Cast of HBO’s HERE AND NOW Explore the Themes of Their Family Drama

Oscar^® and Emmy^® winner Alan Ball (SIX FEET UNDER, TRUE BLOOD) is back on HBO with his new family drama HERE AND NOW. Currently in the middle of its first season run on HBO Canada, the series is a provocative and darkly comic meditation on the disparate forces polarizing present-day American culture, as experienced by the members of a progressive multi-ethnic family.   Alan and the cast, including Tim Robbins, Holly Hunter, Raymond Lee, Daniel Zovatto, and Peter Macdissi, were in Los Angeles last month and spent the day with journalists. Here are some highlights:   Tackling the idea of international adoption:   Alan Ball: “(Tim and Holly’s characters) chose to adopt their children from countries that they felt like America had done bad things. So in a way they were trying to make amends or payback. A lot of people would look at that and go, ‘That’s so self-righteous,’ and maybe it is, but they gave these kids a great life.”   Holly Hunter: “I think it’s very interesting…Tim Robbins’ character talks about it as an experiment…It’s symbolic of a larger conversation that we’re having with our hopeful audience, about what it means to transcend what is different about us, to reach what it is that binds us.”     How son Roman’s sexuality is handled: Peter Macdissi: “I mean, if you look at SIX FEET UNDER, which was 15 years ago or 16 years ago, and you have both gay characters in the show, and you compare Michael C. Hall’s character and Danny’s character, that it’s just a no-brainer. He just happens to be gay and Colombian, and that’s it.” Daniel Zovatto: “…I had a conversation with Alan before we started – I didn’t want to be the “gay” kid. I have so many friends that you would never know that they’re gay unless you see them kiss a guy, or they tell you. And I think that’s the world we live in…”   The resurgence of the family drama genre, and what TV offers in that film doesn’t:   Hunter: “I do think that there’s a certain interesting saying: let’s stay together, how do we stay together? How do we overcome our divisions, to be together? I think that’s happening. And the actual nuclear family is very challenging.” Tim Robbins: “…if you are doing ten half-hours, you are making a five-hour movie. And if you do 10 hours, you are doing a 10 hour movie…The longer form is possible. People are doing it – they are watching for ten hours straight, and that’s cool. And each individual portion of that has its own beginning, middle and end.”   Thoughts on characters being labeled as “disappointed, frustrated liberals” by a critic:   Ball: “People want to simplify things and make it about one thing.  We don’t really see this as a political show, as a show about politics.  This is a show about being alive today, making sense out of life, trying to find out who you are, being an authentic person, and dealing with disappointment. They’re much more than just frustrated liberals.” Hunter: “Yes and No… I think no matter what your political leanings are, you still must confront the realities of living together…”   HERE AND NOW airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO Canada.