They couldn’t get it off the bottom.
In a latest profile in The Hollywood Reporter, “Latest Girl” alum Jake Johnson opens up about the very best TV show he never made — and why he was shocked when the promising pilot crash-landed.
Best-known for his role because the grumpy, lovable Nick Miller, who fumbled his way through seven seasons of the Zooey Deschanel sitcom, Johnson is back on our screens (and in our hearts) for season 2 of “Minx,” where he stars as a sleazy ’70s publisher behind the primary erotic magazine for girls.
But in keeping with Johnson, a failed pilot he shot for Apple TV+ could’ve been his biggest hit.
Before it was shot down attributable to budgeting constraints within the early days of the pandemic, the show — one other ’70s-set sitcom, this one a couple of cult — was met with rave reviews.
Johnson laughed, remembering how he got ahead of himself, after the pilot’s early reviews.
“I’m finally getting the respect I deserve,” Johnson recalled pondering, adding that he “didn’t even think there was an option of [the show] not getting picked up.”
He pictured the accolades awaiting his return to the small screen.
“My only thought was, ‘How do they tell ‘The Morning Show’ that they simply got knocked off the Apple pedestal? ‘I just feel bad for Jen Aniston,’” he remembered pondering.
Pointless to say, it got here as a surprise to listen to that the show was D.O.A.
“In my head, I’d already won every award and adjusted the sport,” Johnson said. “Then I get the decision that they’re not moving forward. You panic…After which, in a short time, you know it’s dead.”
Since then, Johnson has contended with more successes and failures.
“Minx” turned a profit for Max, however the streamer canceled the show nonetheless.
Then got here the news that it might be picked up by Starz for a second season, which just so happens to premiere on July 21, or “Barbenheimer” Day, when the ‘Barbie’ film and ‘Oppenheimer are each set to be released.
Today, Johnson said he doesn’t put the cart before the horse. Currently, he is targeted on his upcoming directorial debut, “Self Reliance.”
