Aliyah O’Brien photographed by Shimon Karmel

TAKE TWO, the direct-to-series dramedy from CASTLE team Terri Edda Miller and Andrew Marlowe (premiering 6/21 at 10/9c) stars Rachel Bilson as down-on-her-luck actress Sam Swift, whose recent break up and subsequent breakdown have been all over the news. After a stint in rehab, her publicist gets the idea to have Sam shadow gruff PI Eddie Valetik (Eddie Cibrian) for a role that’s meant to invigorate her career. That’s where the show kicks into gear, as Eddie’s reluctance to work with her and Sam’s gung-ho attitude (and flair for costumery and dramatics) produces a charming show that I couldn’t help but fall for. 

Aliyah O’Brien stars as Detective Christine Rollins, who serves as Eddie’s lead contact at the LAPD. She plays by the rules but doesn’t seem to mind Eddie’s lack of interest in doing the same. I had the chance to hop on the phone with Aliyah to talk about getting involved in the show (and how Bali played an important part), the charm and chemistry of the cast, what should prompt everyone to tune in (and you really should tune in), and when to live tweet with the cast!

TAKE TWO is so charming. I was so happy that I enjoyed it so much!
Yay!! That’s good. I’m so glad to hear that. It is quite charming!

Was it the charm in the writing that got you interested?
You know, what? It’s almost unexplainable, but I feel like it was kind of meant to be like the universe was like, you are doing this show. It’s going to be a great fit! I auditioned for it when I was in Toronto back in December and I just put it on tape and sent it off into the ether and instantly, I liked the character. I was like, oh, she’s fierce! I like strong women. So that was fun. I honestly, I did one take of the audition and I said to my friend that was helping me after I was like, “I don’t know man, I think that’s it. Like I don’t know what else I want to do with this. Like I feel like this is, that’s who she is!” So she was like, I loved it, totally.

We sent it off and then you don’t hear anything long time. I was in Bali just after Christmas and the first day I touched down in Bali, I was overwhelmed with this feeling of like, wow, this place is magical. It feels like home. I’m going to move here part time, it what I said to myself. I was walking down this little lane way, smelled so good. There was a little woman sweeping the streets. The air was moist, I was on my way to yoga. And I was like, I am going to go home and I’m going to book a TV series, so I can move to Bali part time. And I’m not kidding you, the day after I got back from Bali, I had my callback for TAKE TWO in Vancouver and the day after that they were like, “they want to test you for the role” and it all just went from there! When I got the call to say that I booked it, I was so excited. But I also felt like, oh yeah, this just feels right. This feels like this is meant to happen.

I feel like the show almost was meant to happen, too, having been ordered straight to series. There’s a lot of faith there I think in the writers and the actors that are involved. What’s that like to be a part of a show that doesn’t have to have that kind of trial period that a lot of other shows get?
I know, it’s really reassuring, really nice [laughs]. So the one thing that like, you know, we joke about as actors that when we work, we make good money, but we’re not always working and nothing is for sure; you never know when your next job is going to be, how long it’s going to be, it’s always a mystery. And so we joke around that like we get paid for the ups and downs of the unknown. We get paid to have no security [laughs]. So when you have security it’s like, “oh wow, this feels so good. And so rare!” It’s very comforting to know you’re going to get to settle into a character. And I’ve been really craving that. Like I’ve been doing a lot of different things over the years, last few years. And I was really putting out there that I really wanted a character that I could develop with for a period of time because it’s always sort of sad when you get into something and you’re like, “oh, this is so great, and then you have to pack it up and that’s it!” So yeah, it’s a real treat. It’s a real treat to get to know that you’re at least gonna ride 13 episodes with a character and hopefully many, many more.

TAKE TWO – ABC’s “Take Two,” the network’s newest procedural crime series starring Rachel Bilson (“Hart of Dixie,” “Nashville”) and Eddie Cibrian (“CSI: Miami,” “Rosewood”), is set to premiere THURSDAY, JUNE 21, at 10 p.m. EDT, on The ABC Television Network. (ABC/David Bukach)
ALIYAH O’BRIAN

So what are you saying to people when they’re asking, what is TAKE TWO. How are you describing it to people who are asking why they should watch or what the show is?
I’m saying that it’s a fun procedural, but it’s still grounded in real, so it’s relatable. It’s kind of like just a really charming ride along with some great characters. It’s something that you can watch and connect to, but also laugh and then go to sleep and not have nightmares, which is harder and harder in this day and age [laughs], I find with so much great TV that’s very intense. I feel like Rachel and Eddie’s chemistry on the show is just awesome. And so it’s really enjoyable to watch them, their dynamic, play against each other. And then the rest of the characters, too, we all have our own unique thing that feeds into it. I just think people have got a really broad reach and people hopefully will really enjoy it.

