AOL Interview With Christina Applegate

[JamesG]

Christina Applegate might be the busiest woman in Hollywood. Not only is she star and producer of ABC's Samantha Who?, but she's also starting a foundation for breast cancer research after having a double mastectomy last fall.

As if that's not enough to keep her busy, she has to keep American Idol on her radar. With Samantha Who? premiering at its new night and time (Thurs., March 26 at 8:30 PM ET), the show's up against Fox's reality competition ratings juggernaut. The bright side? The move puts Samantha a lot closer to one of Applegate's faves, Grey's Anatomy.

AOL TV got the exclusive scoop from Applegate on what's happening with Good Sam, Bad Sam, Todd, Andrea, Dena and the Newlys, if there's going to be a third season and why it's important to make lemonade when life hands you lemons. -- By Maggie Furlong




1. We're so happy the show is back!

I know! Hopefully people won't watch American Idol and they'll watch us instead. [Laughs] That's only like 50 million viewers …




2. How do you feel about starting on a new night and time after having been off the air for so long?

I have mixed emotions about it -- I'm really glad we're coming back obviously, but the unknown is always a very scary thing. You don't know how you're going to perform in that slot, and hopefully you do well, because we all want to keep our jobs.

I got very, very comfortable with my lead-in -- I was very happy there -- and so it's just the newness. It's like moving into a new house or something. But I'm a big Thursday-night TV watcher -- I love my Grey's Anatomy, so I'm happy to be kind of close to that. [Laughs]




3. Does it feel like a vote of confidence from ABC, to put you against Idol?

Yeah, that's how we're trying to look at it … hopefully that's what it is! I'm very positive about it. I think the shows are strong. Hopefully we'll come back next year and really kind of get a groove finally. It's been a little unfortunate with writers' strikes and things like that that our show never really got a momentum.




4. So have you gotten any word about a third-season pickup?

No, no. They're very hush-hush over there. Believe you me, I try to get it out of everybody as much as I possibly can. [Laughs] All I hear is just, "Be positive." Tough times -- with the economy, even networks have suffered immensely, so you just never know what's gonna happen.




5. This first episode back is a lot of fun, and we get to see an interesting twist to Andrea's budding relationship with basketball star Tony Dane. Will we be seeing a lot more of them?

Yeah, it's pretty fantastic. It's funny because despite what you think would happen with that relationship between Andrea and Tony, it actually goes on for a while. It's really funny -- she really works it. And she does a beautiful job in the next few episodes because there's a sadness to that too … to wanting that over love and loneliness. So [Jennifer] Esposito's got some amazing work coming up.




6. And she and all the other characters have had more one-on-one time with each other lately -- is the show focusing on being an ensemble in that way?

Well, finally we've gotten the show established, as far as what is the show about, and I think now we can get rid of that and really concentrate on these other characters, and that's what we've been trying to do. Get them interacting, instead of always just with me.

There's a lot of scenes that are gonna be coming up that it's just Andrea and Dena and no Sam. It's a really weird friendship -- it's kind of fantastic. [Laughs] I love that dynamic.




7. What TV couple do you think you and Todd are most like?

Every show has their Sam and Diane, and people love that. Like on Who's the Boss? Tony and the … you know? [Laughs] The sexual tension also can be misconstrued as hatred as well, and I think that's what works for the Todd-Sam relationship. That fire -- they don't really know what it is. Can they not stand each other? Or are they just madly in love? Whatever it is, they kind of butt heads, and when one turns their back on the other one, the other one tries to run after that one. It's always that push-and-pull.




8. You mentioned you love Grey's, so I'm assuming you're just as frustrated with the Meredith-Derek storyline, but who is your favorite TV couple?

Yes -- boy I was really mad at [Derek] when he hit that ring off into the bushes. [Laughs] That was mean! I don't like that at all. [Laughs] [But] I love Lucy and Desi.




9. What's the one storyline that you're really hoping you all get to do on the show?

Oh gosh … it'd be kind of funny to watch us all ice skate. I don't know if that's anything I've ever wanted to do, but now that I think about it … they need to teach Sam how to ice skate. She doesn't know how to ice skate.

Like the dance episode -- why couldn't she have been like an award-winning ice skater as well? Doing like triple salchows or whatever. [Laughs] But we'll definitely need [a stunt double] -- I can't ice skate.




10. Do you identify with either Sam -- Good or Bad?

You know, I do -- it's me, it's your soul, so you're in there. But my voice is so different than both of them. The way I walk is different than the two of them. So on the outside, just characteristics and the way they are physically is very foreign. It feels foreign to do.

There's a way that Good Sam walks in heels and a way that Bad Sam walks in heels -- it's completely two different things, and very different from the way that I walk and behave and conduct myself. I'm kind of an amalgamation of the two I think. Like confident yet completely idiotic at the same time. [Laughs]




11. How have your personal life and your work life changed since your breast cancer scare and double mastectomy?

You know, there's been a lot of things that have happened -- this was obviously an incredibly difficult year, not just because of that, but because I lost a good friend in the middle of it, and my cousin actually passed away in October from ovarian cancer.

So kind of a big year, and you can't help but change a little bit. But you know, on one hand there's all of that, and on the other hand I've fallen very much in love, so that's another thing that's happened. So there's a good end to every story.




12. And you were also doing good by getting involved to Stand Up 2 Cancer -- have you continued to try to spread awareness about the disease?

Yeah, I'm putting together my own foundation right now called Right Action for Women. I didn't realize how hard it was to put a foundation together -- my lord! [Laughs]

There's a lot that goes into it, and my brain is, like, not functioning in order to do it right now, but I'm working on it. And I'm hosting the Revlon Run/Walk and doing a couple of speaking things. I think that'll always kind of be a part of what people want out of me, is to talk about it, and I have no problem with that. Everything's already out on the table -- there's really not much more that I could even say.




13. What has been the most touching response to your candor throughout this time?

I was just on Good Morning America and Robin [Roberts] did my interview, and she's the person who did my first interview after everything. And during the break she said, "I need to tell you something really amazing -- this congresswoman is coming on here today because she's putting in this legislation to bring education to doctors to women who are under 40 about breast cancer, because they don't give them mammograms." She said that the reason she did it and decided to come out about her own breast cancer was seeing Robin and I last year doing our interview.

She had kept it a secret all these years, and now she's coming out with her own story and she's going to pass this bill. It's extraordinary. She put me in tears, this woman. You don't know, sometimes when painful things happen, how you can make something good out of it, and that's all I've tried to do really.




14. Angie Harmon is coming on and also Billy Zane, who'll be replacing Timothy Olyphant as Funk, your ex. What scoop can you give us about their roles?

Yes -- Tim [Olyphant] was busy. Damn Damages! [Laughs] But Billy is just really sophisticated. That boy is dressed when he comes in. His own clothes are nicer than mine -- like, a fedora. The man has it together! He's awesome, and really great to work with.

You kind of start to see what this relationship was -- seeing flashbacks between [Sam and Funk] -- and how Bad Sam really matched who he was and kind of controlled him. It's really fun to sort of explore all of that. But he's relentless. He wants Sam bad, and he's gonna do anything and everything he can -- whether good, bad or ugly -- to get her. She ends up working for the company again, but in a different capacity. And Angie plays his ex-wife.

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