Jon Hamm remembers exactly what attracted him to the role of Andrew "Coop" Cooper in Apple TV’s hit drama series Your Friends & Neighbors, the second season of which dropped in April.
"You know, for me, it was about — as it almost always is — the writing," he says. "And Jonathan [Tropper, the show’s creator] really had a sense of who this guy was and who he sounded like. I really loved his take on the style of the show. I mean, I think we dip our toes in quite a few tones, so to speak. The show is, by turns, very sexy. It's very dark. It's got caper and heist elements to it. And it's also very funny at times."
Hamm’s Coop is a recently fired, recently divorced hedge fund manager who resorts to robbing his well-off neighbors to stay afloat. He’s joined by a stellar roster of costars, including Amanda Peet, Olivia Munn, Hoon Lee and Lena Hall.
Jon Hamm in a scene from Your Friends & Neighbors
"I knew that we would attract a really talented cast with this show," he says. "And then I knew we'd be able to get some pretty kick-ass guest stars as well."
Season two saw James Marsden introduced into the mix as mysterious billionaire bachelor Owen Ashe.
"Having someone like James come in on the second season and prove to be this incredibly charismatic agent of chaos was something quite exciting for us," Hamm says. The two actors had crossed paths briefly while they both worked on 30 Rock but had never shared a scene together. "We've been in each other's friend group for some time, but I hadn’t gotten the chance to share a scene with him. And it was great. I loved it. I loved the energy of his character as it rebounded and reflected mine. It was a fun arc, for sure.”
We asked Jon Hamm to share some of the TV projects that help define him.
My favorite shows as a child: Three’s Company, Miami Vice
After cartoons, if we’re talking about primetime TV shows, it was definitely heavy ‘70s TV. It was the Norman Lear sitcoms, like All in the Family and Maude. But then it rapidly was Three's Company, because John Ritter was hysterical, and there was something about Suzanne Somers that I couldn't really put my finger on as a young boy, but I really liked her as well.
But I think, for me, my favorite time was the '80s, because that was when Miami Vice came out, and that was the show that kind of changed everything for me.
The show that’s must-watch weekly viewing for me: The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins, Shoresy
I'm very much enjoying The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins, because I love Tracy Morgan and Daniel Radcliffe, and Robert Carlock and Sam Means, who I know from Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and 30 Rock. It's a great show. I think it's the funniest show on television right now.
From north of the 49th parallel, there's an incredible show called Shoresy that Jared Keeso from Letterkenny has done. Of all of the current hockey-related shows, it's the one I find a little more compelling than Heated Rivalry, but to each his own. It's a good time to be enjoying television, that's for sure.
The show I’m currently rewatching: Mad Men
My wife and I started Mad Men again. I had not seen it since it aired. I would watch it as it aired when I was on it, but I hadn't seen it since then, and I'm pleasantly surprised at how well it holds up. We're about two-thirds of the way through season two, and I know we've got quite a lot of show to get through, but I've been enjoying that.
During the pandemic, from the beginning we watched The Sopranos, which was another great one.
The shows I love that may surprise people: Bravo reality series
Well, I think my love for reality television has reared its head in a couple of interviews. I think just knowing Andy Cohen — he's from my hometown, and we've known each other for some time — I’ve watched a little Vanderpump Rules and some Southern Charm and some Real Housewives. That's probably the most surprising, I think people would find. Listen, I was a holdout for a long time. I had a lot of preconceived notions, but I can appreciate it for what it is. I think there are a lot of ways to hate on stuff like that, but there's an awful lot of ways to enjoy it.
The show I wish I could rewatch for the first time: The Wire
A scene from The Wire
I started watching The Wire on a very long over-the-ocean airplane flight. I got halfway through season one of that. I forgot how great that show is. I had actually watched the last season of The Wire first. I got into it very late. My friends all told me how much I had to see the show, yada, yada. So, I got into it very late and thought, "Well, this is interesting." Then I went back to the very beginning and was like, "Oh my god." So, it was a very interesting way to watch the show.
I did the same thing with Friday Night Lights. I watched the end of the show first. Again, I was on a very long L.A. to Europe flight — 11 hours, plenty of time to watch the screen in front of me — and I started Friday Night Lights from the beginning and was like, "I missed out on this one." And Kyle's a good friend of mine. I love him. One of the great actors who beat me out for an Emmy over the course of my eight years of being nominated for Emmys.
