Matthew Perry (Friends) returns to the world of half-hour sitcoms with a starring role in the new take on The Odd Couple. Perry not only plays one half of the ‘couple’ in the series’ title, but is also involved as both a writer and executive producer on the comedy set to debut on CBS on Thursday, February 19, 2015 at 8:30pm ET/PT.
In support of the show’s upcoming premiere, Perry joined his fellow The Odd Couple cast members (Thomas Lennon, Lindsay Sloane, and Yvette Nicole Brown) and executive producer Bob Daily as well as executive consultant Garry Marshall for the CBS press day at the 2015 TCA winter press event. During the event, Daily was asked why it’s the right time to attempt a new version of The Odd Couple and he explained that it’s an “elastic concept.”
Said Daily, “I mean, the DNA of those two characters has seeped into television for the last four decades. I spent five years writing on Frasier, and Frasier was basically The Odd Couple with one Oscar and two Felixes. Bert and Ernie are The Odd Couple. The Odd Couple has been repeated so many times. We’re going back to the brilliant original Neil Simon source material. But I think those two characters, Oscar and Felix, are so iconic, and they’re so timeless, and it’s been 45 years. So I think it’s time for a reinterpretation and for a new generation that’s not familiar with the The Odd Couple.
In addition to taking part in a press conference, Perry sat down with a handful of journalists to discuss the upcoming series, why he’s attracted to sitcoms, and why he believes audiences will embrace a new The Odd Couple.
Matthew Perry Interview
You worked with Thomas Lennon in 17 Again. Is it just a coincidence that he can in on The Odd Couple?
Matthew Perry: “No, we didn’t really think of him until he came in and just was the character.”
Did you go back and watched the original series?
Matthew Perry: “I was a big fan of the movie. I could recite every line from the movie, so that was really the original source material that I used when I wrote the pilot was the movie. And then once it got picked up, I went back and watched a lot of episodes of The Odd Couple.”
Do you think it still stands up?
Matthew Perry: “It does stand up. It’s all chemistry between those two characters, and I hope we have that here too.”
It’s rare to find a show that can come back and still resonate with audiences. Do you think there’s anything on today that might, in 20 years, come back?
Matthew Perry: “Oh, I don’t know.”
How would you feel about Friends coming back?
Matthew Perry: “Friends is still on all the time. There’s always talk about a reunion, but there’s no real talk about that. I figured out though that the characters Tom Lennon and I most resemble are Stewie and the dog from Family Guy.”
Since Friends has just come on Netflix have you gotten any new feedback from people who are just now discovering it?
Matthew Perry: “Yeah, that’s what is interesting is a whole new audience, younger people are watching it. It stands the test of time because we didn’t do too many topical jokes, which is good.”
Have you gone back to watch any seasons or episodes?
Matthew Perry: “No. Sometimes I watch the blooper reels because they’re fun to watch. But, no, I haven’t gone back to watch it.”
You seem loyal to trying to make this format work. You’ve had huge success with Friends, but there have also been shows that haven’t worked. Why do you keep coming back to the half-hour sitcom?
Matthew Perry: [Laughing] “Well, I have to work. I like working. There was a time when Friends was over when I was like, ‘I can retire now if I want,’ and I guess I did that for six months. There’s only so many video games a man can play, so I decided I needed to go back to work. And I’ve had fun writing, too.
It’s just fun. I need to do it. I need the creative outlet. That’s what’s nice about Bob [Daily, executive producer] running the show. He’s very open creatively so I come up with jokes…some of them are good, some of them are bad, some of them get in, some of them don’t.”
Is there something about the TV series you’ve done that you’ve learned and that you’re incorporating into The Odd Couple?
Matthew Perry: “The one thing that I’ve learned is that I thought it would be fun to do a show in front of an audience again and have the sitcom hours. For a one camera show you’re working 16 hours a day, just like an hour long show and it was crazy.”
How much does the live audience add to the whole process?
Matthew Perry: “A tremendous amount. The performances come way up. And if a joke doesn’t work, the whole writing crew and actors everybody get together in a circle and come up with a joke that makes the audience laugh. So, we know right away and that’s the another benefit from doing a four camera show. When you’re doing a one camera comedy, you don’t know.”
Remakes are so hit-and-miss. Are you worried at all?
Matthew Perry: “Am I worried at all? No, it’s out of my control now. We did the episodes, I’m proud of them. Whether it works or not… To tell you the truth, if this one doesn’t work I’m not sure what to throw out there to people because this is really good. It’s a really good premise. It’s time to do it again. Tom and I work really good together so if this one doesn’t work, maybe I’ll go to dinner theatre or something.”
Have recent years been frustrating for you in that regard?
Matthew Perry: “No, I was okay when Mr. Sunshine and Go On ended. I was all right. I was ready for them to be done. It was okay. Again, because they aspired to be something different. So the shows that I’ve done, Studio 60, Mr. Sunshine, and Go On, aren’t just your cookie-cutter shows and I guess that’s what being on Friends has allotted me to do is have my pick of a lot of TV projects. I try to generally choose things that are a little bit off the beaten path, but with this one it’s just straight down the line an attempt to just be funny and be a hit show.”
How did you approach the character of Oscar Madison?
Matthew Perry: “Well, hopefully, what I bring to the table is a little bit of likability in a character who’s a little bit like a scoundrel. But there’s a lot of heart to it, too. He really misses his ex-wife and you can tell he’s trying to distract himself with drinking and gambling and other women from the pain of his divorce. We touch on that a lot so it’s very real. We ended up having sort of a common theme throughout the show which was that Tom Lennon and I at the end of each show would have a scene together that wrapped up both stories. Those were always fun to do, too.”
