With so many dramas on TV, it’s easy for some to slip through the cracks. A Million Little Things won’t. Romany Malco and David Giuntoli, who play two of four best friends in ABC’s new drama, opened up to Us Weekly about why the show relates to people so much and the mixture of emotions that are projected.
“The writing is what works. I think the chemistry in the writers’ room touches something that’s very simple but honest and I think honesty always works,” Malco, who portrays Rome on the drama, tells Us Weekly. “I think that part of what works is that human beings want to feel. And we’re living in an era where we live quite vicariously through … we live our lives through the screens. So to actually have a show that depicts human emotion and human connection is actually a step in the right direction.”
The series, which also stars James Roday and Ron Livingston, is about a group of friends whose lives drastically change when one of them dies by suicide. All of the friends and their families are affected immediately, but what really comes to the forefront is the fact that everyone has secrets kept from even those closest to them.
The drama, however, also brings comedy and will make viewers both laugh and cry in the same scene.
“We’re going through very difficult moments in each of our lives, but the cast brings so much humor. I mean, we have Romany Malco. This guy is a unique blend,” says Giuntoli, 38. “It’s a healing kind of show. It feels wonderful. There are some real issues and there’s forgiveness – things we often don’t see too much in the media … It’s a unique, strange new emotion. It’s almost like a sneeze but then it isn’t. You like the feeling.”
The mixture was what drew Malco, 49, in. “It just seems more genuine, at least from my existence, when you’re able to make light of the most tragic stuff,” he notes.
The premiere has a “jagged little pill” twist that even shocked the cast, the Grimm alum adds: “Each character has a secret going on, and with the loss of their friend, it kind of blows open their life. My character has a secret and it’s unsustainable and he’s gonna have to come clean with his group of friends and the fallout that happens will happen.”
A Million Little Things premieres on ABC Wednesday, September 26, at 10 p.m. ET.
If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or considering suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
