Other Space — New Comedy Series on Yahoo from Paul Feig

Paul Feig (“Bridesmaids,” “Freaks and Geeks”) has a new comedy sci-fi series called “Other Space” premiering today on Yahoo.

There is a fascinating article by Stephan Rodrick in the New Yorker about one of the people who played a key role in shaping the series, casting director Allison Jones. It explains that even a few years ago, quirky characters were still played by standard-issue pretty actors. But Jones, working with Feig, Judd Apatow, and others, has pioneered the casting of actors who look like real — or realistically offbeat — people. Here is her comment about working on the all-female reboot of “Ghostbusters.”

“It’s nice to get a break from the testosterone every once in a while,” she said. “I was thrilled to do ‘Bridesmaids’—it was a true ensemble of odd characters, all of whom I had observed in real life. There wasn’t one scene that called for a push-up bra. Most female descriptions in screenplays and TV scripts—and I am not kidding—are basically ‘astonishingly beautiful, even without makeup,’ and ‘brilliant.’ Never just beautiful, always astonishingly so.”

The article describes the casting process for “Open Space,” as Jones reads the same lines over and over with actors, sometimes asking them to come back to read for another part in the series.
And it describes the influence she has had on shows like “The Office,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “Veep,” and many other productions, as well as the influence she has had on the careers of stars like Jonah Hill. It is intriguing to think about the influence those casting choices have had in reflecting back to audiences a wider range of faces and bodies.