Warning: The following contains spoilers for Tuesday Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist first season. Proceed at your own risk!
Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist showrunner Austin Winsberg is well aware that some viewers are not fans of unnecessary endless love triangles. Instead of the title of the heroine Max vs. Simon to grab, Zoey made a choice between the two handsome men on Tuesday in the season 2 premiere. After watching a video message from her late father urging his family to move on with their lives, Zoey finally chats with Max. The past six weeks have given her plenty of time to think, and now it’s time to move on … by kissing Max!
Winsberg then explains why Zoey’s decision was a bold choice for the show and what it means for Simon, the man who lost Zoey’s heart. The EP also talks about bringing back Peter Gallagher as Zoey’s beloved father and a preview of how Max and Mo’s new venture will affect their friendship. (Click here to see if Lauren Graham’s Joan returns.)
TVLINE | Zoey apparently makes a decision regarding Max. What then is their relationship status? Are they officially leaving now?
It definitely looks like they’re going in that direction.
TVLINE | ‘Looks’, as in appearance is deceptive?
[Laughs] No. I think they are definitely trying to be together.
TVLINE | What now made the right time to pursue things with Max?
The messages she gets from her father in Episode 1 are just the idea of going on and on and making decisions in life, that you can not just stay in neutral. I felt that this is generally the case with our love triangle as well. I felt we had to make some choices in terms of the love triangle. I just feel like Zoey, herself, like, ‘I can not keep flipping with both of these guys. I have to make the choice. And so she makes the choice. And then we will deal with the consequences.
TVLINE | Were there many debates in the writing room about it being too early in the season for her to make a choice, or about which man she should choose?
When I came up with the field for the season, when we first started talking in the room, [we discussed] how much time did we want to go back and forth between, “Should this be this man, or should this be the guy?” There were very strong feelings in the room that Zoey is turning 30 on the program this year, and that many of those kinds of behaviors can feel very young. And also, just reading the Twitter boards and all that, there is definitely a group of people who do not like love triangles. [Laughs] I just felt what was real at some point, you know? If one person keeps threading two people for a long time, it could be one or both of the people, eventually: ‘You know what? I do not want to do that anymore. “So I felt it was a brave choice to make the choice than to live in indecision.
TVLINE | Where does this choice leave Simon, who still carries a torch, if the Jet song number is an indication?
Simon did a lot of his own self-growth and went through a lot of his own therapy. Unfortunately, there was a scene we had to cut, where he talked a lot about this in Episode 1. Simon tries a lot – and we hear it from him in Episode 3 – to support Zoey in everything Zoey wants to do. He knows what it’s like to lose someone, and he understands the challenges involved and he does not want to put her under pressure. So he just wants to be there to support her on her emotional journey. And while he may not be so happy that Max is the one she chose, he also tries to have respect for what Zoey wants.
TVLINE | Will he move on romantically? Could there be a new love interest for him?
This is something we are definitely going to explore and move forward.
TVLINE | I loved the way you could have included Peter Gallagher at the premiere. Do you find other opportunities to bring him back from time to time?
Yes. I was very reluctant to kind of Dexter or Six feet below route … We already have a magical idea on the program with the musical numbers. I thought of adding another great idea that she could have these conversations with her dad all the time, like maybe one too magical idea. So it’s just about being creative in the way we bring him back.
TVLINE | The way you performed the “Carry On” number, with some of the actors kind of freezing, was very nice.
Thank you. It was definitely difficult [choreographer] Mandy [Moore] and I to find out. How do we all keep in the frame? And also, we just liked the symbolic idea that everyone was frozen in an instant, with what happened to Mitch … The song, “Carry On”, is very thematic of what we did all season of the show, which all get stuck in different ways, and all deal with death in different ways. But we must all find ways to move on, regardless of the tragedy we have just experienced. After cracking the frozen idea first, it definitely helped us to create the number.
TVLINE | And how is Max and Mo’s new business going to work out for the two of them? Is it a good idea to mix friendship and business?
This is one of the most important story points of this season that we are going to explore through all the episodes. I think you’re right – what is it like working with friends who have two different personalities? One is very right-brain, the other is very left-brain. How does that creative, artistic thinking fit into someone who is very business-oriented, logically oriented? We are going to see a lot of growing pains between them as they try to get started on this ambitious restaurant idea.
Zoey’s playlist fans, what did you think of the premiere of the season? Rate it below and then print the comments. And watch TVLine for even more Zoey’s create!