“Don't Trust the B—- In Apt. 23” Season Two: More Insanity, More Van Der Beek

Cast and creators tease the new season and celebrate the comic triumph of James Van Der Beek.

Yes, don’t believe a word that the b---- says, but definitely trust the good girl when she promises that Season Two of “Don’t Trust the B---- in Apartment 23” will be even wilder than its debut season.

“It's insane,” promises star Dreama Walker, who plays the more straight-laced roommate June to Krysten Ritter’s say-anything, do-anything party girl Chloe. “We're going home to somebody's house, but I can't say who's; there's a Halloween episode; there's a Thanksgiving episode…”

“Oh gosh, the Thanksgiving episode is one of the most wrong episodes of anything I’ve ever seen,” agrees co-star James Van Der Beek.

The breakout sitcom won over critics and viewers by specializing in casually tossed-off high-shock, high-speed comic twists and dialogue. Executive producer and showrunner David Hemingson says he remains stunned at the combustive comedic chemistry shared by leads Walker and Ritter.

“They’re so gifted and there’s nothing you can’t give them,” Hemingson says. “And for Krysten in particular, we write the most shocking, appalling, sometimes borderline sociopathic stuff for her, and she just pulls it off with an aplomb I have not encountered in any other actress. She is just this freestanding law unto herself.”

“We cast Dreama first,” recalls Hemingson. “Dreama walked in – she was the second person to audition – and she sat down and I remember being there watching the camera test going ‘This is perfect! Who could we possibly pair with her?’ We didn’t have an incredibly keen sense of who that person would be. And I remember saying to Jeff [Morton, executive producer] ‘Have you ever seen “Breaking Bad,” man? Watch Season Two: the actress who plays Jane Margolis, the landlord – Krysten Ritter. That girl’s amazing.’"

“I have to say that we were really lucky,” agrees Walker, who reveals that the actresses’ styles clicked right out of the gate. “We didn't get a chance to read together until we were doing our first scene in the pilot. I had seen her in 'Breaking Bad' and thought that she did a great job, and thought that she was the perfect opposite of me: this short blonde girl and then this tall, raven-haired girl. I thought the two of us together would be the perfect odd couple.”

Perhaps the most delightful and unexpected surprise of the series is just how effective former “Dawson’s Creek” star James Van Der Beek turned out to be in his role as Chloe’s best friend, who happened to be former “Dawson’s Creek” star James Van Der Beek. The actor admits he was taking a professional risk, but didn’t over-think it at the outset.

“It’s one of the few times in my career I really just went with my gut,” says Van Der Beek. “And it almost wasn’t important what anybody else thought – I mean, I wanted people to laugh, for sure. The response has been really overwhelming and really humbling. People seem to appreciate it, which is great because I love doing it and I love the people I work with, so that’s been really gratifying.”

“It was originally conceived for Lance Bass,” reveals Hemingson, “but it didn’t work out and we were like ‘Who are we gonna get who could be a celebrity but who has the comic timing to pull this off?’ We saw the ‘Van Der Memes’ [on 'Funny or Die'] and we saw James and we said ‘This guy is perfect.’ So it’s incredibly gratifying that he’s getting recognized for this, and he’s got such a deep comic bag of tricks – we write stuff for him and he just keeps discovering new things. He’s a wonderful comic actor.”

The second season of "Don't Trust the B--- In Apt. 23" premieres Tuesday Oct. 23 at 9.30 p.m. ET on ABC.

 

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