‘Younger’ Stars Dan Amboyer and Molly Bernard Talk Chad/Thad, Season 3 and More!

One of our favorite series, TV Land’s Younger, returned to the ATX Festival this year, and this time around they brought the entire cast! We had the chance to sit down and talk with them, and with Dan Amboyer (Thad/Chad) and Molly Bernard (Lauren) – we asked about Season 3, their reactions to the whole Thad/Chad thing (spoilers ahead if you’ve not seen all of Season 2), and what romantic advice they would offer to their characters.

I have to start off with you. You had an interesting arc last season.

Dan Amboyer: Yeah. Right?

Yeah. What was that like? When the cast read that were they like, “Wait. Is this like Younger? What’s happening?” What was your reaction?

Dan Amboyer: For me, I had no idea what was going to happen. I remember actually, there’s a writer and producer on our show, Alison. When we were shooting the first two episodes of Season 2, I ran into her in the writing office. I’d never met her before. She was like, “Oh my gosh, your arc this season, right? Isn’t that crazy?” I was like, “Wait. What? What are you talking about. I have no idea what you’re talking about right now.” She was like, “Oh I can’t. Never mind. Nothing.”

Molly Bernard: I didn’t know that that happened to you.

Dan Amboyer: I don’t think I’ve told anyone. It happened. It was like … I just had this thing in my mind like, “What’s going to happen?” Then we’d sit around and we’d be … Remember this one night we were doing this all night shoot on the water and Sutton and you and I were talking, and we were like “Something’s got to happen because he’s not getting better. Thad isn’t getting better as a character.”

Molly Bernard: He’s getting worse actually.

Dan Amboyer: Yeah. Like something will happen.

Molly Bernard: I do remember that.

Dan Amboyer: Remember? I was like, what do you think is going to happen? Am I going to get hit by a bus or dumped or something? It was always just kind of in my mind. Darren took me out to drinks one time later on in the season, and he’s like, “What do you think is going to happen?” I was like, “I don’t know. Are you going to have me hit by a bus?” Like I literally said that. He’s like, “No but you’re going to have something fall on you and kill you. We’re still trying to figure it out.” Then he told me about the twin thing at the same time, but I had to keep it secret. At that time we were doing other stuff. I think we were actually doing the engagement episode and so we didn’t …

Molly Bernard: You knew during that?

Dan Amboyer: Yeah. That was so hard.

Molly Bernard: Oh my God.

Dan Amboyer: You don’t want to know it’s going to not work out when you’re shooting that, so it was difficult to do.

Molly Bernard: I will say at the table read, they were such punks about it. They were like, “No we’re not.” Usually we get our scripts while we’re shooting the two episodes before so we’ll get the next two episodes while we’re working on the previous two. We have like a good week with the script before we have the table read usually. Something like that. We got these scripts the day of the table read, so we were in the table read.

Dan Amboyer: It was literally our lunch break while we were shooting one day. We’d been shooting all morning and the emails, we were in our dressing rooms I think and the emails hit the phone.

Molly Bernard: The emails hit that the table read was supposed to be an hour and half later and people just started screaming.

Dan Amboyer: Yeah I heard people.

Molly Bernard: Some people didn’t know. Like Nico [Tortorella] doesn’t read the scripts. I don’t think Debi [Mazar] does either. Like a bunch of us didn’t have a chance to read the script because they were shooting before the table read. Literally, it was like pandemonium in the table read. People were like, “What!”

Dan Amboyer: Then they filmed it. They filmed that table read too.

Molly Bernard: Did they?

Dan Amboyer: Yeah. They filmed it.

Molly Bernard: I don’t have any recollection of that.

Dan Amboyer: Yeah.

Molly Bernard: Really? Because it was such a big reveal?

Dan Amboyer: Yeah because it was … They wanted to make it like a reveal for the cast too.

Molly Bernard: It was wild.

Dan Amboyer: I did … Maybe I shouldn’t say it. I did tell Hilary before. I wanted her to know because I felt bad.

Molly Bernard: Hilary knew too?

Dan Amboyer: I told her a few days before. I felt like … You know? When you have that relationship and you’re engaged and you’ve been working for two seasons on a relationship. I wanted her to know before everyone else knew.

That was nice that you gave her a little heads up.

