He”s never one to stay still for long, and in keeping with tradition, James Franco is returning for a second season of “Making a Scene with James Franco” on Sept. 9 on AOL.
The ten-episode short-form comedy series takes on the reinterpretation of the most iconic shows on TV. Many of which, Franco hadn”t actually seen.
“I have to admit that until recently – other than when I was a kid – I didn”t watch much TV,” Franco confessed to Hitfix. “I was really more of a movie guy. But now I”m doing a miniseries for Hulu, ’11/22/63″ and a pilot with David Simon (‘The Wire”) for HBO, ‘The Deuce” [which focuses on the porn industry in the ’70s and ’80s]. So, I”ve been binging like hard core. I have a lot of time in my trailer, so now I”ve watched all of ‘The Sopranos,” ‘The Wire,” ‘Boardwalk Empire,” and ‘True Detective,” — that wasn”t hard. I loved ‘Fargo,” I watched all of ‘Game of Thrones,” and we”re making our way through ‘Downton Abbey.” And of course I loved ‘Breaking Bad.” What”s next is the big question.”
Franco was attracted to the idea of taking on these cultural icons, but it was the viewers who decided which topics that he”d tackle in his series.
“After the first season where we mashed-up great films we asked the audience and they wanted us to focus on TV,” Franco said. “We took the top 20 shows and put them on a wheel and let that decide which shows we mashed-up. Some I”d watched as a kid like ‘Saved by the Bell.” But I hadn”t seen things like ‘Married with Children.” There were some that I”d never seen and some I was surprised that the audience didn”t pick. I was really surprised that ‘The Sopranos” wasn”t on there.”
“Gossip Girl,” however, was included, which the actor hadn”t indulged in. In those moments, he relies on his support team for their expertise. Franco dives into the mayhem with a motley crew of collaborators that range from film students to Alicia Silverstone (“Clueless”). There are a bevy of mash-ups on tap this season, but Franco feels that “Breaking Bad,” in particular, lends itself to this set-up.
“In a way, the series ‘Breaking Bad” is a mash-up in itself.” Franco said. “It”s sort of a domestic drama and then this sort of drug/cop show mashed together, as it is. And then there”s Walter White just sort of trying to tie those sides together. So maybe that aided our mash-up, that 'Breaking Bad' is already sort of a mash-up. But whenever the wheel spins and lands on two shows, we sort of have to decide which show is going to dictate our style.”
In the case of “Breaking Bad,” Franco and his team were tasked with blending it with HBO”s “Sex and the City.”
“We decided that if we had the ‘Sex and the City” ladies sitting around and talking about the dates that they had, it could work if Carrie Bradshaw was somehow dating Walter,” Franco concluded.
You can take a look at how that plays out for yourself in the video below. And check out the series on AOL.
Oh, and for long-time Franco fans, be assured that he”s never one to shy away from self-referential humor and does reprise his beloved role as burnout Daniel Desario for a “Freaks and Geeks” and “Saved by the Bell” extravaganza.