By BetteAndTinaForever

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Interview with the cast of South of Nowhere: Maeve Quinlan, Mandy Musgrave and Gabrielle Christian

B&TF: Our website is about The L Word but we also have another sister site for the South of Nowhere where fans of the show are writing fan fiction stories about your characters. It’s great to have this chance to talk to you as your fans on the site will be excited to know more about you and the show. Can you tell me a little about what’s going on with your characters, where you are right now and what can the fans expect next? Mandy Musgrave: Well, Ashley Davies, my character in the first season had gone completely against her whole pact with Spencer and by the second season she was dating Aiden (Matt Cohen); but then she realized that she loves Spencer and they kind of get back together. We haven’t aired the last half of the third season so I can’t say what’s going on. Spenser and I have an agreement, we are back together and we’re dealing with a lot hypocrisy. Spenser’s Mom is beginning to be okay with it and we went to Gay Pride together and Mom was okay with the whole fact of the gay community. So that’s as far as my character’s gone so far.

B&TF: The show is focusing on high school kids. How is it important for you to be in the storyline about a girl who’s just coming out after realizing that she likes girls but she also has to deal with family, friends and a lot of other things that come with that realization?

Gabrielle Christian: I think it’s important because I know that national television hasn’t really focused on young females that are coming out. It’s been more from the male gender perspective. From the response we’ve gotten to the show – from fan letters, from other PR stuff that we do – we hear that it’s really helped people because there’s nothing else they can relate to.

When it is done, it’s usually done from a sensationalism of two girls being together but in reality it’s a real emotional journey. It’s helped kids come out and it’s helped parents see that emotional side behind it. And kids coming out say they want their parents to see that side. It’s helped them overcome their fears to see others going through what the characters do on the show.

B&TF: So you have a homophobic Mom on the show. Maeve, can you tell me a little about that and your character evolvement in accepting her daughter’s sexuality?

Maeve Quinlan: It evolved pretty simply (laughing) She’s a very religious woman and she really won’t believe that her daughter’s gay. She assumes that there’s something going on there and she’ll do everything she can to keep them away from that – kind of like Romeo and Juliet but this is Juliet and Juliet. And then she sees them together and it’s a pivotal moment in her life and she has to deal with it. Then she loses her daughter because they run away together. She comes into the full realization that she is going to lose her daughter and that she’s going to have to accept who she is. This season was really lovely because this character got to finally accept who she really is. And I really like Mandy, I mean Ashley (laughing).

Gabrielle: I think Paula Carlin (Maeve Quinlan) is such a pivotal part of our story because there are so many families out there – Moms or Dads who are so against them being gay. You see how it can affect your children and how they can run away; that there are so many hostile moves that you can make that can ruin your relationship with your child. It’s what causes teens to be suicidal. I think that the way they showed the Mother’s character as the overly religious parent has been so good for our age demographic, in general, in terms of coming out. They haven’t been able to open up to their parents but now the parents of those teens have been more accepting because they see what can actually happen in the long run.

B&TF: I know you don’t know how long this show will run but are you hoping for a happy ending for your characters?

Mandy and Gabrielle (together): There will be a happy ending (laughing)

B&TF: You have been on Girltrash, too, right? Tell me a little about that project.

Gabrielle: Angela Robinson who has been very active in the community and who is also the producer on The L Word, she started watching our show and got interested in the content of the show. She contacted us to do this web series. She said it would be fun.

Mandy: We saw her at a Power-Up event and this is when she asked us.

Gabrielle: Yes, she actually was throwing little banana bread chips at us. And we were like, “What’s going on?” And she told us that she wanted us to do the series and asked for our phone numbers.

Mandy: So, we got involved in it, though we didn’t know really what we’d be doing. We were kind of like a lesbian gang which is awesome and on our first day of shooting we were in the van with Margaret Cho, Jordana Brewster – like all these celebs and then I remembered that Angela directed her in Fully Loaded. So, we were really lucky to be there.

Maeve: I’m playing a judge and I’m married to a man but I have a really hot 20-year-old girlfriend name LouAnne (Riki Lindhome) on the side. I told Angela last year that I wanted to be in the show but she told me she didn’t have a part for me but she would think about it. This part was originally written for someone older. So, then she called and said do you want to be this judge but you have to make out with LouAnne and I said, “Bring it on...”. So that’s how I got the part. Mandy actually came to shooting on the day I had to kiss LouAnne and she brought me a pink fairy.

B&TF: Is it true that in your contract said you can only kiss once per episode?

Mandy: It’s not in our contract but it’s like the network contract – we can’t make out while lying down in the bed so we can’t be completely undressed while making out. So we have to sort of cheat and make out while on our knees.

Maeve: It’s network standards – it’s like I Love Lucy when they had to have separate beds. So, even to this day, there are standards for the networks. Characters can make out but they can’t be lying down.

B&TF: Could be also because it’s a show about teenagers?

Gabrielle: I personally think that it’s harder to get what we want approved because of the lesbian content of the show. I think they’re a little more hesitant to go further because I’ve seen Degrassi go further on their network. You know, we are doing as much as we can in pushing the envelope to make it as realistic as we can. That’s all we can do.

B&TF: How many seasons do you hope to have with this show?

Gabrielle: Three because that’s what we have (all laughing).

Mandy: Yes, three but we hope to have more.