Dan Amboyer: She was shocked.

Molly Bernard: I’ll bet. Hilary shocked is so cute. When she’s shocked she’s like “Oh.”

Dan Amboyer: Yeah.

What can you tease in regards to your character for next season?

Molly Bernard: Oh my gosh. What can I tease? You know what’s going to happen with Maggie and Lauren. Is Lauren still going to be pan-sexual. I’m curious about Lauren’s sexual adventures. I see, as Molly, I like love the Maggie and Lauren thing but you never know when you’re on TV. You could die. You could be gay. Excuse me I’m burping. You could be straight. You could be pan-sexual. One never knows.

Well you’ve seen a little bit of the age difference being an issue with like Liza and Josh. For you and Maggie do you think that’s ever going to be an issue?

Molly Bernard: No. I don’t think it is. I think that’s actually really brilliant writing to have two couples. I love that the couple that doesn’t give a shit about that is the female couple. They just like each other. They just like to bone and they like each other.

Dan Amboyer: What did Debi just call it? Pocketbook something.

Molly Bernard: Rubbing your pocketbooks together.

Dan Amboyer: Yeah.

Molly Bernard: Rubbing pocketbooks.

Dan Amboyer: I’d never heard that before, but I love it.

Molly Bernard: She’s so old school. I know. I feel like the age difference between Lauren and Maggie is a non-issue. I guess that love scene where Lauren asks, “Will you be my girlfriend.” Maggie says, “You know. I’ve been there and I don’t want to get hurt like that again.” That was the one moment that the age could have been a thing but it wasn’t. They just like each other which is pretty sweet.

What romantic advice would you as actors offer your characters in their romantic endeavors?

Molly Bernard: Good question. Let’s start with you sir.

Dan Amboyer: Well I would offer to the ghost of Thad that maybe be faithful, be open. At the same time I have a question about this one. I’m curious about your guys point of view, because Thad was unfaithful to her, but she was unfaithful to him, but I got so much shit about that, but she didn’t get shit with the writer, because people like thought he was attractive and hot.

Molly Bernard: Because they knew that Thad was piece of poop.

Dan Amboyer: Oh so they felt like “Get away!”

Molly Bernard: They were like, “Good for her.”

Dan Amboyer: But she didn’t know that though. She didn’t know that.

Molly Bernard: Then you guys had that conversation at the Hot Mix though.

Dan Amboyer: We both revealed and yeah.

Molly Bernard: Yeah because she’s like, “Oh you got me something?” They got each other the fancy gifts which as …

Dan Amboyer: Right but the audience … Yeah. She didn’t know but the audience knew. I don’t know. I was trying to like reconcile that.

Molly Bernard: Because you were f-ing around.

The audience knew that.

Molly Bernard: They were like, “Good for you Kels.”

Dan Amboyer: Right? Did you watch the episode where I have that scene in the bathroom stall in Silver Cup? Did you see that one?

Molly Bernard: I didn’t.

Dan Amboyer: Okay. That was funny. That was like the low point of Thad’s cheating I think.

Molly Bernard: They made you do some nasty things.

Dan Amboyer: I know.

Molly Bernard: You went through the ringer dude.

Dan Amboyer: I did. Yeah. I would say don’t cheat.

What about for Chad? What advice would you have for him?

Dan Amboyer: For Chad? I would say take it slow.

Molly Bernard: Take it slow bro.

Dan Amboyer: Take it slow bro. Slow your roll.

Molly Bernard: For Lauren, I would say, follow your impulses. Continue to follow your impulses because Lauren actually inspires me. I’ve learned a lot about myself as a women by playing someone as brave as Lauren. I’m a bit neurotic and kind of in my head a bit. That’s a joke. Lauren I think is on the right track. She follows her heart. She follows her body. She loves herself. I think she’s one of the few characters on TV who loves herself and I think that’s extraordinary to be a woman and love yourself that kind of openly and freely. Hey girl, hey!

I guess the one advice I would give her would be to … No. I have no advice. I have no advice for Lauren. I learn from Lauren. I was about to give myself advice from Lauren and then I was like, that’s not the question.

Younger Season 3 premieres September 28, and the series has already been picked up for Season 4! We’ll keep you posted on the new season as soon as we have more details!

Photo: Waytao Shing/Picturegroup