Laura Linney hailed the “kindness” of her new series American Classic as a welcome antidote to the current television landscape.
Directed by Michael Hoffman, the MGM+ series centres on Richard Bean, played by Kevin Kline, a celebrated Broadway actor whose public breakdown sends him back to the small-town theatre where his career began.
What follows is less a triumphant return than a reckoning, as he is forced to confront the people and relationships he left behind.
Linney plays his former girlfriend, now the town’s mayor, who has since married his brother Jon, played by Jon Tenney.
At the heart of the story is a tightly wound family dynamic, with tensions rippling out to include his ambitious niece Miranda (Nell Verlaque), who is determined to carve out a life in theatre herself.
Speaking at the show’s London premiere on Tuesday, Linney described the series as a refreshing shift away from today’s high-intensity viewing, which she said has become “a little monotonous”.
“I really hate that we're in a place where kindness is seen as a weakness, y’know, that's really bad logic. It's really terrible logic,” she tells the Standard. “And I think there's, at least in the entertainment industry and this is not a bad thing, but it's just become a little monotonous.
“There's a power struggle for something to be muscular and strong and to get everyone's cortisol all the time running.”
“So, it's nice to have something that sort of makes you just sort of sit back and be cosy and not patronise to at the same time,” she reflected.
In the show, the four-time Emmy winner stars opposite stage and screen veteran Kline, 78, with the pair delivering a masterclass whenever they share the screen. Linney described their time working together as a “joy”.
“He's amazing,” the Golden Globe winner said of her co-star. “I mean, I've been learning from Kevin since the first time I saw him on stage when I was young, and he's just, you know, an American treasure. He really is.
“And to watch someone with so much experience and with so much love for what he does and so much commitment. It was really a joy.”
With the first season complete, Linney said she would welcome the opportunity to revisit her character and show, which has received rave reviews in the US.
“We'd all be privileged to be able to come back to this, this wonderful group of people,” she said. “It's in a great and a great world to spend time in so I hope I'm lucky enough to do that.”
Hoffman echoed her optimism, adding: “I hope so… We're ready to go. Those of us who are creating the show are ready to take on the challenge. We're just waiting for MGM to [give us the] go [ahead].”
American Classic premiere on MGM+ via Prime Video on Saturday, April 11
