Mae Whitman, who’s made a career out of playing teenagers, is well into her 20s — so that’s why she was eager for the chance to play a young mother in NBC’s new series “Good Girls.”
“I still look young and I’ve played younger roles,” says Whitman, 29. “I’d been sitting in the passenger seat of cars for so long, looking up at a TV parent … to finally be in the driver’s seat and actually look down at my TV child was surreal.”
The dramedy, co-starring Christina Hendricks (“Mad Men”) and Retta (“Parks and Recreation”), revolves around three down-on-their luck women who rob a supermarket — only to end up further ensnared in the criminal underworld than they anticipated. Think “Breaking Bad” meets TNT’s “Claws.”
‘I love the concept of just having three women as the leads of a TV show. That’s something I want to see more of.’
“I love the concept of just having three women as the leads of a TV show,” says Whitman. “That’s something I want to see more of. They all are unapologetically flawed and interesting and quirky people.”
Whitman already has a whopping 146 roles under her belt. She began as a child actor (in films like “Independence Day” and “Hope Floats”), had memorable stints in hit shows including “Arrested Development” and “Parenthood” and continued playing high school students in movie such as “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” and “The Duff.”
That’s all changed with her “Good Girls” character, Annie, who’s a single mother with a young son. “I felt so lucky that I’ve been able to continue in this profession long enough that my roles have changed so drastically,” says Whitman. “Annie is very different from any character I’ve played. She leaps before she looks, but it’s fun for me because I usually play very pragmatic people. For me to tune into my wild side and also to play a mother — those were things I was really excited about.”
There’s an ease to Whitman’s onscreen dynamic with Hendricks (who plays Annie’s sister) and Retta (who plays their friend). Whitman says that’s because the three women get along behind the scenes and that, before production began on “Good Girls,” the cast and producers met for drinks to break the ice.
“The producers split off early and [Christina and Retta and I] were like, ‘Oh, maybe we should have a dinner,’ and we went to a dinner and drank like 50 million bottles of wine,” she says. “Then we went back to Christina’s house. It was as if we were best friends for a million years. Immediately when I got to her house, I took off my pants. I left them, apparently, on her dining room table and made a French exit [didn’t say goodbye] in the middle of the night.
“I think it sets the tone pretty well for our sisterly relationship,” she says. “We carried that with us, and that is such a big part of why I love the show. The women that I get to work with are so incredible.”
“Good Girls” Series premiere 10 p.m. Monday on NBC
