From Tami Taylor inFriday Night Lightsto Nicole Mossbacher inThe White Lotus,Connie Brittonis no stranger to playing moms on screen. Yet, what the actress loves more than anything is being a mom in real life. Although her son Yobi is a teenager now, she has vivid memories of moving across the country as a new mom and having a hard time balancing her busy shooting schedule on the showNashvillewhile taking care of a baby. Without a support system to lean on, Britton struggled up until she met other single moms who were similarly in need of a helping hand. Her personal experience inspired her to create, host, and executive produceThe Motherhood, Hallmark’s latest unscripted series.
In each episode ofThe Motherhood, viewers are introduced to a single mom from Kansas City who is still learning how not to be co-dependent with her child or how to find time to practice self-care. With some assistance from Britton and three experts in parenting, style and home (who are known as The Neighbor Ladies), these mothers go from feeling overwhelmed to realizing that they are not alone. Opening up about their circumstances with other women who are on the same boat allows them to build a community and create a more fulfilling family environment.
During this one-on-one interview with Collider, Britton discusses bringing her vision to life alongside the producers ofQueer Eyeand partnering with The Neighbor Ladies in order to meet the needs of the single moms featured in the series. She also teases her next role in Prime Video’sOvercompensating, bonding withSam Nivolaon the set ofPhony, and what advice she would givetheFriday Night Lightsrebootcast.
Connie Britton’s Character in ‘Dirty John’ Would’ve Been the Perfect Single Mom to Participate in ‘The Motherhood’
“She was really not valuing herself as a single mom.”
COLLIDER: You’ve played several moms throughout your career, but which of your characters do you believe would have benefited from the support of The Neighbor Ladies?
CONNIE BRITTON: That’s a great question. Well, I mean, the one that comes immediately to mind is Debra Newell, who I played inDirty John. She makes a lot of choices that aren’t the best for her, and it’s because she was really not valuing herself as a single mom. She was valuing the idea of having a man in her life. The Neighbor Ladies could have set her straight.
Can you talk about the development process forThe Motherhood? This is something you’ve been working on for a while, but do you remember when you decided that, hey, I went through this as a single mom, and I would love to help other women who are going through similar experiences?
BRITTON: This idea came up 13 years ago, because it was as soon as I moved to Nashville to shoot the showNashville, and I was a brand-new mom. It was kind of like, oh my gosh, what do I do? I have no support system. I don’t know anybody here. I’m working crazy long days and I have a brand-new baby. That was when I first realized, oh, you have to have a support system. You have to have a community, and can’t be afraid to ask for help. I had a really good friend there who was also a single mom, and she was also working on the show, and had four kids. I was fortunate enough to have a nanny who was able to help me, but my friend didn’t.
There are so many single moms out there who just don’t have those resources, and it would be so amazing to create something — an organization, a community — where we could support each other, and people could volunteer to maybe go grocery shopping for a single mom one day a week. Then I just really started envisioning it on a broader level.
I was connected with the people from Scout (Productions), who createdQueer Eye,and they are the people who know how to make a show like this. I’ve never really watched a lot of reality TV, butI definitely watchedQueer Eye, and I just had a completely different experience watching that. It felt really authentic. It felt like we were watching a show about real people helping each other and supporting each other. That’s what I wanted this show to be. They were the only people who could have pulled this off with me, because they basically made the show as great as it is.
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In ‘The Motherhood’, Connie Britton and The Neighbor Ladies Support Single Moms Based on Their Needs
“Our amazing single moms who guided us in terms of what they needed by opening themselves up to us.”
Each participant inThe Motherhoodhas their own struggles and unique circumstances. How did you and The Neighbor Ladies bounce off ideas of what you could do to help each of these moms thrive?
BRITTON: Going back to Scout and how wonderful they are, they had an incredible casting process. They were able to bring in the three experts that we have: Angela (Rose), Destini (Davis), and Taryn (Hicks). These women are already so attuned to their own talents and to what they have to offer. When they came in, it was really about identifying with each single mom every episode. What does each mom need? It was interesting, because it was very individual.
Each mom had a completely different set of circumstances, and yet, there was a universality in terms of what was needed by the moms. We would really drill down on each mom’s experience, and then the ladies would weigh in. Like, I really think that she would benefit from having space for herself as well as space for her daughter or son.
In Rochelle’s case, she wanted to be an entrepreneur. She had all these business ideas that were going to help her do better in terms of supporting her sons. So we were thinking that we could help her create a space where she could do all the entrepreneurship that she wants to do. It was really the women who were on the show, our amazing single moms, that guided us in terms of what they needed by opening themselves up to us.
‘The Motherhood’s Makeover Concept Is All About Self-Love
“It was really about helping these women get back to who they are and valuing who they are.”
What I personally enjoyed aboutThe Motherhoodis that each participant gets a makeover in the sense that they are getting the opportunity to focus on themselves apart from being the super moms that they are. When thinking about the makeover element of the series, what did you and the team do to ensure that the transformation was about emboldening these women, and not changing who they are?
BRITTON: That’s another testament to our Neighbor Ladies. The transformative efforts for each woman are all about bringing out their best selves. As we talked about in the first episode, it’s about bringing out their own pink. Taryn, who is our style expert, her work is actually more about self-love than it is about styling. She uses styling to actually encourage self-love and finding what makes you feel beautiful from the inside out, what’s comfortable for you, what works for your life. In every category, it was really about helping these women get back to who they are and valuing who they are and what’s important to them.
On top ofThe Motherhood, you are also involved in a Prime Video series coming out this month calledOvercompensating. What can you share about your role in that show?
BRITTON: That show is going to be so awesome. I am so excited for people to see that show. It is such a breath of fresh air and so unique. It’s created by Benito Skinner and just an incredible perspective on what it is to come out as a young gay college kid. I play his mom, who has “mothered” him his entire life, and yet somehow never made him feel safe enough to be able to come out. What I love about that show so much is that it talks about a very sensitive subject, but it’s dealt with such honesty and such humor that I just think audiences are going to absolutely love it and also get really valuable insight.
Connie Britton and Sam Nivola Connected Over Their ‘White Lotus’ Experiences While Working on Their Upcoming Hulu Series, ‘Phony’
“It was really fun to compare notes.”
You’ve been cast in a Hulu comedy series calledPhony, which you will also executive produce. What can you share about the production status on that, as well as your on-set experience working with Sam Nivola? Did you two talk about being inThe White Lotus?
BRITTON: We’re still in the early stages of seeing if the show is going to come together, but Sam was so wonderful to work with. He is hilarious. He’s just got such a heart of gold. We did talk aboutThe White Lotus. I think our experiences were so different because the seasons were so different, you know, but he was just really great to work with. We both talked about how much we love to work with Mike White, and it was really fun to compare notes on that.
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I love that so much. As for theFriday Night Lightsreboot, you’ve previously shared that you aren’t involved in it. But as someone who was such a big part of the OG series, what would be your advice for whoever gets cast?
BRITTON: I don’t know anything about the new show, but what was great about our show is that there’s something about creating from the ground up that is just so exciting. You feel like you’re really in it together, and Peter Berg really instilled that in us. If I were to give advice to the new cast, it would be to try to make it your own. Give yourself ownership over it, and love it. Know that you’re all trying to accomplish something that feels special.
