Amanda Peet, Jon Hamm and Olivia Munn at the ‘Your Friends & Neighbors’ New York City premiere.
Marion Curtis/Starpix for Apple TV+
Mad Men 2.0?
Well, not exactly — but Jon Hamm‘s charming yet flawed character Coop, in the upcoming Apple TV+ series Your Friends & Neighbors, is already being compared to the iconic Don Draper from Mad Men. Since the latter show ended a decade ago, Hamm has appeared in several hit shows like Fargo, The Morning Show and Landman.
However, his role as Coop marks his return to TV as a leading man. At the show’s New York City premiere on Tuesday, Hamm told The Hollywood Reporter what it was about the project that drew him back.
“It was meeting with Jonathan Tropper and being a fan of his work as a novelist, a short story author and his work in television film — I knew I’d be in good hands,” Hamm said at the series premiere. “I knew he could find a tone and a look and a story that would be compelling for a temporary audience, and it would be smart, and it would be funny. It would be all the things that I like to do.”
He also noted that his collaboration with Tropper, the creator, made him feel “very taken care of.” And by serving as an executive producer, “If I didn’t like it, I could say I don’t like this so much, but let’s let’s make it better,” the Top Gun: Maverick actor said. “That’s a nice situation to be in.”
With Trooper, the feeling is mutual. “There’s something I can’t really define about him, something in the intelligence he conveys, and the humanity he conveys, makes you root for him even when he’s not necessarily behaving well,” Tropper said. “I needed somebody who wouldn’t alienate the audience when they make some pretty bad choices.”
After losing his job, Hamm’s Coop begins to steal from his very wealthy friends and neighbors in hopes to keep up. Despite the irony of the current market collapse, Tropper believes the show was “always tapped into” the ups and downs of the last few years and the “disparity between the haves and the have-nots. He continued, “That’s something that this country is going to have to reckon with.”
When it came to casting, Hamm’s leadership made Tropper’s experience go from “helpful to amazing.”
“He’s got a pretty good list of contacts in his phone, and any time we needed to get to someone, usually Jon knew them pretty well, and I wanted to cast Amanda Peet. I wanted to cast Olivia Munn,” Tropper said. “I don’t think any of that happens if Hamm wasn’t producing the show with me.”
And Munn was cast as Sam, who is in a friends-with-benefits situation with Coop. The actress spoke about how naturally she and Hamm’s chemistry came about. “I think sometimes chemistry like that is just there; it’s really hard to manufacture that kind of chemistry,” Munn told THR. “Our characters have an interesting dynamic because we’re in this secret relationship, and I want more, and he doesn’t want to give me more and so there’s a lot of these unrequited feelings that I have.”
While things may be complicated on screen, “He and I get along so well it’s just really easy to play,” Munn said.
The first two episodes of Your Friends & Neighbors are available to stream April 11 on Apple TV+, with additional episodes dropping weekly.
Lena Hall, Donovan Colan, Isabel Gravitt, Amanda Peet, Jon Hamm, Olivia Munn, Mark Tallman, Eunice Bae, Anna Osceola and Hoon Lee at the ‘Your Friends & Neighbors’ New York City premiere.
Marion Curtis / Starpix for Apple TV+