SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

ABC Family had its annual Winter Wonderland event in New York last Sunday (Dec. 8) and we were on hand to talk to all of the stars on what they're up to, the holiday season and of course some scoops from their shows and past shows! ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas line-up is well into its 25-day run and we are nearing the end next week so it's the perfect time to remind you all of the upcoming returns of ABC Family's original series in January and February. On hand were: Constance Marie (Switched at Birth), Teri Polo & Sherri Saum (The Fosters), Sasha Pieterse (Pretty Little Liars), Nicole Gale Anderson & Merritt Patterson (Ravenswood), Cameron Mathison (ABC Family movie Holidaze), Britne Oldford & Brett Dier (Ravenswood), Keegan Allen (Pretty Little Liars), and Avan Jogia (Twisted). So let's get right to it! This is in a different format from our regular Seven Questions interviews, since we spoke to eleven different stars. But 7 and 11 is a good match!


Teri Polo, Constance Marie and Sherri Saum

Constance Marie (Switched at Birth)

SitcomsOnline.com: We're such big fans of yours! We loved George Lopez and your character Angie. Actually I had lunch with Masiela Lusha (Carmen from George Lopez) last month and interviewed her! Do you keep in touch with all of your George Lopez cast members?
Constance Marie: You did? Oh my God! She's a sweetheart. You know what, I keep in touch with George & Ann. The kids, I don't see much since I hang out with moms because I have a young child and I need all the help I can get. Belita I see every once in a while at the Christmas party and some of the writers I do and we just had such a wonderful family there. Valente is lightning in the bottom -- he is incredibly talented. I was so happy he got Happily Divorced because nobody else from our cast has worked in sitcoms since (George Lopez). Once you get the sitcom bug, you can't let it go. George has a new sitcom coming out and they actually shoot where we do Switched at Birth!
SitcomsOnline.com: The sitcom still does huge numbers on Nick at Nite. Are you surprised by how many new fans were born after the show ended and entered syndication?
Constance Marie: It's sad because if we had the numbers that we have in syndication, we would have stayed on the air and as it was, we didn't get much publicity as we wanted, we got moved every year and the fact it got really popular after the fact, it is really bittersweet. When the kids discovered it, they were like 'when are there gonna be more episodes?' and sadly we had already been off the air for a year already. Hopefully George's (upcoming) new show will come out and bring in the big Latino sitcom presence on TV. So we need one and it needs to be good!
SitcomsOnline.com: So give us some scoop on the return of Switched at Birth this January and what's in store for Regina?
Constance Marie: We have resolved Daphne's legal issues, which ended, you know, federal offense at the end of the season, which is not very good for her. It was good to make her character flawed and her mom and she work it out. And finally I get to be like the good girl and she gets to be the one that has the problems. I get a new career, a new job, a relationship -- a new old relationship. Um and John & Catherine, they get to have all the drama and the problems. Their relationship seriously is gonna have some serious issues and I'm involved of course in those, too. But it's pretty wonderful right now.
SitcomsOnline.com: What are the differences between Angie Lopez and Regina Vasquez?
Constance Marie: Regina is so much harder (than Angie). She's tough, she's hard. Angie was more like a cheerleader, like always trying to find the positive in life and giving everybody the benefit of the doubt almost too far. She had to put up with George, which Regina would never put up with George for not even five seconds. She's much more critical and cynical.
SitcomsOnline.com: What are your plans for Christmas this year
Constance Marie: For Christmas, I'm going to do my Christmas tree and my Christmas lights and celebrate Christmas with tofurkey!

Switched at Birth returns Monday, January 13 at 8|7c on ABC Family! And of course you can catch repeats of George Lopez every night on Nick at Nite!


Teri Polo & Sherri Saum (The Fosters)

SitcomsOnline.com: Teri! We love you! You're great on both TV and on the big screen - what do you prefer doing more?
Teri Polo: I prefer to have a job (laughs) -- on the big screen or on the small screen. I prefer a job that I really really love, which I do in The Fosters. This is the ultimate job I could ever ask for in 27 years. This is the happiest I've ever been. So that's what I prefer--The Fosters!
SitcomsOnline.com: Teri, I have to say we loved you on the sitcom I'm With Her. It should have lasted longer. Can you share some experiences from that and we can't believe it's been 10 years!
Teri Polo: Aw, thanks. Thank you! I know! Don't say that out loud (about it being 10 years). Other than being madly in love with David Sutcliffe and Rhea Seehorn was one of the funniest women I ever met in my life, it was just wonderful and my favorite part of that was the live audience. Cause I love to interact in between shooting the scenes I would go up into the stands into the audience and the producers would have heart attacks because I'm up there messing up my hair and wardrobe and getting all crazy and stuff, and they're like 'shh, you get down here and shoot that scene.' I loved that, I guess it was the instant gratification that was really fun.
SitcomsOnline.com: And what can fans anticipate on The Fosters next month?
Sherri Saum: Oh my goodness, just so much drama and there will be a lot of teen drama. We have to deal with the immediate repercussion of Callie leaving and we just told the woman we want to adopt her and she takes off, so we don't get much of a time to snuggle and be in love in our honeymoon bliss, we have to go chasing down this girl because we want her in our family and she's become a part of our family. So we have some road to cover to find her, so there's gonna be that and a lot of deeper story-telling, getting more invested into these characters. The stories that they're bringing us just topping each other, script after script, so hope you guys keep watching because it's gonna be so much fun!

The Fosters returns Monday, January 13 at 9|8c on ABC Family!

