Bridget Everett, Jeff Hiller. Sandy Morris/HBO
Two peas in a pod! Bridget Everett had nothing but kind words to say about her Somebody Somewhere costar Jeff Hiller.
“When you meet Jeff, you can’t help but fall in love with him. He’s funny and just so charming and easy and warm,” the comedian, 51, exclusively told Us Weekly while promoting her HBO show Somebody Somewhere, which was just renewed for a third season. “He sort of feels like a warm summer night … just like exactly where you wanna be, sitting outside with your feet kicked up and a glass of wine, bathed in the light of Jeff Hiller. It’s perfect.”
Everett and Hiller star on the HBO dramedy — which premiered in January 2022 — as Sam and Joel, respectively. The pair play close friends, but in the second season, their relationship faces a speed bump as Joel finds love with Brad (Tim Bagley.) The Fun Mom Dinner star got candid about where she sees their characters’ bond going in the next season.
“They have to evolve. … It’s fun to be in that honeymoon bubble for a long time, but Joel has a new relationship and Sam has to kind of figure out how she fits into all that,” she explained to Us. “It doesn’t necessarily mean because he’s in love that she goes away. It’s just how do you navigate that? Even though she’s a little bit older, it’s a good problem to have.”
Since the show’s start, Everett’s character has been navigating a midlife crisis after the death of her beloved sister Darlene. The Kansas native — who also serves as an executive producer in addition to the show’s star — was the inspiration for the series itself.
Everett, for her part, lost her real-life sister Brinton to cancer in 2008. She opened up to Us about how filming the somewhat autobiographical series has been a “cathartic” experience as it helped her process her grief.
“I know my sister would be so proud of me. And doing this show is kind of a love letter to her,” she said. “So I feel like it’s helped me grow and it’s helped me heal and I’m very happy for that.”
While the HBO show channels certain elements of Everett’s life into the plot, the Kansas native has made it clear she and her character are not identical but they do share one common interest: music. The Inside Amy Shumer alum is also the lead singer of her band, The Tender Moments, who plan on releasing their latest album BFD sometime soon.
“We both love music and that’s kind of the driving force for both of us,” she recalled. “Sam, as small as the emotional steps that she takes are, are bigger swings than I take. So I feel like watching Sam grow and try to adapt to life as it changes is a real learning curve for me. So I’m learning from Sam every day.”
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Somebody Somewhere is available to stream on HBO Max.
