When a show revolves around four women’s lives and loves, as does Mistresses, comparisons to Sex and the City and Desperate Housewives are inevitable.
But don’t look for a Carrie or a Lynette. Rather, the prime-time drama features two very different sisters, Savi (Alyssa Milano, Charmed) and Josslyn (newcomer Jes Macallan), and pals Karen (Yunjin Kim, Lost) and April (Rochelle Aytes, Madea’s Family Reunion).
At least in the first couple of episodes, no one is a mistress in an ongoing relationship.
Savi is an ambitious lawyer, married to a rather brittle chef, Harry, whose life is suddenly chaos. When Savi has what could be a one-night stand with colleague Dominic (Jason George, Grey’s Anatomy) it leaves her shaken.
“She is a good person that made a bad decision,” Milano says. “She is very strong and independent and successful and very almost Type A personality, where she seemingly has everything together. Because of this bad moment, where she makes this bad decision, she has never experienced such chaos in her life.”
Horrified by her infidelity, Savi shares it with her friends.
“The fun thing about Mistresses is it focuses on everyday people who make extreme choices,” George says. “They are there to support each other. Dominic is basically her work husband. He’s applying for the full-time position.”
Though Savi’s guilt-ridden, that’s a foreign emotion to her sister, Joss, the quartet’s wild one, who is determined to have few regrets, certainly none from abstaining.
The only mom among them is April, who is also a recent widow. April thinks her husband’s ghost is trying to contact her.
And the most complicated relationship so far, trumping a workplace romance, kinky casual sex and messages from beyond, is Karen’s. A successful psychiatrist, Karen breaks a cardinal rule by having an affair with a patient.
The patient was dying, and if Karen were not sufficiently plagued by crossing that barrier, it becomes far more complicated when the late patient’s son falls for her and starts stalking her.
Sound like a guilty pleasure yet?
“Something is wrong and juicy about her character as the series goes on,” Kim says. “Morally, is this right or wrong? But it is a question of the heart. What is a marriage? What is infidelity, and what is love?”
“Our focal point is the friendship of the four women, and we come together to hash it out and give advice,” Kim says. “I am always surrounded by amazing women. To do a show I relate to and care about is a blessing.”
Mistresses airs Mondays on ABC at 10pm ET/PT beginning June 3.
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The cast of Mistresses will be having a live Twitter chat during the East and West Coast broadcasts of the series premiere on June 3, from 10:01-11pm ET and PT. The cast will be on Twitter at the following times, using the hashtag #AskMistresses:
Monday, June 3, 10:01-11:00pm ET
Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano)
Jason George (@JasonWGeorge)
Erik Stocklin (@erikstocklin)
Jes Macallan (@JesMacallan)
Rochelle Aytes (@rochelleaytes)
Monday, June 3, 10:01-11:00pm PT
Jason George (@JasonWGeorge)
Erik Stocklin (@erikstocklin)
Jes Macallan (@JesMacallan)
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Mistresses cast — © 2013 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Credit: Bob D’Amico