Taylor Spreitler – Melissa and Joey

By starrymag | August 4, 2015

Q) What was your favorite episode to film for Melissa and Joey?

A) Oh goodness, that’s a hard question, there have been so many! [Laughs].  I really loved our Christmas episode; it was fun to see us all play different versions of our characters for an entire episode.  Getting to be in costumes and having horrible southern accents was a lot of fun!

Q) Who was your favorite guest star?

A) I love the whole story line with Kevin and Sterling because I have known them both for years.  We’ve been friends forever.  So, it was a lot of fun to work with them and hang out.  So they’ve definitely been two of my favorites.

Q) What is your best Melissa and Joey memory?

A) It’s hard to narrow it down between all of the amazing birthdays that I’ve had, but I think it might have been my high school graduation.  I graduated high school and I wasn’t going to be able to attend a real graduation, so my entire crew came together and they made me a cap and gown and Melissa gave me a commencement speech and it was a huge surprise. It was an episode where she snuck me into a Kings of Leon concert and they told me that I had to jump into the dumpster.  When I came out of the dumpster, there was a podium set up, a cake for me, and it was really special.  It was very nice that they cared so much to make sure that I had this very special moment, something that every kid went through that I wasn’t able to experience and they made it for me, which was awesome.

Q) Who is the biggest goofball on set?

A) All of us share that title pretty equally [laughs]. I’d probably say Melissa, because she is always the first one to do something; physical comedy is her thing.  She might be the biggest goofball because she’s always the first one to jump in to make someone laugh.

Q) If you could guest star in any other ABC Family show, which one would you want to star in?

A) Definitely Pretty Little Liars because they wear the cutest clothes on the show [laughs].

Q) If you were stuck on an island with only one other Melissa and Joey cast member, who would you want it to be?

A) Let’s see…maybe Sterling because he’s from Texas and he would know more survival skills than the rest of them.  No offense to any of the rest of us, but we all grew up in the city [laughs].  So, I think I would have to pick Sterling because I feel like his Texas roots would really come in handy.

Q) What’s your favorite ABC Family show, besides Melissa and Joey?

A) I love Baby Daddy, because I think its fun to watch a show that is similar to ours, plus I watch it every Wednesday since it comes on right after Melissa and Joey.

Q) What do you enjoy doing off the set of Melissa and Joey?

A) If I’m not working, I’m in my backyard in my pool.  I’m kind of a homebody [laughs]. I like to hang out at home with my dogs, listening to music, and reading in my backyard.

Q) What were you doing when you found out you were cast on Melissa and Joey?

A) I was driving to Burger King.  I had been at ABC Family and I tested for it on a Friday; it was my last audition and they told me that I wasn’t going to know anything until Monday.  So, I came back and I was trying to forget about it, and I was thinking, “I’m just going to go to Burger King, come back, relax for the weekend and then figure it out on Monday.”  When I was in the drive-thru at Burger King, I got the call and started screaming at the top of my lungs.  The people at Burger King probably thought I was crazy [laughs].

Q) What’s it like to be on set?

A) It’s so fun! We’ve all been working together for so long that we are a family now.  It’s one of those things that I don’t think in the five years we did this, that I was ever bummed that I had to go into work. I was always so excited that I got to work and hang out with my friends. I’m still friends with my cast and my crew. It was such a great environment plus you’re doing a comedy so whatever is going on, it’s hard to walk into that set and not be happy because we get to do funny things and we get to do what we love with people that we love.

Q) Is it nerve-wracking to film in front of a live studio audience?

A) It depends on what the episode is.  The first time we all did it, Nick had done a little theatre before, but I had never done a live audience before so it was very scary because I was not used to having so many people watch you while you’re working.  But after a while it got easier and it was just so much fun. There would be times we would have episodes that we knew were going to be a little more difficult to perform in front of the audience, and that would make us a little nervous. If I had tongue twisters that I had to say, I would always get really nervous, because there are so many people watching.

Q) Who are you closest with out of anyone on the ABC Family shows?

A) We have this little ABC Family community, where we all end up hanging out.  I’m really good friends with Melissa.  She’s the person that I’m closest to from our set and I’m really close with Greer, Kevin and Sterling. I’m also really good friends with Chelsea Kane from Baby Daddy.

Q) Do you have any teasers you can tell us about about the series finale of Melissa and Joey?

A) Big things happen.  Zander and Lennox get into a little bit of a car accident and they end up having an epiphany, and Melissa and Joey get some even bigger news.

Q) Do you think Lennox is better with Zander or Marco?

A) I think Marco is fun and they are such a great couple, but I think her and Zander are meant to be and I think they’ve been through the tests numerous times and they’ve always come together. They’re definitely a strong couple.

Q) Do you hope to film anything else with the cast of Melissa and Joey in the future?

A) I hope so! I love working with them and I think it would be fun to work with them on something else that’s not Melissa and Joey and see the dynamic there.  It would be interesting.

Q) What is it like to work with Melissa Joan Hart?

A) It’s great! It was so great coming in as a kid and not really knowing what you’re doing. It was very overwhelming but working with her, since she was someone who was a teenage girl going through it, was definitely very helpful to always have someone that I could ask questions and she was always there for me. Anyone who has ever worked with Melissa, or even met her, knows that she loves to tell stories.  She is an open book.  She will tell you her entire life story if you talk to her for more than five minutes.  She’s just very welcoming. She’s not a very secretive celebrity; she’s just very welcoming.

Q) If you could guest star on any ABC Family comedy show, which one would it be?

A) The new comedy series, Kevin from Work.  I watched the first episode yesterday and one of my best friends Jordan Hinson is on it, and it is so funny.  I had dinner with the entire cast two weeks ago.  That just seems like such a fun show to work on, so I would love to guest star on that.

Q) If you could’ve had anyone guest star on Melissa and Joey, who would it have been?

A) We had so many good ones that it’s hard to think of someone who wasn’t on our show.  I grew up watching almost everyone that guest starred on our show, because it was a lot of ‘90s stars and then there were a lot of my friends.  A lot of our guest stars I knew beforehand.  I don’t really think that we missed out on anyone and we had some great guest stars over the years.

Q) Do you see yourself doing more comedy in the future?

A) I would love to! I love doing comedy.  I love the whole idea of sitcoms. A lot of people grew up watching it and it looks like it’s such a good time.  It’s nice to do something that makes people laugh.  My biggest thing is getting tweets from people who thanked me for all the laughs and how I helped them through hard times. It’s such a gratifying feeling.  I would definitely love to do more comedy.

Q) Do you have a favorite TV show?

A) I don’t really watch a lot of TV, but I’ve become obsessed with Astronaut Wives Club and Game of Thrones. Those are the two shows that I watch.

Q) Who would you want to play on Pretty Little Liars if you were a character on the show?

A) I want to be A; really throw everyone for a loop.  Could you imagine, we do a crossover, and A’s been Lennox this whole time?

Q) Do you have anything else you want to tell your fans?

A) Just thank you.  It’s been quite the roller coaster these past five years and I’m very grateful for everyone hanging in, supporting us and keeping our little show going for as long as they did.  We are all very grateful.

 

*CONFERENCE CALL*