Viewers might be abuzz about a former "Will & Grace" star joining "The Millers" when its second season debuts on Monday night, but Sean Hayes isn't the only comedy legend headed to the Will Arnett-led series this year. According to star Jayma Mays, who plays Arnett's on-screen sister Debbie, Ed Begley Jr. will be lending his talents as well.
The "Arrested Development" and "St. Elsewhere" star will appear in an upcoming episode of the family comedy as the wacky leader of a commune, in which Adam (Nelson Franklin) grew up.
"The writers are exploring Debbie and Adam's relationship more this season," Mays explains to HuffPost Canada TV. "We knew in Season 1 that Adam grew up in a commune, but they go into that story a little bit more when his commune leader, who's played by Ed Begley Jr., comes to visit us."
Begley, who has done many one-off roles for shows like "The Office," "Rules of Engagement" and "Party Down," confirmed the news on Twitter recently, in response to a fan wanting to know if he was still acting:
"He was great," Mays says. "He's such a funny man. He was so good. The commune was supposed to be like a hippie commune. Like they didn't even know who Adam's dad was because his mom slept around a lot and she had like eight children and no one went to school."
Mays admits that while she often gets to invoke her own inner hippie on the show (Debbie and Adam do run their own vegan yoga café, after all) she likes to imagine Debbie secretly eating bacon when no one is looking. It's a conviction that will definitely be tested in Season 2 when financial concerns begin to plague the café.
"She probably does the vegan thing because she's a supportive wife," she teases. "But no one likes the food at the café and no one ever shows up for yoga. So I'm not sure if that business is going to succeed very much longer. It's failing and it's failing fast."
The actress remains tight-lipped about whether financial woes are a way to keep Debbie's dad, Tom (Beau Bridges) around now that his ex and her mom, Carol (Margo Martindale) is moving out of Nathan's (Will Arnett) apartment, but she reveals that Tom probably shouldn't be allowed to live on his own anyway.
"I also don't think Tom has enough street smarts to be on his own!" she laughs. "I think (showrunner) Greg Garcia once said he's based off of someone he knows. He's very book smart, but when it comes to having common sense there's just none there."
As for that other funnyman, Sean Hayes, joining the cast, Mays is more than a little psyched to have him on board.
"He's such a wonderful fresh spark to the show and a nice light," she raves. "He's just really infused the cast with new life. He's just amazing. I gush when I talk about him because I think he's so incredible and so talented."
"The Millers" returns for Season 2 on Thursday, October 23 at 7.30 p.m. on CTV, before moving to its regular timeslot, Thursdays at 8.30 p.m. on CTV, beginning Oct. 30.
