Turn Me On (P)review: Psych Set Visit Interview with Maggie Lawson

On August 9th, a group of reporters traveled to be on location with the hit cable television show, Psych. Maggie Lawson plays Detective Juliet O’Hara the spunky partner of Detective Carlton Lassiter (Tim Omundson) the most uptight cop in Santa Barbara California. Juliet also has an obvious attraction for Shawn Spencer (James Roday) the psychic detective that helps the police department solve some of their more unusual cases.

Maggie obviously enjoys her job playing cops and robbers on television. She has had the great fortune to not only be a part of a hit show that is in its fifth season; but she also has found romance on the set. She talked to us about that romance and what she hopes for the continued growth of her character.

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Panel: How much of Juliet’s growth as a character is from her exposure to Lassiter?

Maggie: Yeah. I love that. I think that, at first, you know, Juliet was sort of like—if she doesn’t play by Lassiter’s rules, obviously he’s going to be very upset. He’s not the nicest guy. But I think he’s—the character, I think they’ve done a really good job with writing him as well, because he has sort of let her do her own thing and find her own way. And so, over the seasons, rather than this always—you know him—like, the biting back and forth, it’s become more of a mutual respect, and I think she really does look up to him and how he works. I don’t think it’s the way she’s going to do things ever, but I think that she does respect the way he does it, and I don’t think she would be the cop, the detective that she is without him.

And I think we, like, really got to see that, which was so nice, at the end of last season, in Yin, where, you know, that—just that moment. I mean, as simple as it was, just Juliet having that breakdown. I loved so much that it was Lassiter who was there for her and not Shawn, because I think the characters have just so earned that over the season. So I think that—you know, that shows a lot about how they feel about each other in all their differences. I don’t know if they—I think if either lost the other, it would be like losing a limb. Like, I think they really are dependent on each other.

Panel: How would you like to see Juliet and Shawn’s relationship develop?

Maggie: Good question. I think—again, I think we’ve done a good job, over the last few seasons, of, like, really playing out how a relationship like this might go. So many complications are going to come into play when and if these characters get together. So I think that we’ve, like, exhausted a lot of that now. So I think that—yeah, I think, like, some very serious things have been said, and it’s just like—it’s like a little ticking bomb that I feel like is going to—it’s going to happen, somehow, in a big way. It’s either going to be great, or it’s going to be a crazy fall-out. I mean, there’s—Shawn has a huge secret and, you know, if he’s going to have honest relationships, how does all that work? And so, you know, I think it’s—I would like to see—for both of them to be honest about their feelings with each other, however that’s going to play out. So, yeah.

Panel: Does he have to learn to bowl?

Maggie: Yes. I’ll still beat him, though.

Panel: So you already referenced the PTSD, so will that come into play later on in the episodes?

Maggie: Well, we’ve already seen it a little this season, just because, you know, she left for as long as she did, and it was sort of that weird line of, like, “How long are you going to be away?” Like, it’s clearly affected her, which I—and more—one of—speaking of hair color, one of the things I kind of liked just is that there’s just a little bit of a darker place. Like, I’ve seen in, like, the first—well, we’re on episode nine now. But [indiscernible], I think.

So, you know, there’s—she’s almost a little bit more bitey and a bit more defensive, and I think in this season more than others. So I think there’s, like, a level of that that’s going to hang around for a while, and I think—you know, I like that. I like it. I like that they’re writing toward it, and I like that—you know, I like getting to play that, because sometimes I think things like that happen, and they’re just ignored. So I feel like the longer that my, like, darker hair stays around and stuff like that, and who knows how long that’s going to be? But just for me, like, I think I like that there’s—it’s still hanging around, like, just a little bit.

But I also think, like, even the Lassiter stuff this year has been a little stronger, it’s been a little deeper. So there’s been a whole kind of, like, fallout from that that—yeah. I mean, you know. I don’t know if we’re seeing Juliet in therapy, but maybe her version of that is—this is how she’s dealing with it. Yeah.

Panel: Well, anyway, I did like that they were kind of slowly continuing—

Maggie: A little bit. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I do, too. I do, too, because it was—you know, that’s a big thing that everybody on the show went through. It feels so serious when I say it. It’s usually a little light, like, goofy. I like it.

Panel: I have a question. You’ve already made James blush at Comic-Con this year when you were asked to compare Shawn to James.

Maggie: I did, and I love doing that.

Panel: So how would you compare you to Juliet?

Maggie: Good question. Let’s see. How would I compare? I would—well, I would like to think that I go at things the way Juliet does, which is—you know, she sort of stops at nothing to like—if, you know, whether she’s going undercover and whatever. I like to think that I’m that way, though I’m not always.

