Q&A: Jeff Hiller and Tim Bagley reflect on three seasons of ‘Somebody Somewhere’

When HBO announced that the third season of “Somebody Somewhere” would be its last, their modest but dedicated fan base let out a collective howl. In other spheres, however, the news was met with shrugs and blank stares: Somebody who?

That’s because the series, starring and executive produced by fearless comic performer Bridget Everett, was practically designed to fly under the click-addicted, pop-culture radar. 

“Somebody Somewhere” is a gently paced character study steeped in melancholy that spotlights atypical characters, several identifying as LGBTQ. The bittersweet dramedy, from Mighty Mint and Duplass Brothers Productions, was created by Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen. It returns Sunday, Oct. 27 on HBO and Max.

Everett plays forty-something Sam Miller, a role inspired by actual events in her own life. After more than a decade away, Sam returned home to Manhattan (the one in rural Kansas, not New York City) to care for her ailing lesbian sister, who subsequently passed away. Sam is trying to rebuild a life in a town where she’s always felt like a stranger. She strives to find common ground with her spiteful sister, Tricia (Mary Catherine Garrison), who owns a gift shop called Tender Moments and later an events company called Trish Upon a Star.

Sam is befriended by Joel (Jeff Hiller), a jovial gay man who idolized Sam in show choir back in high school. Joel introduces her to a gang of fantastic misfits, like Fred Rococo (Murray Hill, the beloved drag king). Joel urges Sam to rediscover her voice. In the second season, Brad (Tim Bagley) enters the fray, and strikes up a tender relationship with Joel.

Hiller, who started his career doing improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade, has appeared in a slew of TV shows such as “American Horror Story,” “30 Rock,” and “Broad City.” He grew up in San Antonio, Texas and is married to artist Neil Goldberg.

Bagley, hailing from Wisconsin and Michigan, got his start with the Groundlings comedy troupe. He has appeared in over 160 TV shows, most recently “The Perfect Couple,” “And Just Like That,” and “Hacks.” He has talked about the challenges of being openly gay and rejected by the mainstream.

Despite earning a 100% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes for both seasons, “Somebody Somewhere” failed to gain traction. The show has yet to be nominated for an Emmy Award, although Season Two won the prestigious Peabody Award, and the show was nominated for GLAAD Media Awards for both seasons.

Gay City News recently caught up with Hiller and Bagley via video chat to discuss the evolution of the series and how they injected a quirky dose of realness into their onscreen love affair. The interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Jeff, when we spoke a couple of years ago about the first season, Joel was in awe of Bridget’s character, Sam. He had a boyfriend but they broke up. Do you think that he’s evolved over the course of the three seasons? 

Jeff: I do think he’s been changed by Sam and by Brad and by life. That’s just how it is. With this boyfriend, Brad, he’s gone much further. Wait, that sounds dirty [laughs]. I mean, the relationship is significantly deeper than the one in the first season. And so that requires a lot more vulnerability, a lot more compromise, a lot more growth. I think you really get to see all of that this season. 

Tim, your character Brad came on the scene in the second season and met Joel, and their relationship started to blossom. What was it like to join the show? 

Tim: Well, I had seen the first season, and I fell in love with Joel and Sam and everybody. I adored watching it. It’s my favorite kind of comedy because it’s got so much heart and depth and pathos –– the stuff that makes comedy much more interesting. I can’t even describe how excited I was to join. And then it was a joy to work with this buffoon over here. 

One scene this season I felt especially rings true was where Joel is moving in with Brad and they’re politely negotiating how to reorganize the kitchen. Joel’s like, “Oh, can I put my Vitamix over here on the counter?” and Brad’s posture stiffens. They aren’t sure how assertive they can be. Do you recall that scene? 

Jeff: Yes, that scene totally stood out for me. What I loved is that it illustrates what a relationship actually is. Typically in the movies or on TV we see the couple get together, they kiss, the snow falls, and that’s the end. But in real life the relationship is actually work. You have to decide what battles you want to fight, and what compromises you are willing to make. [In that scene] you actually get to see the nitty gritty of what it’s like to be in a relationship. 

Tim: First of all, it was so much fun to play. It’s just so crazy, but also very real, figuring out, “How do we mesh our lives?” And when you’re a certain age, you get even more set in your ways. That night I ended up coming home and clearing all the things off my kitchen counter because I thought Brad was right. I do like a clean counter and I never knew it. So I actually grew from that odd little exchange. 

Let’s talk about how the show explores queer issues rarely broached on TV. Like Joel having a crisis of faith and then leaving the church, or making compromises about not having kids even though he wants them. Can you talk about the magic of this show, how it takes time to dwell on these moments that other shows ignore? 

Jeff: I think you summed it up perfectly. The gift of this show is that it goes into the spaces between the really dramatic moments. The relationship between Brad and Joel is so interesting because these are characters not prone to conflict. They’re not throwing glasses around or anything. They’re polite, very Midwestern. And so, to see friction between them is really interesting and really smart. 

Tim: One of the things that I love about Brad is that he’s religious. They couldn’t have possibly known this about me, but I grew up attending a Presbyterian church in Michigan, and it was a very important part of my life. Back then, they would talk about homosexuality and murderers and pedophiles in the same speech. And so I had to figure out my own path spiritually separate from the church. And I love that they wrote about that because it’s not something you usually see in gay culture, yet I’m sure a lot of gay men have had to struggle with it. Usually what happened was they would just cut off their relationship with God and be like, “If they don’t want me, I don’t want them.” 

The show is infused with melancholy, but there are plenty of lighter moments. There’s so much giggling. Did you have a blast filming it? Did you play pranks on each other? 

Tim: Yes. That’s a hard yes. 

Jeff: We’re not like Clooney, but yeah, we’d have fun on the set. I mean, it was a really quick pace, so you couldn’t be too wild. Murray [Hill] was always bringing the buffoonery. 

Tim: When we were shooting the Thanksgiving scene, which was kind of intense, somehow Bridget got ahold of a farting app. So we were all getting up from the table like we’ve had too much food and farting in between takes. 

Jeff: You had to match your acting of getting up to the sound of the fart from the app. You never knew which type of fart sound was going to come out. 

Tim: So it was that kind of silliness during a long day, when you’re sitting around the table poking at the same mashed potatoes, that makes it fun and playful. 

Much of the action feels spontaneous and unpolished, in a good way. Was there a lot of improvisation or did you have to stick to script? 

Jeff: We were allowed to improvise, but not in the way you might normally imagine, where it’s broad or outrageous. It’s more about making the words fit so that they sound real, like your character would say them. They also let the camera keep rolling so we could add in things.

Tim: I remember in the second season, Jeff and I were on a bench and the scene was over and the cameras kept rolling, and then Jeff randomly goes, “Did you know that I blessed a goat?” As an actor, I wanted to laugh, but I just stayed in it and responded in character. That was something improvised that they kept. 

Jeff: He said, “Nobody likes a braggart.” 

Tim: Right, right. But the writing is so beautiful that we do stick to it for the most part.

I am disappointed that this is the last season, despite the critical acclaim. Why is it ending? 

Jeff: To be honest, the fact that we got three seasons is already kind of a big shock. We’re not a super mainstream kind of show, and it’s not as if we’ve racked up crazy numbers. But we are so grateful because we completed these three seasons. 

Tim: We’re all proud to be a part of it, and it’s miraculous that it was even done in the first place. 

Somebody Somewhere | Available on HBO and Max | Season 3 premieres Sunday October 27 at 10:30 pm ET