‘HOME’ AND HEART
Sasheer Zamata on the ‘Economics’ of ABC’s new ensemble sitcom
‘HOME ECONOMICS” co-star Sasheer Zamata said the realism of her new ABC sitcom hit close to home. “There aren’t too many family shows that talk about money, which is kind of surprising,” Zamata, 34, told The Post. “What do you do when a family member loans you money? I’ve also had money situations with different members of my family — and I can definitely relate to how that’s portrayed in the show. “There’s a lot involved with that.” There is — and that’s the premise of “Home Economics,” airing Wednesdays (8:30 p.m.) The ensemble comedy revolves around the three closely knit Hayworth siblings — Sarah (Caitlin McGee), Tom (Topher Grace) and Connor (Jimmy Tatro) — who are at different levels of the socio-economic scale. Connor, the youngest, is a dim private equity multi-millionaire with a broken marriage; Tom, a best-selling author, is married with-kids to ex-lawyer Marina (Karla Souza) and has money problems; and older sister Caitlin, who’s married to schoolteacher Denise (Zamata), has just been fired from her job and is worried how they’ll support themselves and their two children.
The sitcom was inspired by the life of Michael Colton, who co-created the series with John Aboud.
“Denise is more of an outside observer of the craziness of the Hayworths; Marina and Denise married into this family and it’s quite a lot to witness,” said Zamata, an actress/comedian who spent four seasons on “Saturday Night Live” and whose resume includes roles on “Woke,” “The Last OG” and Syfy’s “The Pole.”
“Denise is very earthy and energetic and is a spirited woman, which is not much different from me. She’s into astrology and crystals and the moon but is also practical — she’s there to calm Sarah down and make sure she keeps a level head regarding her brothers.
“She’s kind of Sarah’s rock, in that way.”
“Home Economics” marks Zamata’s first co-starring role in a network sitcom.
“There’s a little more heart to this show, and you definitely have moments of real connections between these character and also jokes and it’s very funny,” she said. “There are moments that are really varied in emotion and, because the nexus of the show is money, that can be awkward to talk about — with a significant other, siblings, parents, children… I think that can lead us to different places [in the series].”
Denise will also throw in a few surprises as the series progresses, she said. “There’s a fun storyline where she actually gets more involved with Connor’s job. You’d think she would reject that — not wanting to get involved because it’s ‘blood money’ or not a socially a good thing on the surface — but she really gets into it and uses her ‘woo woo’ ways to connect on a real level.”
Zamata, who was auditioning for roles in other series before landing “Home Economics,” said Denise offered a different perspective.
“I don’t think I auditioned for any other characters that were this crunchy-granola, to say the least,” she said. “I like that she’s sweet, but I also like that she’s realistic and not just a blindly positive person. She can also can bring people down to earth and bring herself down to earth as well.
“I like the way she fits with this family, even in her relationship with Sarah, who’s very pragmatic and also kind of crunchy-granola but she gets much angrier at the world than [Denise]. We create a nice balance with each other — yes, Sarah is right a lot of the time but Denise can bring her into this world of ‘We don’t have to run everyone over because they’re wrong. We can also use love to get what we want.’
“That’s a nice dynamic to see within this larger family.”