But, let’s see. I think that Juliet, sometimes, is a little bit clumsy, and I am definitely that. Yeah. I’m trying to think of other things. But I have a lot of [similarity] and I think this sort of, like, helped in dealing with the characters that my character has. I think, like, we’ve said it before. Like, four or five brothers. I think it may have changed over the seasons, how many brothers I have. But I have two brothers in real life, so I think that, naturally, I have, like, tomboyish tendencies which, obviously, Juliet has as well. So just from being around, like, boys—so I think that, you know—I don’t know. Anyway. There you go. Yeah.

Panel: Part of the fun of the show is all the guest stars. Are there some that you have bonded with more than others, or that you’ve had a lot of fun with, or that you were really excited to work with?

Maggie: Yeah. We’ve—I mean, we’ve had so much fun. Like, Franka [ph] in this one, like, we’ve—just—she’s so great. She’s so much fun. But, like, yeah. There are some guest star casts that we are a little more social with than others, not based on liking them or not. But, yeah, like, we’ve been out with Franca a few times this episode, which is fun.

We all—we kind of—I don’t know. I hope this is because people enjoy being here, but I feel like just about every guest star or guest cast that we have come on, we end up having, like, a real experience with them, like, almost like a movie shoot with them or something. We play games. I’m sure you guys have heard of them. [indiscernible]. We’ll get to that.

But yeah, I’m trying to think of, like a season—well, Nestor Carbonell, this season, he’s been on. We had a real—we’ve had—he’s been on—he’s been in a couple. So we’ve had a good time with him. And we have Freddy Prinze Junior, who’s a friend of Dule’s, so we had fun with him. I don’t know. To say, like, some over others is kind of hard because what if they read these? You can turn the tape recorders off. Then we’ll talk! We love them all the same. Yeah. Anyway.

Panel: [Indiscernible] guest star, like somebody you’d like to see Juliet set up with?

Panel: Michael Trucco.

Maggie: Well, Michael Trucco. That’s good.

Panel: I’m going to see him tomorrow.

Maggie: Oh, okay. He’s very nice. He—and Sandra—you know, his wife, girlfriend, wife, one of the two. I don’t know. I figured you guys would know. But he—she was on, you know, in our episode last year.

Panel: [inaudible]

Maggie: Oh, my God. Really? He—

Panel: [Indiscernible].

Maggie: No, it was—this is so horrible. It was Sandra Hess. It was the breaking into the computer—the—

Panel: [indiscernible]

Maggie: Yeah. What was it called? Anyway.

Panel: [Indiscernible].

Maggie: The thing with the stuff. That episode. So she was in that, and so we got to meet, we got to meet him. And then, of course, he’s on Sarah Shahi’s show, who did our big adventure episode with her husband last year, Steve Howey, and—

Panel: It’s very incestuous.

Maggie: It is very incestuous. It is very incestuous, and it’s crazy. I see more people I know in Vancouver than I ever see at home in LA. It’s just nuts. Everywhere we go, it’s like I—you know. Anyway. So.

Panel: Very small city.

Maggie: It is. It is. And then it’s like—you know, it’s Hollywood North, as they call it. So it’s like, yeah.

Panel: Will we ever see an episode like the roller derby episode?

Maggie: Like it?

Panel: Yeah. Well, for Juliet, because I guess that was one of my favorites.

Maggie: You know what? I kind of—I haven’t been undercover in a while. Like, I don’t know if I’ve done anything since then, actually, like the roller derby one, because I have the Scary Sherry in first season, and then, you know, the duos, which I guess I wasn’t necessarily undercover. I was just the drill sergeant dancer or whatever. And then roller derby. Yeah, I think we’re due for, like, another really silly, like, Juliet episode. Well, I think we are, anyway. I don’t know. I think we’re due. I don’t know if the producers would feel that way, but yeah.

Panel: We could start a campaign for you.

Maggie: Thank you. Will you? But yeah, I would like to see something. I would like to see something really, really, like, fun and dark where Juliet’s just, like, scared out of her mind, like, you know, in some prostitution ring or something. You know, USA’s version of that, not—

Panel: [Indiscernible].

Maggie: I know that [Indiscernible]. Juliet wants to be a slut. Sorry. Now you’re going to write that. Here we go. [Indiscernible]. Let’s talk to Andy about that. Save me, someone.

Panel: Well, let’s talk a bit more about the serious tone. The show has sort of gone more serious tones for all the characters, but can you just expand on, like, working with, like, Dule and, you know, the other characters? Like, I love the relationship between you and Dule, right? I just feel it hasn’t been explored enough yet.

