Téa Leoni and Tim Daly are returning to the screen together in NBC’s upcoming comedy Newlyweds, following their six-year collaboration on the CBS drama Madam Secretary. The real-life couple will play newly married characters Jeanie and James, marking another on-screen reunion for the pair as they shift from political drama to multi-camera comedy.

Speaking at NBC’s backlot presentation on August 10, Leoni said the couple had been interested in finding an opportunity to work together again. “We were kind of sniffing around to play together again,” she said, recalling their experience on Madam Secretary. After spending years working on a dramatic series, the two wanted to pursue something lighter.

“We had a lot of fun on Madam Secretary,” Leoni said. “The world got darker, and we wanted to get lighter.” She added that they had already enjoyed working together in the medium and wanted the opportunity to “spend our days together.”

Daly echoed the sentiment, noting the unusual nature of their professional and personal relationship. “We spent six years pretending to be married on TV, and I would get to do it again, but we actually are married,” he said. “It’s a miracle. It’s really fun. It’s cool, and we still like each other.”

Leoni jokingly questioned Daly’s description of their relationship as a “miracle,” prompting him to repeat the characterization. The couple said it took 12 years for their relationship to develop into marriage.

In Newlyweds, Leoni plays Jeanie, a free-spirited woman who enters a whirlwind romance with James, a more reserved and buttoned-up professor portrayed by Daly. Their characters’ relationship provides the central premise of the new comedy, which will bring the actors back to a format they have experienced before but approached very differently this time.

For Daly, returning to multi-camera comedy has been particularly appealing because of its similarities to live theater. A self-described “theater kid,” he said the format offers the experience of performing in front of a live audience while providing a more manageable schedule than stage productions.

“It’s like coming home,” Daly said of returning to the format.

Leoni, however, recalled a very different reaction to her earlier sitcom experiences. During her time on Flying Blind and Naked Truth, she said she would become so nervous before performing that air-sickness bags were kept behind the sets.

“I used to hurl before I came out,” Leoni said. Daly joked that he now simply holds the bags for her.

Despite those earlier nerves, Leoni said she has come to enjoy the experience and feels more confident returning to comedy. After years away from the format, she said she realized she was ready to embrace the challenge.

Newlyweds is scheduled to premiere on NBC on Friday, October 23, at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT

Source: https://www.tvinsider.com/