People always ask about Murray, Reiser says in his classic mock-exasperation style of the couples lovable mutt.
They dont ask about me, they dont ask about Helen.
What happened to the dog?
Trae Patton/Sony Pictures Television/Spectrum; NBC
And then theyre surprised that 27 years later, the good Lord took him.
But sometimes when the Lord taketh away, He also giveth.
(Yes, everyone involved issimply ignoringthat downbeat original series finale.)
Trae Patton/Sony Pictures Television/Spectrum
The first thought really was that it would be fun to play together.
And then the second was Well, why?
What story would you tell?
Mad About You directors: Top (l-r): Betsy Thomas, Eric Dean Seaton, Helen Hunt, Phill Thomas; Bottom (l-r): Joanna Kerns, Gloria Calderón Kellett, Kelly Park.Michael Becker/Sony Pictures Television
I know we will.
Then I thought, Oh, were going to find 12 stories easily.
Its funny, says Reiser of the premise and how it mirrored real life.
I remember my parents rekindled friendships with friends 20 years later, because they were all busy raising kids.
And then I remember thinking, Well, theyre your good friends?
How come I never saw them?
And I realized, thats exactly the timing thats happening here, with our audience.
Its like, Helen and I were busy, we raised the kid and now here we are again.
That was the arc for this 12, says Reiser.
How do we rediscover our mojo?
That connection helped them ease back into familiar roles that required a fresh perspective.
The biggest part of the trip was how readily we did fall into place, says Reiser.
I think what blew us all away was the thought that this should be harder.
I mean, its not easy to do, but its coming back to us so readily.
It is totally a comfortable pair of shoes.
One major change the pair wanted to make was who was sitting in the directors chair.
That was, I have to say, Helens crystal clear focus, says Reiser.
Its not going to happen unless you make it happen, continues Hunt.
I cant walk onto one more set with 5,000 white men.
I just cant do it anymore.
Neither was hurting for work.
(We may still be mad about Carter Burkes betrayal.)
Their resumes only got richer and more diverse both during the shows run and after it ended.
She also dove headfirst into directing feature films and episodic television (recently, NetflixsThePoliticianand NBCsThis Is Us).
and Amazon Prime Video (Red Oaks).
We never take it for granted, Reiser says of their enduring career good fortune.
But [reviving the show] was not, by any stretch, a career move.
This is not part of any plan.
This was literally us sitting at lunch going, Would we want to?
Ive given up trying to predict stuff.
Would we do more?
Lets see where were standing at the end of 12.
Were guessing this isnt the final frontier because, after all spoiler alert!
the Buchmans do have a new dog.
