New Streaming Series 'It's Not Like That' Very Real and Relatable to the Modern Family
Erinn Hayes and Sam Foley in 'It's Not Like That'. Photo image courtesy Wonder Project.
It seems like every time we blink our eyes these days there is a new streaming series launching that attempts to capture our attention. But the truth is, most of them seem to blur together in a mixture of yawns and indifference. So, when a new show comes along that sort of sidesteps the traditional boundaries of “been there, seen that”, you need to sit up and take note.
It’s Not Like That, a new family drama debuting January 25th on Prime Video’s faith-based Wonder Project channel, is just that show. The new series is unafraid to tackle tough topics like the loss of a loved one, divorce, or raising children as a single parent, but does so in a highly relatable, sometimes lighthearted way that is uncommon in today’s programming landscape.
“The beauty and the balance of the show is that we're dealing with every day, relatable, heavy, sometimes light subjects,” says Scott Foley, who stars as a recently widowed pastor on the show. “But there is some levity throughout all of it. That's how we all get through life. And I think that we do that well on this show.”
“I love scripts like this because life is not always serious,” adds Erinn Hayes, who co-stars as a recently divorced single parent. “It is not always funny. It's a mixed bag of all of it and showing all of that is refreshing to me. And it was so wonderful to meet each scene with what it needed without having just this one bent.”
As a prime example, in the first episode, the pastor (Foley) is struggling to write and present his first sermon since his wife died. A very real, and relatable moment ensues.
“He does something that almost every man I know doesn't and should, which is he asks for help, and he does it in a very public way.,” shares Foley, who has also been a series regular on former television staples Scandal and Felicity. “He stands up in front of his congregation and says, ‘I'm not okay.’ This is a really hard thing to do as a person, as a man, but then he asks for help. He says, ‘I'm going to lean on you guys.’ And I think that's a real representation of the kind of person my character is. It really opened up a world of opportunity, emotionally going forward on this show.”
J.R. Ramirez, who some may remember as Detective Jared Vasquez in the popular television series Manifest. plays a recovering alcoholic father of two who is trying to make the right decisions but sometimes stumbles in his pursuit. He believes his character is very real and not unlike a nearby neighbor or secretly suffering friend.
“I think compassion is a big thing in the show,” says Ramirez. “We are so quick to judge people that we see or that we meet, but at the end of the day, we really have no idea what they're battling or dealing with. My hope is that viewers can take a step back and think about what some people are dealing with day to day.”
For his part, Ramirez believes this might be the most important project he has ever worked on.
“I was playing golf the other day, and a friend of mine said to me, ‘You seem different about this project.’ And I just think it's a really important time in life to have a show like this. I don't think there's anything out there right now like it. To be able to sit down with the whole family and take in something like this is really important. I can't wait for people to hopefully fall in love with it.”
In addition to Foley, Hayes (They Came Together), and Ramirez, the show also stars Caleb Baumann (Parish), Cary Christopher (Days of Our Lives), and Tyner Rushing (Under the Banner of Heaven).
New episodes of the eight-episode season will be released weekly following the two-episode premiere on January 25th.
It’s Not Like That is executive produced by Jon Erwin, who is best known for directing I Can Only Imagine and Jesus Revolution among other feature film projects.
WATCH A TRAILER FOR IT’S NOT LIKE THAT:
