Sarah Shahi returns to the small screen later this week with new Universal Channel's drama Fairly Legal, which sees her takes on the role of Kate Reed.
In recent years the actress has found huge success in TV with Life and The L Word already under her belt.
I caught up with Sarah to talk about the new show as well as what movie work lies ahead.
- Fairly Legal is coming to Universal Chanel can you tell me a bit about the series?
I’ve often been quoted saying this but it’s really the best comparison I can think of: it’s like Law and Order meets Sex in the City with a lot more sex than law! It’s the easiest way to describe it.
If you’re not a Law and Order person you’re a Sex in the City person, and if you’re not a Sex in the City person you’re a Law and Order person.
It’s like your favourite show no matter what your favourite show is - there’s something for everybody!
- You take on the role of Kate Reed in the show so what was it about the character and the script that drew you to the project?
I liked the idea of playing this perfect mess. It seemed that on the surface she was very good at what she does but underneath it all she has all these flaws and those are the things of her I like most to play.
She has this ongoing hatred with her step mother, she has the death of her father that she has not been able to confront and this ex-husband who she is still sleeping with.
The idea of playing this character dealing with these issues was really appealing and something I hadn’t done before.
- And can you talk a bit about Kate and the journey that she goes on throughout the series?
In a way Kate does not progress not very much. I think Kate is very childlike; she doesn’t evolve at all throughout the course of the series. Her relationship with Justin is very rollercoaster and it’s all over the place.
But I will say that, in the finale episode Kate’s world comes crashing down on her in a way she did not expect at all. It’s a very intense episode and it was very intense for me to play it.
- Michael Sardo directed the series so how did you find working with him?
I feel very lucky to have worked with Michael; it feels like fate brought us together because we love working together. This is his first show and he’s the creator and writes almost all the episodes.
He has no ego when it comes to his own words - if you have a suggestion or an idea or can say it better, he is all for it. He’s about the scene taking on a life of its own no matter what he wrote if that’s what happens when you get on set. He’s a dream to work with.
- Fairly Legal sees you go from lawyer to mediator so what sort of research did you do into these fields for the role?
I didn’t do much research for the part actually. For me the show was never a procedural show, it was the opposite of that.
The focus of the show, in my opinion, has always been her heart and it was most important to me to understand that; why she is the way she is and why she feels so passionate about these things.
So if anything I tried to create a very thorough and interesting background for her and that’s where I did most of my work.
- The series is already being compared to Ally McBeal what do you think of the comparisons? Does that put you under a bit more pressure?
I’ve never actually seen Ally McBeal! But from what I remember it was a huge success with critics and the audience so if Fairly Legal can do what that did, that’s great! And even it can do more, even better!
- Throughout your career you have moved between movies and TV so how do the two mediums compare/differ?
I feel like I’m someone who’s always trying to chase the movie career but TV came very easy for me. They’re very different mediums - TV is quick and fast paced. You get the satisfaction of filming 9 pages in one day and then it comes out the next month so you get to see it.
In movies you can shoot a page and a half in a 14-hour day, it’s much slower and the turnaround is much slower.
I’ve been trying to do more movies for a while but it just so happens that every time I do get a movie it coincides with a TV schedule and I’m not able to do it!
- Is there one that you prefer?
No, not really. I just want to go where the best work is and it doesn’t matter to me whether it’s TV or movies or, hopefully one day, the stage.
- In recent years American TV has been a very exciting place to be - with almost all of the big names stars moving onto the small screen - do you feel that this is the case?
Yes - I couldn’t have put it better myself!
- Finally what's next for you?
I did a couple of movies once we’d finished the first series: first was a movie called I Don’t Know How She Does It with Sarah Jessica Parker in New York and then I did another independent movie called The Congress with Robin Wright, Paul Giamatti and Harvey Keitel.
And, of course, I look forward to those golden moments where I get to be mom and we’ll see about a second season of Fairly Legal!
Fairly Legal premieres on the Universal Channel on Sunday 10th April at 8pm
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw