Last week, I shared the fun of being on the sets of ABC Family’s Melissa & Joey and Baby Daddy. While we were there, we not only got to explore the set and “behind-the-scenes”, but we got to spend some time chatting with the stars of the shows! What fun! Melissa & Joey stars Melissa Joan Hart & Joey Lawrence (two people I remember well from shows growing up)! It was great that they took time to talk with us (and take some fun photos). We got to watch them rehearse for the upcoming season (which airs Wednesday, January 14th at 8/7c) and then they sat down with us! 
It was such a fun & relaxed vibe! They were great! We talked about the show, their family, and even politics. Yes, politics…well, sort of! Joey Lawrence was asked what he thought he’d be doing if it wasn’t acting. His response was that politics has always intrigued him. As he talked you could really see his passion for it and for this country! So, it was interesting to hear his answer!
The show though is really clearly both Melissa & Joey’s main focus right now (career wise). And, that makes sense since the show is set to cross that 100th show threshold this year! So many tv shows never make it that long, so you can really tell it’s something that they are proud of. And, if you didn’t know, Joey Lawrence has actually directed some of the episodes. In fact, he says he loves directing and would like to do more. But, he doesn’t really like being in the show that he’s directing (and I don’t blame him – I think that would be so awkward and hard). “I love to direct. I don’t love being in it and directing. I don’t really love that. I think it’s super tough to do that.”
He does love working with Melissa though and it sounds like they have a lot of fun together. He said she gives him a hard time about “smelling prettier than her”. Hahah! And, he does indeed smell pretty – I can attest to that! 😉
Just like with our interviews of Meryl Streep, Tracey Ullman, and Christine Baranski, my favorite thing about interviewing Melissa was the conversations about being a mom, balancing family & work, etc. Melissa and I have something in common as she & I are both moms of 3 boys! 🙂 We even both had our last babies in 2012! Fun! And, she has a clothing line coming out inspired by her boy mom role – King of Hearts for Little Boys! While we were taking pictures with her and talking on the set, a lot of us were talking with her about that line and our excitement for cute boy clothes (man can they be hard to find)! 
While the show is not a full family show as it’s NOT for kids (Joey Lawrence even talked about that & how his young kids are not allowed to watch the show), the cast & crew of the show are very family oriented. Not only do they work together well, but Melissa explained that many of them are in the baby & kids family life stage. Eight babies were born to cast & crew members in 2012 alone!
What’s funny is that if you’ve seen the show, Mel is NOT your typical “mom role”. Melissa Joan Hart said she actually wanted it that way and enjoys playing her. So, when asked, “What experience from being a Mom have you brought to your role on this show?”, Melissa responded with, ” The exact opposite.” Hahaha! It’s SO true! “Everything that I know about being a mom, I try to do the exact opposite of my, um, instincts for Mel cause she doesn’t know.” That of course makes for some really funny moments on the show!
Be sure to tune in on Wednesday, January 14th at 8/7c) for the winter season premier. In the meantime, you can follow Melissa & Joey on Facebook, on Twitter @abcfmelissajoey or Instagram!
Disclosure: Disney provided me with an all expenses paid trip to Los Angeles for the purposes of this coverage. As always, all opinions, experiences, and love of Disney are entirely my own! Some photos provided by ABC FAMILY/ Eric McCandless.