I liked that the cast, and type of characters, is so diverse. A lot of shows make diversity feel like a quota to fill, but this felt natural.
Yeah. That’s a great observation. And thank you for sharing that because I think that that’s so true. I think our creators and showrunners, Terri and Andrew, are super conscientious. I don’t know if it’s because they have so much experience and they’re a man and a woman or what but they are so good at creating characters that are not cliche and that play against those tropes and they really write people well. They write women really well, which I really appreciate. They don’t feel the need to hammer you on the head with the character or spell it out; it’s just like people and this is who they are and we’re three dimensional and it’s really nice to have that cohesiveness.

And hearing you mention their writing for women – with your character, it’s not spoiling too much to say that there’s a little something going on with Eddie’s character, but she’s not all about that. She’s just like, “yeah, whatever. If you want to come over, come over,” but she’s like about her job and she’s about being a strong woman and the relationship is just there. It’s not the focus of her whole life, which I really liked.
TOTALLY, right?? That’s like my favorite is that she’s like she’s a boss and she gets the job done and she’s like, I get the job done and I get my needs met and this is life, but I don’t need to fawn over a man and we don’t need women fighting over a man and all that crap that needs to kind of be phased out!

Aliyah O’Brien photographed by Shimon Karmel

Christine is also enjoying seeing what Sam brings to the job and she’s just kind of rolling her eyes and rolling with the punches. I really liked their dynamic too.
Totally! Yes, more than anything she enjoys how much Sam annoys Eddie. [laughs] She thinks it’s great and she’s also all about…she’s not against women at all. She thinks it’s comical and she’s also all about, when Sam does things well and good and she’s working hard, she sees it and she respects that tenacity and commitment. And so, she’ll give kudos where there earned.

What I thought was interesting as I watched was seeing Sam know how to kick a gun in the air and throw it to her partner; they do make it seem feasible that someone who had done 200 episodes as a cop on TV would know that. So as you’re playing this cop of TV, do you see yourself eventually working with a PI and being able to do this?
[laughs out loud] Oh my god! I hadn’t thought about that. I don’t think that that’s my path. I think that what we do on TV is…maybe after 200 episodes I’d have a different perspective. But I think so much of it is make believe [laughs]…to think that I could actually be a police officer after pretending to be one. Although I would know a little bit [laughs].

Are there technical advisors? What’s the relationship with the real police force?
You know what? Not on set. I’m sure that there’s people that are informing the writers as to what would be legit and correct in terms of what they’re writing. On set, we have a stunt coordinator, you know, so in the event of stunts, there’s that. We’ve had a couple times for when we have like homicide type stuff, we’ve had advisors for like, the coroner and the medical examiner. So there is somebody that, yeah, that is sort of advising on what would be legitimate in terms of examining a dead body and that sort of thing. So there has been a bit of that. I want to do like a ride along. Someone asked me that in an interview and I was like, that’s a great idea. How come I haven’t done that yet?

Put it out there into the world and make it happen.
Totally. I’m going to.

So have you filmed all 13?
No, we’re on 11!

Do you have favorite episodes that you can tease for people that you’re saying like, “this is my favorite thing that I’ve shot so far!”
So I been told I can’t say much of anything [laughs]; so that’s tricky! I think I can say there’s an episode sort of early on where I get to be a bit bad ass and show my physical skills a little bit. Which is always super fun. I’ve always, if there’s a stunt, I’m like, I want to do it, put me in! So I got to do a little sort of fight scene thing. And it was really fun because the director said, “Oh, it looks so good. Honestly, you wouldn’t even know it’s you because it’s so good. No offense, but you think it’s a stunt double.” [laughs] Like, that’s fantastic. I get to do a little bit of that, which is fun. Anything else plot wise, I have to keep my mouth shut.

It’s gotta be hard! You want people to watch and find out all of this stuff on their own!
I know and I love surprises, so as much as I want to give you hints on things, I’m also like, “it’s so fun to see it!”

Are you doing anything, live tweeting as a cast for the premiere?
Yes, yes. They’ve asked us to come to the studio so I’m not working [today], so a few of us that aren’t working or going to go to the studio and we’re all gonna watch the premiere. I believe we’re going to watch it at 7:00 PM, so we’re going to get the Eastern feed and do some live tweeting and just hang out and enjoy watching it together, have a little party!

Social media has changed the world as far as how people watch TV. Is that daunting that people are going to be responding immediately to what they’re seeing?
You know, I don’t know if it’s daunting. It’s kind of cool! I love social media. I think that social media is fantastic. I think it also can be very dangerous, but I think that it’s so cool that we’re all connected in a way that like people are accessible. I know, in my experience anyways, when fans message me and I respond, they’re, so like, “wow, I can actually talk to you.” I really enjoy being able to give somebody a little bit of excitement or like brighten their day a little bit or on a deeper level, if you’ve seen my social media, I speak a lot to like self love, and trying to be relatable in that, you know, I’m a human, I struggle, I go through the stuff, I struggle with believing in myself, all these things but I’m working actively on it and I hope to inspire more of that as well, so I think social media is a really great tool if we use it well.

Following along with the cast tonight during the East Coast premiere – Aliyah can be found at @aliyahobrien.

TAKE TWO airs at 10/9c on ABC.