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| Cr: POP |
(This interview was originally published on Examiner.com on January 16, 2015.) — “Queens of Drama” is a docu-series coming to Pop (formerly TVGN) and features daytime and prime time soaps stars as they attempt to produce a new prime time serial drama to star in. The actresses will work on producing their own show from concept to developing the show and to come out with a pilot at the end of the season’s episodes.
The “drama” in the title is in their famous profession and how they move around in the business world and not their personal lives as the name might imply. The series will feature stars, Donna Mills, Vanessa Marcil, Lindsay Hartley,Crystal Hunt, Hunter Tylo and Chrystee Pharris.
Daytime TV Examiner caught with Hunt this last week to find out how she got involved in the project and gave a look at what to expect. The busy actress pulled double duty, having shot the upcoming “Magic Mike XXL” in Savannah and “Queens of Drama” in Los Angeles.
Check out the interview with Hunt below:
Phyllis: Hi Crystal. I’ve been watching you on Daytime for years I feel like I know you. I know people still recognize you from “Guiding Light” and “One Life to Live.” Are you still being called by your characters names?
Crystal Hunt: I’d much rather have that than when I was on “Guiding Light” and people would be cursing my character on the street and saying “You need to come to Jesus… – calling me trash and what not…I would have to tell them all “My God, that’s not really me.”
Phyllis: I guess it shows how passionate the fans are…
Crystal Hunt: And how convincing you are
Phyllis: Now “Queens of Drama,” tell me how you decided to do this show at this time?
Crystal Hunt: I was actually producing my first feature with my best friend Dania Ramirez, who as you know, is on “Devious Maids.” We’ve know each other since we were twelve. And way back, we used to say “When we get famous. we need to make our own movies.” It’s funny because I don’t even think that we are and that we think that we think that now. But we said, “Hey it’s time. We can figure it out, put the money together and just do it. So we are out in the woods, filming in the middle of nowhere and living out of an RV. They contacted me and said would you be interested in doing this, so the concept of putting on makeup and not looking like a producer who’s been out in the middle of nowhere was appealing. So I thought, I had to get it together and get internet somehow so I can Skype. Knowing that Donna Mills had signed on, I know what kind of respect she has in this industry. The fact that she was on board, said a lot. I know there are a lot of non-scripted that can be scary and a nightmare. They can edit it to no end and turn it into something it’s not. The fact that she was game really was the deciding factor for me.
Phyllis: How would you describe it to an audience who might have one motion of what scripted is and if it’s different from this, and what it is to you?
Crystal Hunt: Ours is a group of strong women from daytime and prime time dramas. We really just… everybody’s got their own work ethic and ideas. The one thing is, there’s not one lazy one. We’re very strong we are. We’re working together for a common goal. We all want to pull our weight and we wanted to put something together that we might not have had the opportunity. When you all want something so badly, regardless to what you think of each other, we happen to really like each other. There’s so many generations here, but when you are working together for a common goal, nothing else really is a factor. You start to learn how each person works, how they work better or differently, what my strong suit is, versus Vanessa’s…it’s really been great. It’s exciting.
Phyllis: How well did you know any of the ladies when you took this project on?
Crystal Hunt: We really didn’t. The Daytime community, obviously, has such a small community that we’d see each other at events and have met in passing, but not really. The only two that really knew each other was Linsey and Chrystee because they were both on “Passions.” It’s been awesome.
Phyllis: What can audiences’ expect? Will they laugh a lot? Will they cry a lot? Will they be shocked?
Crystal Hunt: I think there will be a lot of “Oohh” and “Oh Man” when it comes to commercial. “I can’t wait to find out what happens when they come back.” I think there will be a lot of suspense. I think there is definitely some laughs. Naturally there was a lot of comedy amongst us. There’s no way that can be edited out. There will also be some real moments that people will be able to relate to. In the entire series, there are real moments. Just the bones of who each of us are, it will really let people connected to who we are.
Phyllis: What will a typical episode look like? Will you be on auditions, producing, having production meetings? What will the episodes show us in a sense?
Crystal Hunt: There really isn’t one that’s alike. The one thing that’s consistent in each episode is, each little step along the way that we have to check off is when we are shown together. We go on our road trips. We go to Donna’s house, there’s always different venues… we spent time together just like everybody else. That’s the one thing that’s common in all the episodes. Different groups of us will be paired up each time doing different little tasks that need to be done. It’s really fun. Hopefully, we’ll get a season two and be able to do it all again.
