Page 30 - ARUBA TODAY

A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Wednesday 14 February 2018
Creators-stars of TV's 'This Close' make Hollywood listen

By LYNN ELBER when you commit to tell
LOS ANGELES (AP) — an authentic story, you can
Shoshannah Stern and Josh suddenly feel that come
Feldman have something through. That's something I
to say about friendship, really wanted for our show.
heartache and finding So we said, why don't we
one's place in the world in go for it and make both the
"This Close." characters deaf? Of course
The creators and stars of Josh asked me, 'Who's go-
Sundance Now's comedy- ing to play Michael?' I said,
drama have another as- 'You are.' ... He couldn't
pect of life to share: What have said no.
it's like to be deaf while Feldman: I didn't have a
grappling with the familiar choice.
challenges of young adult- Stern: I can be forceful.
hood. AP: In episode one, we see
Stern and Feldman, both of an airline inexplicably bring
whom are deaf, nurtured your characters wheel-
their series idea from a Kick- chairs to help them board.
starter-funded campaign That's really happened to
to webisodes to a 2017 Sun- you?
dance Film Festival episod- Feldman: Everything you
ic-shorts showcase entry see has either happened
whose potential impressed This image released by Sundance Now shows Shoshannah Stern, left, and Josh Feldman in a to us personally or we have
Jan Diedrichsen, general scene from "This Close," a series premiering Feb. 14 on Sundance Now. a friend it's happened to.
manager for streaming Associated Press Everything. My hope is we
channel Sundance Now. put it on TV as a laugh line
"We immediately fell in love plained of a dishearten- cist whose career is frustrat- Feldman: The first question and then it will not happen
with both Shoshannah and ing audition to Feldman, a ingly stalled but who seems we always got from every- to deaf people in their life
Josh, and this unique per- friend and aspiring screen- to have found security with body was, 'Why is this char- anymore. We get menus in
spective they had and this writer, he suggested they fiance Danny (Zach Gil- acter deaf? I don't get it.' Braille all the time. But we
interesting voice they had," work on something togeth- ford). Feldman's Michael ... It was difficult for us to took that out of an episode
Diedrichsen said. er for her. has been dumped by the explain. But in real life, why because it was getting to
Stern is an actress who's The efforts ultimately led to man he was to marry (Colt is anybody deaf or why is be a little too much.
had recurring roles in "Su- the six-episode run of "This Prattes) but can claim a anybody anything? In real AP: Given the hurdles your
pernatural," ''Weeds" and Close" debuting Wednes- published graphic novel life, I don't know why I'm project faced, how did you
"Jericho." When she com- day. Stern's Kate is a publi- and a contract for another. deaf. I was just born as is. stay motivated?
Cheryl Hines ("Curb Your So the deaf experience will Feldman: Because we were
Enthusiasm") plays Kate's come into the story, but friends first, we had a sup-
self-involved boss and Os- it doesn't need to be the port system embedded. So
car-winner Marlee Matlin central piece of the story. once the ball started roll-
("Children of a Lesser God," They didn't understand that ing, we would take shifts in
''Switched at Birth") por- concept. ... It's two people terms of, I'd freak out and
trays Michael's estranged living their lives. she'd be the strong one.
mom. Executive producer AP: You'd considered mak- And then she would freak
Andrew Ahn directed the ing just one of the lead pair out, and I would be strong.
half-hour episodes. deaf. Why the change? We never had a freak out
In an interview with The As- Feldman: We thought that at the same time.
sociated Press translated if we made both of them Stern: Once we arrived at
by a sign-language inter- deaf, then suddenly the what eventually became
preter, Stern and Feldman audience would be in their ‘This Close,’ we kind of fell
discussed overcoming world. But if it was one hear- in love with the project. We
Hollywood's resistance to ing and one deaf charac- became fully committed to
characters with disabilities ter, we'd probably make it. ... We doubted the world
and confused thinking by people feel like they were around us because we
airlines. standing out and alienated kept getting ‘nos’ all the
AP: Was it difficult to pitch a from the world we wanted way, ‘no’ after ‘no’ after
show to producers in which to create. ‘no.’ Yet we never doubt-
the lead characters have a Stern: When you commit ed that the world we cre-
disability, still a rarity on TV? to authenticity in a story, ated was good enough.q

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