Things I Learned from Joey Lawrence, Part II

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

I posted yesterday about some of the things I learned from a Q&A with Joey Lawrence. I thought he had some really interesting things to say, particularly about the way he lives his private life. Today, we take a look at some of the things that he talked about regarding his new show with Melissa Joan Hart, Melissa & Joey. We're now four episodes in, so it's not too late to tune in and have some good laughs; it comes on ABCFamily on Tuesdays at 8 Eastern/7 Central. (It also tends to repeat at 10pm, so if your 8pm is booked like mine, catch it a couple hours later.) And, in case you were wondering about which questions I asked, because of the way many of the questions were going, I chose to use my question and follow-up on his personal life: I asked about if/what he likes to cook and since he enjoys the live audience, how he felt about doing Chicago. However, I think there are many interesting facts to learn below, too.

- the original names for the main characters were Jack and Annie. When they went with Melissa and Joey, the marketing people pointed out that it would be easier for the population to find the show with simple names, like The Cosby Show, Roseanne, and Seinfeld.

- He wrote the theme song, and you can hear a little bit at the end, "I guess you're stuck with me." The whole thing is going to be up on iTunes at some point. A (possibly reggae?) remix of it will be on Joey album, due out early 2011 (remember when he did a couple albums way back when??). He's been working with Matthew Gerard on the album, if you're familiar with him.

- when asked what he likes best about his current character, he said that Joe's a "guy's guy" and that he's "brutally honest." He was hoping to bring back the non-pc, smart, honest man. Actually honesty is possibly the only thing Joey has in common with Joe; he says that the character is very different from him, but that's what he enjoys playing.

- I'm particularly excited that both Matt and Andy (the younger Lawrence brothers, who co-starred with Joey in previous projects like Brotherly Love, Horse Sense, and Jumping Ship) are planned to guest on Melissa & Joey, albeit separately and not as Joe's brothers. Other guest stars coming up? Well, there's a Dancing with the Stars crossover September 28th. Oh, and Joe's ex-wife will end up being played by someone cool, too.

- he likes the live studio audience. He considers it a "rush" and likes knowing if a joke works (great audience response) or if it doesn't work (so you can change it).

- I had read on his Twitter that he tore his cornea on the set last week. Turns out, a script got jammed into his eye accidentally, and his vision will be blurry for another few weeks! And, speaking of Twitter, he mentioned that he's a "techno-idiot" but he got pushed into Twitter by his friends.

- Should this show go for more than five years, the Joe character is going to have to make a tough decision: at that point, he could legally go back to trading.

- he called romantic tv comedies "warm chocolate chip cookies" because "it makes you feel good." Similarly, he recognizes that the Mel and Joe characters will probably get together, but they want to put that off for as long as possible since it "starts to signify the show wrapping itself up."