Second Breakfast Interview with AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE Katy Mixon #AmericanHousewife #ABCTVEvent

May 2, 2017 Kristin

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One of my favorite new sitcoms is, hands down, American Housewife, starring Katy Mixon. This show tales the story of a perfectly imperfect wife who enjoys her “second breakfast” with her friends Doris and Angela, after dropping the kids off at school. The show takes Katie Otto (Katy Mixon), her husband Greg Otto (Diedrich Bader) and their three children Taylor, Oliver and Anna-Kat, to the wealthy town of Westport, CT. Greg Otto is a teacher at the local school.

While in L.A., I had the chance to view a new episode, “The Club”, that airs tonight. This episode gives us an inside look to what nearly every parent has gone through with their children and themselves. Anna-Kat is struggling with a fear of water after reading a book and Katie is struggling with body size issues thanks to the women of the local country club who are as thin as a rail.As the episode progresses, we fall in love with Katie Otto even more as she helps Anna-Kat overcome her fear of water, all while throwing caution to the wind and recapturing her love of swimming with no concern of how she looks in her swimsuit (she looks great, by the way).

After our screening, we had a candid chat with Katy Mixon on her roll as Katie Otto and what is going on in her life.

We started by asking Katy what inspirations in her own life does she use to help with her roll as wife and mother of three in American Housewife.

It comes from the creator, Sarah Dunn. This is her vision. It took off with Kenny Schwartz and Rick Weiner, who are the show runners, and the incredible writing staff. But this was her vision, these are certain situations, not all of them but certain situations, most of them basically come from her life.

What she has experienced, and living in basically a town, kind of in upstate New York a little bit. Ken Schwartz, he’s from Westport, Connecticut and everything. So they’re really taken from her – her whole thing, basically, and it’s been my job to recreate that.

So I couldn’t be more opposite from Sarah Dunn. I’m originally from Pensacola, Florida and I’m from the South and I’m 35, I just turned 36. I think Sarah Dunn’s 43 or something like that. I play older in the show, and everything. It’s been my job to recreate what has been her vision.

It was clear from the first few moments with Katy Mixon that she is a doll. She reminds of a classic southern belle with charm, charisma and filled with love and joy. She noted that she has always done things her own way.

I rock n’ roll in a different way. I always have. I’ve always been quite fearless. I’ve never really let anxiety take a toll on me. I march to the beat of my own drum, I get back up on that horse and if I don’t get it right, I’m gonna do it again the next day. That’s kinda my M.O., that’s kinda how I’ve always rocked n’ rolled. Sarah Dunn’s quite different from me. Which is a beautiful thing too.

So that’s what’s been really interesting. When I took on this role right after Mike & Molly, I ended it really last year. And four days later I walked into this AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE room. So I think what was wild was, I’m not like her. I’m not Katie Otto. I don’t get mad at a green juice. If you’re going to do yoga, I think that’s awesome! You’re bettering yourself.

I love people. I’m real spontaneous. I love celebrating people, what makes them happy. I’m just so opposite of what Katie Otto is. So it’s just fun to play. I mean, I don’t know if I answered your question but that’s kinda how I rock & roll. I wanted to do a role that I’ve never done before. I don’t wear hardly any makeup in that show. We cover up head to toe. I wear real baggy clothes. Like it’s a whole, it just couldn’t be more opposite of what I’ve done in the past, and I couldn’t be more grateful.

Katy noted that they just wrapped up filming about a month ago now, and she loved so many episodes, that it was hard to choose her favorite. She did elaborate that a few she enjoyed most.

I think certain ones that stand out, I love BAG LADY. I loved that when she just went crazy on people. That was real fun. I loved being able to do physical comedy. Like physical stuff, you know. Getting out of the house, and be in the environment, I love that.

I love ZOMBIE RUN, when I got to be back home. It was crazy. I must have run five miles in the period of five days. It was really insane. But yeah, that was one.

Katie Otto is such a relatable character for moms everywhere. We asked Katy how she felt impacting so many moms.

It brings tears to my eyes. It’s like one of the most special like, I’m so emotional. There’s so many emotions, but it brings tears to my eyes, honey. We were grateful and having the time of my life. Thank you so much.

I’m having the time of my life. It’s so special to be in a role, be given a role. First of all, be able to do what you love to do. To be given the opportunity to do what you love to do is quite incredible.

It’s just the biggest gift in the world. Then to have people be able to receive it, or relate to it, would be like, ‘Ah, so that character, like that’s totally me.’ That’s just the best thing in the world. So I am in a new dimension, I’ve never played a mom with three children. So that’s been quite special. To be able to do that on camera and evoke emotion, or evoke, you know, something like that.

I’m such a big fan of it too. It doesn’t – it’s such a mom thing. It relates so much to moms. But what was so special was, I knew in the beginning when I signed onto it, I felt like it didn’t matter what gender you are and what background you come from. Everybody relates to insecurity. No matter whether you’re from Kansas, from Oregon, from Miami, from Westport. Everybody’s got their Westport, everybody’s got their little, their town, their situation that they’re like, ‘I don’t wanna this today and be in front of these people.’ People have that, so that is, that’s been kinda my anthem on the show.

Katy Mixon is expecting her own first child (a boy) very soon, and we asked if there was anything from her character, Katie Otto, that she wanted to take away in her own parenting style.

I don’t really know. She’s really strong. I’m really strong, you know. It’s just, I just rock & roll in a different way. I love her so much, that Katie Otto. I don’t know what character trait – I think this is the thing – she’s quite fearless. But I’m quite fearless too. Just doing it in a different way.

I don’t know, I think, you know, she says what her mind thinks. And I think there’s power in saying what your mind says, telling it how it is. I’m always like, ‘You gotta do it in the spirit of love.’ That’s where I come from.

I’m gonna just be me. I’m gonna just do me. I come from a family of nine. My mommy has six girls and one boy. And now, I’m the third oldest. So I’m gonna rock and roll.

There was so much love and joy in this interview. Katy, and her on-set family, are truly excited for the birth of her son and she hopes to have more and more children.

“American Housewife” episode tonight (May 2nd) stars Katy Mixon as Katie Otto, Diedrich Bader as Greg Otto, Meg Donnelly as Taylor, Daniel DiMaggio as Oliver, Julia Butters as Anna-Kat, Carly Hughes as Angela and Ali Wong as Doris. Guest starring are Miya Cech as Marigold and Alexa Sutherland as the teenage lifeguard. “The Club” was written by Brian Donovan & Ed Herro and directed by David Bertman.