Maggie: Yeah. I agree. There—every now and again, over the seasons, there’s always a moment where we bond over something. You know, last year in that refrigeration truck. You know, Shawn gets shot in the dark. You know, we have the—we go on sort of our own case together. And they’ve bonded over being, like, nerds a little bit. Like, they—we know—

Panel: Comic-Con?

Maggie: The Comic-Con, yeah, and stuff. So I would like to see that a little more as well. But it has been a little bit more serious. I feel like the last two—this season and season four sort of have led us into a deeper look at all of their relationships, which I think, naturally, makes it seem a little more dramatic because we’re going to darker—a little, you know, darker places. But in that, you know, you can—I think we’re, obviously, still finding the comedy, but I think it can almost promote more because it’s so—it’s kind of uncomfortable to go to some of those darker places sometimes. But this season, definitely. This episode that we’re shooting right now is crazy.

Panel: Well, Gus saved you, right?

Maggie: And Gus saved me, yeah. Totally. Yeah. Yeah, there’s a whole—there is a whole relationship there that’s not—that hasn’t been totally explored yet. But I do think—I know that there are some more Gus/Juliet interactions in the future.

Panel: At Shawn’s expense?

Maggie: Well, yes.

Panel: Can you define “interactions”?

Maggie: No.

Panel: No?

Maggie: I mean—no, it’s not like—there’s nothing—

Panel: [Indiscernible].

Maggie: It’s not necessarily romantic, but there are some out-of-office things that happen in the—like, out of work and case scenarios that I know are coming up in some episodes. Yeah. Soon. That—no, not like that. Can you explain “interactions.” I did say that a bit, like, coy, didn’t I, right? Yeah.

Panel: You wanted it to be more fun.

Maggie: I did. Yes. Yeah, exactly. Juliet really does become a—never mind.

Panel: Speaking of relationships, is it difficult working with someone that you are actually dating?

Maggie: I think that it can be, yeah. But for us, it’s not. We have really—you know, we had Psych before we had our relationship, and I kind of love that we’ve held on to—you know, work is work, and when we’re at work, we’re working. And his partner at work is Dule. My partner at work is Tim. And so—and I feel like it’s been a really healthy, awesome, like, approach. We’ve, I think, done a good job of, you know, keeping that.

There were people who, on the crew, that still come up to me and they’re like, “You guys are dating? Like, really?” Like, I mean, it’s not like we don’t speak at work. It’s just that, you know, we have a definite line of, like, you know, we—when we’re at work, it’s about work, and we keep it about work. And then we can get all, you know, lovey-dovey after work.

Panel: I know there’s, you know, a lot of people who think, you know, “Will they? Won’t they?” type thing between Juliet and Shawn. Do you feel, as an actress, that when the couples on the show cross that line, it actually causes the show to suffer? Because a lot of shows like Moonlighting, for example—

Panel: Jumped the shark.

Maggie: Jumped the shark. I have a couple of, like, different takes on that. I think that it’s a—it’s just a fine line. It depends on where the show is. It depends on the characters. I think Moonlighting, it would be—Moonlighting would be if Shawn and Gus got together.

Panel: It would be a completely different show then.

Maggie: Whereas Juliet isn’t his—isn’t the other person.

Panel: You could get a ratings boost from that, though.

Maggie: Crazier things have happened.

Panel: [Indiscernible] publicist would like that.

Maggie: Yeah. Well, I’m going to mention it. But there are arguments to both sides because—again, I think what is so important about this show and how we’ve developed all or our relationships is kind of what I just said about life, in our real life, too. It’s like it’s Shawn and Gus, and that’s the core of the show. And then there’s Juliet and Lassiter, and there are these—you know, Henry and Shawn. There are all these other, like, peripheral relationships. And I think that—I do think that it can work if the “will they” happens, because I have—I mean, we’ve seen before—like, you know, the Ross and Rachel. The get together episode—season one, and it went back and forth, and back and forth, and back and forth, and I don’t think that show really suffered because of that. And the other one is Carrie and Big. I don’t know [indiscernible]. Yeah. Same thing, you know.

It was sort of like the coming together in the—and without necessarily physically going there. I think we’ve done that a little bit, and I think it’s good. I think it raises the stakes for when that day actually comes, and then what that really means. It’s so big. But even Carrie and Big didn’t officially get together until, you know, the end. So I guess that’s the other side of the argument. Same with Ross and Rachel, right? I don’t know. Anyway.

Panel: [Indiscernible]. [The left] felanji [ph].

Maggie: Yeah, the felanji. He’s a lobster. Anyway. I’ve never seen that show before in my life. Yeah.

Panel: Do you have any desire to direct?

Maggie: Good question. I think that before me, especially on Psych, there are many people who deserve that opportunity. I do love watching, and I’ve learned a lot, and I think that eventually I would like to, yes. It probably wouldn’t happen on my Psych—in my Psych lifetime, but in my career lifetime, I would hope. Yeah. It’s fun. It’s interesting. Things that I—you kind of assume that you—that, you know. I don’t know, you know, and then you go on a scout with one of the directors or, you know, you start asking questions and you’re like, “Wow. What goes into directing an episode?”

James is directing the next one that we’re doing. Watching him prep, too, it’s just—it’s crazy. It’s great. It’s, like, really creating an entire piece. But yeah, eventually. Someday. [I'm sorry].

Panel: Do you have any personal goals for your character going into the latter part of this season, and into next season?

Maggie: Personal goals?

Panel: Like how you want to see the character grow and develop more.

Maggie: Yeah. I think I want to see her—well, I think that she probably—is that weird, saying “she”? I do that, but then I’m always like, “That’s just weird.” But she—I think she’s been—she’s let her guard down a little bit, and been burned a lot, so I think she’s still a little bit afraid to do that. So I would like to see, over the rest of the season—yeah, and just in the future of the show, her—you know, continue to do that without, you know, going back into—you know, retreating back into a hole and getting either defensive or protecting herself or whatever. You know, let them know—let the people know how you feel. I like that. Those are some of my favorite episodes when Juliet, like, takes a stand, you know, even if you fall. So, yeah. I don’t know. I’m so serious. I feel so serious.

Panel: How does that tie into ever being with Shawn, since she would be letting herself into something that she could just potentially get burned on [indiscernible].

Maggie: Well, perhaps that’s what I’m saying. Perhaps that’s the direction. Yeah. I mean, I think that, along with those—I mean, as we were talking about complications in the relationship and everything else, I think that would be a big one. I don’t think—I don’t know if either one of them are good at consistently telling people how they genuinely feel. So I think that would be an interesting thing to explore if the “will they” happens. Yeah.

Panel: If somebody besides Gus or Henry were to find out that Shawn’s not really a psychic, who else would you like to be the next person? Would you like to see Juliet? Who would you like to see be the next person that learned?

Maggie: I don’t know. I think that’s a—I don’t know. I would say if there’s ever going to be an honest relationship for Shawn and Juliet that it would be good for him to tell her. But I don’t know, situations can backfire sometimes. I don’t want to know that. But I think that somewhere along, like, deep in everyone’s, like, you know, thoughts of Shawn, that they kind of know he’s a fake. I think he’s really good at what he does, but there is an element where we’ve all questioned it at some point like, “Really? I don’t know, but I’m going with this because it works and it’s good and you care and you get it done.”

So it would be an interesting turn to see how that happens, because part of me thinks that everyone could just sort of be like, “Yeah, we knew. Whatever.” You know, but then—you know. I don’t know. So that’s an interesting—that would be an interesting thing for us to explore, I think, if and when that ever happens. But I think I would like Juliet to be the next one to know. I think that’d be nice.

Panel: But in her personality, she’s a very honest person.

Maggie: Yeah.

Panel: So, and then with her—as you said, her partner is Lassiter. So it would put her in some severe conflict, don’t you think?

Maggie: Absolutely. Absolutely, which is why I want it to happen. It’s like a—you know, it’s fun to play the—all those sides, so—but yeah, it would be—I mean, that is her. I mean, she is like, you know, honesty on the table all—like, so I—that would be—that’s going to be interesting. That would be an interesting—we’ll have to see how—just how much her work and her relationship and Lassiter and all of that, then, means to her, and the priorities in which they fall, but—

Moderator: And we have time for one more question.

Panel: Is there a—with the subculture that you found most interesting or had your eyes opened to that you didn’t know existed or—you know, it seems like every week, there’s some kind of weird [indiscernible] tap dancing.

Maggie: Yeah. I really loved tap dancing. I felt like that was the world. But no. You know, I—yeah. I mean, for me, like, the undercover stuff and the—yeah. I think I had the most fun with Scary Sherry, sorority, and the axe fight. That was a world that was fun to explore. It was like, you know, the sorority girl outfit with an axe in my hand. Like, and—anyway. So yeah. But one world more than—I mean, I love—I’ve loved—right now, the Franka [ph] episode, and this sort of getting into the whole—the secret agent side of things, like the one with my—with my brother last year, with John Cena. I’m always fascinated by those episodes. I always—like, how they even write them. And I’ve loved the Yin and Yang episodes as well, with the riddles and like—it’s just good stuff.