SHE’S STILL ‘YOUNGER’
Age charade goes fourth in new season of TV Land dramedy
THE last season of “Younger” ended with a bombshell: Liza (Sutton Foster) finally revealed to pal Kelsey (Hilary Duff ) the secret at the show’s core — that she is, in fact, a 40-year-old divorced mother and not a 26-year-old single gal.
Season 4 (premiering June 28 on TV Land) finds Liza — who works at a fictitious publishing house called Empirical — relieved that her lie is exposed and wanting to come clean to everyone.
But it’s more complicated than that.
“Part of what Season 4 does [is] there have to be new reasons for her to keep doing it,” Foster says. “One of the big reasons is if she were to divulge her secret, if it became public, it could have repercussions to Empirical and to [her] Millennial [imprint]. She’s woven a bigger web than she’s even thought.”
As for her love life, Liza is still reeling from her boyfriend, Josh (Nico Tortorella), catching her kissing her hunky boss, Charles (Peter Hermann), just as he was about to propose. When Season 4 picks up, she’s giving her ex some space — though that doesn’t mean Josh is disappearing from the story. In fact, he ends up spending a lot of time with a fellow casualty of Liza’s lies: Kelsey (Hilary Duff ).
“Josh and Kelsey have been through the same s--t. They have dealt with the same issues with Liza in one way or another, [though] not at the same volume,” Tortorella says. “There is a real companionship between them. They can relate to each other’s stories and can find solace in each other.”
Could that friendship perhaps develop into a more romantic relationship? “This is a Darren Star show,” Tortorella says. “There’s potential, for sure.”
As for Charles, the third part of the rom-com’s central love triangle, he’s still in the dark about Liza’s true age. His undeniable attraction to a woman who seems wise beyond her years — while simultaneously believing he can’t date her because of their age difference — has created a maddening will-they- won’t-they tension forr viewers and cast alike. e.
“They’re so beautiful iful together. I ache for how complicated the amount of calculus that happens in Charles’ head is in whether to pursue her or whether he can pursue her with integrity or not,” Hermann says. “It’s a source of frustration that those doors can’t simply be flung open and we can be who we are.”
However, with Josh and Liza firmly broken up (at least for nnow), could that put a Charles romance on ththe table this season? “I definitely think that pathp is more open now,” FoFoster says. “I try to remremain neutral, but I have to say, I think this year I’m [on] Team Charles,” she adds. “Nothing against Josh, because I love Josh, but ... we haven’t explored that [Charles] relationship yet, so I can’t make a decision until it’s [been equally explored].
“He’s an almost. A lot of stolen glances and stolen kisses. It would be fun to see what that looks like.”