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 Jennifer Baxter may not have landed a U.S. network pilot but she can be seen on the second season of Billable Hours on Showcase. |
Billable Hours certainly isn't shy.
"It's all a blur to me because we did it so quickly," said actress Jennifer Baxter, one of the stars of the Canadian comedy series, which makes its second-season debut Sunday on Showcase.
"We did 10 new episodes in roughly two months, in October and November, a whole new season with some new characters. But I haven't seen anything. So what do you mean when you say it isn't shy?"
Well, in the first few minutes of the first episode, someone accidentally kills himself. And in the second episode, Sam (played by co-creator Fabrizio Filippo) tries to gain sympathy by pretending he has cancer.
"You're right, that isn't very shy," said Baxter, on the phone from her home in Los Angeles. "It could offend a lot of people."
The goal of Billable Hours, of course, is not to offend, but to amuse. And in that regard, Baxter -- who was born in Vancouver and is a veteran of the Canadian comedy scene -- hopes there's something in the series for everyone who likes to laugh.
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"Comedy is so subjective, but it's pretty varied," Baxter said of Billable Hours, which is set in a Toronto law office.
"The whole tone is different from the first season, so much broader. Did you see it last year? It was a little bit ... uh ... "
Aloof?
"Yeah, exactly," Baxter said. "And I love that stuff, don't get me wrong. But it's tougher for shows like that. You don't have a show without fans. I think it eventually will have to hit."
Baxter's character, Robin Howland, is the victim of every type of stereotyping that can occur to a female in an office environment. In the first episode of the new season, she is in turmoil about how old she's getting and the negative impact it may have on her career. In the second episode, she adds five pounds to her tall, blonde, thin frame and everyone instantly assumes she's pregnant.
"My character isn't just 'the woman.' I really feel like I'm one of the guys," Baxter said. "And, you know, I'm never in a relationship. I'm never a normal woman. I'm just single and angry."
Baxter admitted she doesn't bring a lot of first-hand experience to the role.
"I've never worked in an office, ever," Baxter said. "Honestly, I don't know how people could in that environment.
"And corporate law? Oh my God, it must be so boring. It's a credit to our art department that all those files on our desks are like real legal documents, but I'm reading them and saying, 'I have no idea what this is.' "
Billable Hours notwithstanding, Baxter has been trying to land a U.S. pilot in recent weeks.
"And I didn't get one, so I guess I'm a big loser here," Baxter said with a chuckle. "I got a lot of this: 'She's fantastic, we love her, she's just not the character. Thanks for nothin'.
"And everything I went for, celebrities got. Every part went to, you know, celebrities who had a bit of a movie career and they aren't making as many movies now so they're going into television. Christina Applegate. Lucy Liu. Natasha Henstridge. All these people that you know. So it was a little frustrating, to be honest."
Oh well, Baxter still has Billable Hours.
"I love doing it, I love working with everyone, and my husband (Mike Beaver) is on it, too, so it's fun," Baxter said. "He's the big loser in the show, the slimy, disgusting guy. The one who thinks he's funny but he's not."
As long as nobody says that about the series as a whole, then Billable Hours is on the right track.