[Editor's note: The following contains spoilers for Season 3 of Somebody Somewhere.]
Summary
The HBO series 'Somebody Somewhere' follows Sam's journey of self-discovery through loss, friendship, and acceptance.
Season 3 focuses on evolving relationships, compromise, and family bonding moments.
The show, centered around the character of Sam (played by Bridget Everett), highlights the beauty of friendship, acceptance, and the continuum of life for its characters.
The HBO series Somebody Somewhere has followed Sam (Bridget Everett) on her journey of self-discovery through the laughs and the tears for three seasons. Coming to terms with loss in a hometown she wasn’t sure where she fit in, Sam has found the people who love and accept her for who she is and who also push her to be the best version of herself that she can be. It’s a beautiful story about the importance of friendship and connection and how, in order to truly love others in life, we must love and accept ourselves with all of our imperfections.
In Season 3, Joel (Jeff Hiller) moved in with Brad (Tim Bagley) and the two worked to find levels of compromise that they could both agree to. But building a life together means that Joel can’t always be there for Sam, so Sam spends some family bonding time with sister Tricia (Mary Catherine Garrison) before having a Thanksgiving to remember.
During this interview with Collider, co-stars Hiller and Bagley talked about how much they loved being a part of Somebody Somewhere and how proud they are of the series, how much they’re able to embrace change in their own lives, getting to explore the relationship dynamic between Joel and Brad, having Sam and Brad share such a beautiful moment together, the friendship between Sam and Joel, the Thanksgiving episode, and the continuum of life for these characters.
Jeff Hiller and Tim Bagley Are Deeply Grateful for the Gift of ‘Somebody Somewhere’
Collider: For three seasons, at its core, this show has really been about love and acceptance of others, but also of oneself. These characters are a mess in their own ways, but it would be great to have any of them in your life as a friend. What has it meant to both of you to be a part of putting something like that out into the universe and how hard is that to say goodbye to?
TIM BAGLEY: I love being a part of this show. I feel really lucky. I didn’t come on board until the second season, but I’d seen the whole first season and just loved it. And so, I was really excited. It’s hard to say goodbye to this experience because it was a joy to film. It’s just written so well, and the cast and crew all got along really well and it was very collaborative, so for me, it’s a difficult thing to move on from, but I like to think that these characters will continue on. I imagine that, as I go through my life, I’ll be thinking, “Oh, that could have happened to Brad and Joel.” I’ll see something and it’ll remind me of them. I’ll see something on a rack of clothes and think, “Oh, no, Tim, that’s too much like Brad. Don’t get that.”
JEFF HILLER: I feel so proud to be a part of this show. I feel like I would watch the show, even if I weren’t on the show. It’s my favorite job. I mean, what else would there be? I used to play characters that didn’t have names. They were just named Waiter, or whatever. I love what I got to do in this show and I’m gonna miss it terribly, but I’m also so shocked it happened at all. This does not seem like a show that normally gets made, and I feel such a deep, profound gratefulness that I got to be in this show. I got to play Joel, get to know Joel, and love Joel. I’m sad, but I’m really, truly feeling such gratitude too.
While it’s a shame that we won’t get any more 'Somebody Somewhere' after this, at least it concludes on the highest note imaginable.
There’s a lot of change happening for everyone this season. Do you guys embrace change? Do you handle change better or worse than your character does?
BAGLEY: That’s a good question.
HILLER: I do embrace change. My husband is like, “I could never move. It’s scary.” And I’m like, “I wanna move. Let’s find a new place.” And he wins. For instance, right now when I’m changing careers, as in I don’t know what I’m doing next, I’m a little scared, but it also feels like the opportunity for something new and exciting to happen too. So, I’m a little better at it than Joel, but that’s probably the only thing I’m better at than Joel.
BAGLEY: I think I’m like Brad, in that I do try to push myself through life and through things to grow. I do try to do that with myself, but it’s never easy. Some people just move forward very easily. I always feel like there are a lot of obstacles, but I still find the value in pushing myself beyond my comfort zone and growing.
Jeff Hiller and Tim Bagley Loved Getting To Explore Joel and Brad's 'Somebody Somewhere' Relationship
Image via HBO
I love that we really get to see how the relationship between your characters has evolved. They’re learning how to compromise over whether to leave an appliance on the kitchen counter or putting the dishes in the dishwasher in a way that the other one doesn’t like. What have you most enjoyed about finding who Joel and Brad are together and figuring that out as actors?
BAGLEY: It’s such a beautiful observation of life and figuring out how to blend as a couple. It was really fun to play all that and it felt really authentic. But I went home and I cleared away my kitchen counters. I had a lot of stuff out and I just thought, “You know what? Brad’s right.” I found places for everything in the cabinets and stuff, but I like not having all that clutter, and I would never have thought of that.
HILLER: That’s west coast privilege. As someone who lives in Manhattan, I do not have that choice. When I read that, I went to Paul Thureen, who’s one of the co-creators and also one of the writers of the show, and I said, “This is so wild. I also fight with my husband about how to do the dishwasher. He thinks everything is top shelf only.” And he said, “Everybody fights about the dishwasher, Jeff.” I think what that points to is that this is such a universal thing. How do you work with somebody else? How do you mesh? How do you create a relationship, instead of there being just two separate people? It’s something that we all experience and we never see in film or television. It’s a story that is so relatable. We all feel like, “That’s spooky, that’s just like me.” No one has ever gone there because it’s so minute and so universal, but that’s also why it’s beautiful. It’s not a relationship with two 25-year-olds who are leaving the dorms and moving in together. This is two people who have lived long lives before they got together.
BAGLEY: And clearly, Brad had a better piano, but he could see that it was much more important to Joel, that hideous little upright. No, I’m kidding. But I do think that is what happens in relationships. All of that just felt so authentic. You’re like, “Oh, course, you have whatever you want. That’s not important to me.”
Everett talks about how it feels unreal that they got the opportunity to make a series as special as 'Somebody Somewhere' for three seasons.
It’s been so beautiful to watch the friendship between Joel and Sam evolve over the seasons. They can burst into tears with each other, they can swear at each other, they can sing with each other, and they still just love each other through it all. What was it like to go on that journey with Bridget Everett and what have you most enjoyed about what it’s evolved into?
HILLER: I love their familiarity. I love that they have their own language. I also love that they’re not perfect. They sometimes aren’t exactly on the same page, but they are willing to work at it and go through it. It’s such an example of how friendship should work. Joel is really good at that. But there are times in this season that he isn’t quite there yet, and it’s Sam that says, “We need to talk about this.” That’s her learning from him, but also paying him back and giving it back to him. I love that they switched places, in that moment, at the end of episode six. It’s beautiful to see them laughing again and giggling again, and sitting on the couch with blankets, and eating donuts. I could live in that scene for years, truly.
Working With Bridget Everett on 'Somebody Somewhere' Was Such a Pure Experience for Tim Bagley
Image via HBO
There’s something so fun about the relationship between Brad and Sam because it seems like Sam would be somebody who might terrify Brad a little bit. She’s so big in her personality, where he’s so much more reserved. Getting to watch the two of them figure out the song together was such a beautiful moment this season. What was it like to perform that and to get to share that moment with Bridget?
BAGLEY: She wrote that song and it was really fun to do. I wanted them to connect in the second season, and they never really did. She was put off by Brad because he came into Joel’s world and, in fairness, he did give them both explosive diarrhea. When we actually shot that scene, Bridget is just, by nature, a very deeply generous, kind person. Just looking into her face, the way she was when I was in that scene, she was so loving towards me. There was a shot when Shana [Hagan], our D.P., was behind me and it was on her face, and I made a point of saying to Rob Cohen, the director of that episode, “You’ve gotta get that shot in there. You’ve gotta get that visual of Bridget’s face.” She was just so pure. I don’t know how to explain it, but that was just who Sam really is, deep down, and it’s who Bridget is. It was just a joy for me. And then, to turn around and look at Jeff wondering, “What the hell are you doing?,” it was a fun, triangular scene to be in the middle of. It was a beautiful exchange.
Related
I love a good holiday episode, whether it’s Halloween or Christmas or Thanksgiving, in this case. What were your favorite moments in the Thanksgiving episode?
HILLER: I really loved just staring Susan down. It just felt like this really beautiful moment to be protective of Brad and be like, “Cut it out!” It was just a flavor that you don’t get to play that often when you’re playing Joel, and I really enjoyed that dynamic, looking at Brad, taking care of him and going over there like that.
BAGLEY: It’s so real. I’ve had that where people might press you on something and you’re trying to let them know politely, “I don’t wanna talk about this,” and they keep coming at you. It’s one of those things. I have to give props to Lennon Parham, who was the director. I connected emotionally to Brad’s past history that comes out. She just gave me a simple note. She was like, “You know this story. This is not an emotional experience for you. You’re just telling the story and you wanna get through it quickly, get onto your food, and stop her and move on." I just thought that was such an insightful, great note, and it really helped me in that scene.
I actually really love that because this is a show about characters, we’re left with the feeling that they’re just going on living their lives and that they’re all in better places than when we first met them. There’s something really beautiful about that.
HILLER: That is beautiful.
BAGLEY: That is beautiful. I like that, the continuum of life. They did write such beautiful characters. I watched this show, that first season. I watched it and just loved it, so imagine how lucky I felt when I got the call, and then I could just step into it. It was just a beautiful world to join and be a part of.
Sam is a true Kansan on the surface but beneath it all struggles to fit the hometown mold. As she grapples with loss and acceptance, singing is Sam’s saving grace and leads her on a journey to discover herself and a community of outsiders that don’t fit in but don’t give up, showing that finding your people, and finding your voice, is possible. Anywhere. Somewhere.
Release Date January 16, 2022
Creator Hannah Bos, Paul Thureen
CastBridget Everett , Jeff Hiller , Mary Catherine Garrison , Danny McCarthy , Mike Hagerty , Murray Hill , Jane Drake Brody
Seasons 3
Somebody Somewhere is available to stream on Max. Check out the Season 3 trailer:
Image via HBO 
Image via HBO 
English (US) ·