The Season 6 premiere of TVLand’s Younger finally gives audiences what they want—and not just more shirtless Charles: The opening episode features the trio of Sutton Foster, Miriam Shor, and Hilary Duff (a.k.a. Liza, Diana, and Kelsey) singing “9 to 5” at the long-established Broadway piano bar Marie’s Crisis.
Creator Darren Star chose the Dolly Parton tune “because he’s a genius,” says Shor, who plays Diana, the longtime head of marketing at Empirical Publishing. The three ladies of Empirical filmed on location at the Village bar.
“We had already recorded the song,” Shor reveals. “They were like, ‘Do you want to sing this live?’ and I was like, ‘It’s a six-hour shoot, so maybe a recording.’ I know Sutton can sing for six hours, but…”
The cast first found out about the scene during a table read. “It was so great to see it in the script,” says Peter Hermann, who plays Liza’s love interest Charles. “And then to see it come alive the way that it did was just incredible.”
“It’s everyone’s dream to sing with Broadway’s darling,” says Shor. Though the two did star in City Center’s production of The Wild Party in 2015, they didn’t ever duet. “You have Sutton Foster in a show. People aren’t just going to forget that she’s a two-time Tony winner.”
Yet, in its previous five seasons, Younger has barely dipped its toe in the musical realm, airing a smidgen of a Christmas party performance of “The Lonely Goatherd” from The Sound of Music. For musical fans it wasn’t quite enough. But this season that may change, and not just with the fantasy dance sequence seemingly teased in a recent trailer.
When asked if there would be any more singing and dancing this season, cast members grew coy. “We’ll all just kind of sipping our cups,” Hermann says.
“We’re going to quietly sip our cups and look at you with the eyes,” Shor seconds. “It’s a season of...many riches,” adds Charles Michael Davis.
Foster and her co-star Nico Tortorella, who plays competing love interest Josh, posted a video of the two of them tap dancing while rehearsing for appearances in her 2016 solo concerts. For those wanting to see those dancing feet on the series, “you may see it this season,” Tortorella teases.
As for what to expect from the rest of Season 6, even the cast wasn’t sure, since they're still filming. “We absolutely don’t know the end of the season,” says Hermann.
We’ll just have to watch.
Younger premieres Wednesday, June 12 on TVLand at 10PM/9PMc. Catch up on episodes at TVLand.com.