last night’s Season 6 premiere provided the ultimate service to its loyal fans: a climatic karaoke sequence at Marie’s Crisis (an institution for New York musical theater nerds) featuring Broadway legends Foster, Shor and former pop princess Duff. Decider recently spoke to Foster and Duff about that incredible number, what the true love story of the show really is, and their fascinating streaming habits.
With the news of Liza’s and Charles’s relationship and the more youthful direction that Empirical is moving in, Diana begins to spiral. Liza and Kelsey find her at her happy place—Marie’s Crisis—singing selections from La Cage Aux Folles. According to Foster and Duff, filming this memorable scene in the cramped quarters of the West Village location proved to be a challenge: “Imagine all of our equipment, and two cameras, and lots of extras and us,” said Duff. Foster added, “we got a little claustrophobic.”
Foster and Duff also dished on the choice of the anthem Liza and Kelsey use to convince Diana to give them a second chance—Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5″—and on the way the scene was filmed. According to Foster, the song was the “perfect choice to bring these three women together. And the lyrics, they tell the story.” While Shor’s Diana is allowed to fully use her golden pipes, Foster and Duff were not—on the orders of series creator Darren Star. According to Duff, “everyone’s been wanting us to sing, but [Darren’s] stuck to his guns that Liza and Kelsey can’t sing. But this was a really fun way to get around that and make it happen.” What’s even more glorious is that, per Foster, this scene sets the tone for the rest of the season: “it’s all about the women on top.”
Foster and Duff confirmed that the most important relationship on Younger continues to be Liza and Kelsey’s friendship. “I do think it’s the love story. They’re more of a team than ever,” said Foster. “The writers care so much about women’s relationships,” added Duff. “Liza is constantly boosting Kelsey, saying ‘you’re a boss, you’re a boss, you got this.’ It’s so sweet and that just doesn’t happen enough on television.”
Foster and Duff acknowledged that, as much fun as it is to see Liza and Kelsey as a united front, the Team Josh vs. Team Charles debate is forever on going. Even with Liza and Charles’s relationship in the open (along with the consequences), Duff is torn: “I’ve always been Team Josh, but I love seeing Charles unbuttoned and outside of work.” Foster merely shrugged: “I don’t know what I am,” but perhaps she is too close to make a final decision.
When they are not filming, Foster and Duff find the time to do a little binge watching. Foster revealed: “I watch A Million Little Things. I’m really good friends with James Roday, he’s on it.” And while both women watch This Is Us, Duff’s most recently has started watching Escape From Dannemora, saying succinctly, “Loved that. So good.” Of course, they both will watch Meryl Streep, Laura Linney and Jane Fonda in absolutely anything.
Both Duff and Foster are obsessed with their guilty pleasure show, The Bachelor. Foster confessed, “I was watching the finale while we were filming Younger. I was trying to watch it in the trailer and they would knock, and I was like ‘augh!'” And Duff has a lot of feelings about current Bachelorette, Hannah Brown, “I’m made so uncomfortable by her. That speech? The toast? What!” Foster seemed to agree, but allowed how, “she’s awfully cute and sweet!”
For a question about their greatest on-screen accomplishments so far, both actresses had to pause to think. Working with Amy Sherman-Palladino on Bunheads was huge for Foster: “Tackling all that dialogue was tough.” “I hope I haven’t had mine yet,” said Duff, despite her impressive body of work. Whenever Younger comes to end (which is hopefully never!), we’re sure both Foster and Duff will add it to the list of work they are proudest of!