“Queens of Drama” premieres in April on Pop.“Queens of Drama” is a docu-series coming to Pop (formerly TVGN) and features daytime and prime time soaps stars as they attempt to produce a new prime time serial drama to star in. The actresses will work on producing their own show from concept to developing the show and to come out with a pilot at the end of the season’s episodes.
The “drama” in the title is in their famous profession and how they move around in the business world and not their personal lives as the name might imply. The series will feature stars, Donna Mills, Vanessa Marcil, Lindsay Hartley,Crystal Hunt, Hunter Tylo and Chrystee Pharris.
Daytime TV Examiner caught with Hunt this last week to find out how she got involved in the project and gave a look at what to expect. The busy actress pulled double duty, having shot the upcoming “Magic Mike XXL” in Savannah and “Queens of Drama” in Los Angeles.
Check out the interview with Hunt below:
Phyllis: Hi Crystal. I’ve been watching you on Daytime for years I feel like I know you. I know people still recognize you from “Guiding Light” and “One Life to Live.” Are you still being called by your characters names?
Crystal Hunt: I’d much rather have that than when I was on “Guiding Light” and people would be cursing my character on the street and saying “You need to come to Jesus… – calling me trash and what not…I would have to tell them all “My God, that’s not really me.”
Phyllis: I guess it shows how passionate the fans are…
Crystal Hunt: And how convincing you are
Phyllis: Now “Queens of Drama,” tell me how you decided to do this show at this time?
Crystal Hunt: I was actually producing my first feature with my best friend Dania Ramirez, who as you know, is on “Devious Maids.” We’ve know each other since we were twelve. And way back, we used to say “When we get famous. we need to make our own movies.” It’s funny because I don’t even think that we are and that we think that we think that now. But we said, “Hey it’s time. We can figure it out, put the money together and just do it. So we are out in the woods, filming in the middle of nowhere and living out of an RV. They contacted me and said would you be interested in doing this, so the concept of putting on makeup and not looking like a producer who’s been out in the middle of nowhere was appealing. So I thought, I had to get it together and get internet somehow so I can Skype. Knowing that Donna Mills had signed on, I know what kind of respect she has in this industry. The fact that she was on board, said a lot. I know there are a lot of non-scripted that can be scary and a nightmare. They can edit it to no end and turn it into something it’s not. The fact that she was game really was the deciding factor for me.
Phyllis: How would you describe it to an audience who might have one motion of what scripted is and if it’s different from this, and what it is to you?
Crystal Hunt: Ours is a group of strong women from daytime and prime time dramas. We really just… everybody’s got their own work ethic and ideas. The one thing is, there’s not one lazy one. We’re very strong we are. We’re working together for a common goal. We all want to pull our weight and we wanted to put something together that we might not have had the opportunity. When you all want something so badly, regardless to what you think of each other, we happen to really like each other. There’s so many generations here, but when you are working together for a common goal, nothing else really is a factor. You start to learn how each person works, how they work better or differently, what my strong suit is, versus Vanessa’s…it’s really been great. It’s exciting.
Phyllis: How well did you know any of the ladies when you took this project on?
Crystal Hunt: We really didn’t. The Daytime community, obviously, has such a small community that we’d see each other at events and have met in passing, but not really. The only two that really knew each other was Linsey and Chrystee because they were both on “Passions.” It’s been awesome.
Phyllis: What can audiences’ expect? Will they laugh a lot? Will they cry a lot? Will they be shocked?
Crystal Hunt: I think there will be a lot of “Oohh” and “Oh Man” when it comes to commercial. “I can’t wait to find out what happens when they come back.” I think there will be a lot of suspense. I think there is definitely some laughs. Naturally there was a lot of comedy amongst us. There’s no way that can be edited out. There will also be some real moments that people will be able to relate to. In the entire series, there are real moments. Just the bones of who each of us are, it will really let people connected to who we are.
Phyllis: What will a typical episode look like? Will you be on auditions, producing, having production meetings? What will the episodes show us in a sense?
Crystal Hunt: There really isn’t one that’s alike. The one thing that’s consistent in each episode is, each little step along the way that we have to check off is when we are shown together. We go on our road trips. We go to Donna’s house, there’s always different venues… we spent time together just like everybody else. That’s the one thing that’s common in all the episodes. Different groups of us will be paired up each time doing different little tasks that need to be done. It’s really fun. Hopefully, we’ll get a season two and be able to do it all again.
“Queens of Drama” premieres in April on Pop.