Sasha Pieterse and Keegan Allen (Pretty Little Liars)

SitcomsOnline.com: Sasha, we can't believe you're only 17! We remember you on the Family Affair revival as Buffy. Boy you started young-you're a veteran now! Share with us your experiences starting so young.
Sasha Pieterse: Oh my goodness. Actually fun fact: on Ravenswood, Luke Benward is on that show, he was in the pilot of Family Affair with me! I started when I was 4 1/2 and I've always had supportive parents that's a huge blessing, not everyone has that. So I was home-schooled, I graduated very early but I love my job and I just have really good friends and that makes a huge difference, so I've been so blessed to be where I am now. And I can't even count how many auditions I've been on (laughs). My parents have always taught me to, you know, move on to the next one and kind of stay grounded and push ahead.

SitcomsOnline.com: We didn't see Toby in the Halloween episode. What's in store for Toby in the second half of the season?
Keegan Allen: There's a lot in store. It's a really thrilling character arc that the writers have done. And we can all trust the writers at this point that they do not disappoint.
SitcomsOnline.com: And right now you're on hiatus and working on a play here in New York. How long is that running?
Keegan Allen: It's another two weeks, we close on the 21st so come and see it. It's really intense, really good piece of theater. Critics pick in New York right now and very grateful to be a part of it and it's an amazing show.

Pretty Little Liars returns Tuesday, January 7 at 8|7c on ABC Family!



Merritt Patterson and Nicole Gale Anderson

Nicole Gale Anderson, Merritt Patterson, Britne Oldford and Brett Dier (Ravenswood)

SitcomsOnline.com: Nicole, your character is so cool! It's unique that you're the female lead but your character is dead but appears as a ghost. Is it challenging and are there any positives and negatives playing a ghost?
Nicole Gale Anderson: Thank you! Oh gosh, it's been a lot of fun but it's been challenging as well I think. There's just things that I forget as an actor, like I can't touch certain things or even when I sit down. All these small things that come into play when you play a ghost. What my favorite thing of playing a ghost is that I'm able to fight the battles on the other side that they can't. And I get to battle out with other spirits and ghosts and I think one of my favorite moments shooting was that I actually get to take a lamp and hit someone in the head with it and sparks go flying and everything that I just felt like a strong friction afterwards, and I was like 'take that!'
SitcomsOnline.com: Wearing the same outfit must suck though right?
Nicole Gale Anderson: Yeah, but I mean at least it is a comfortable one, I will say that. But if I never have to wear a purple sweater again I'll be satisfied!
SitcomsOnline.com: Merritt, Ravenswood is very spooky! Give us a taste of what is coming in the second half in January for Olivia?
Merritt Patterson: There's a lot of things happening with Olivia. She's trying to get answers from Dillon and he's being very non-responsive. There's a lot of problems with her mom and brother that they kind of go through the ringer yet again. So she's struggling to deal with that, Olivia is trying to hold it together cause everyone else kind of is spinning out of control so she tries to hold that true but especially in the season finale, I don't think she can hold it together any longer.


Britne Oldford and Brett Dier

SitcomsOnline.com: So what's with this five pact? Do we get any answers soon?
Britne Oldford : You're definitely going to find more about it and that has everything to do what is going on in the town.
SitcomsOnline.com: OK, so ABC Family plays a lot of classic Christmas specials. Name some of your faves!
Merritt Patterson: Home Alone is a good one. I was just saying that The Grinch is one of my all-time favorites, too. I think I've watched that every year growing up.
Nicole Gale Anderson: I don't know if these are considered classics, but I love going the chick flick route doing like "Love Actually Is a Holiday."
SitcomsOnline.com: Can you share some of your Christmas plans to our readers?
Britne Oldford : I'm going back to my hometown and just going to be hanging with my family and we're having a huge Christmas party.
Brett Dier : I'm going skiing and I'm going to wear my Santa outfit around town. Cause I bought one at the dollar store (laughs).

Ravenswood returns Tuesday, January 7 at 9|8c on ABC Family!



Avan Jogia, Sasha Pieterse and Keegan Allen

Avan Jogia (Twisted)

SitcomsOnline.com: Twisted returns in February. What can fans expect?
Avan Jogia: There's gonna be something that kind of changes Danny for the rest of the season. It's kind of a very big thing that he does, a secret that changes the kind of person that he is.
SitcomsOnline.com: Hmm interesting. What is it like playing this Danny Desai character?
Avan Jogia: It's fun playing Danny Desai. He's a really interesting character with a lot of different facets that's it been fun for me to play.

Twisted returns Tuesday, February 11 at 9|8c on ABC Family!

Cameron Mathison (ABC Family's Holiday Movie Holidaze)

SitcomsOnline.com: The movie looks great! How is it like working with Jennie Garth again (they did Dancing with the Stars together and appeared on an episode of What I Like About You)?
Cameron Mathison: She's amazing. I love her and as a person she is very kind, genuine and down-to-earth. But as an actress she's fun to work and watch and she's very spontaneous and super funny. I really like to sit back and kind of watch and she'll have some ideas and I just love to listen to her and it's really inspiring.
SitcomsOnline.com: You and Jennie both did Dancing with the Stars - did you guys share stories or shared a dance on set of the movie?
Cameron Mathison: We definitely did not start dancing (laughs). That did not happen but we had to skate together which was the closest thing we did to dancing. I had to learn how to skate for this movie. And I would say I'm below average.
(We saw him ice skating at the Rockefeller Center ice rink and he was definitely not below average!)

Holidaze premiered Sunday, December 8 on ABC Family and can still be seen in encores this month! Catch it! That's a wrap for the 2013 ABC Family Winter Wonderland. Happy Holidays everyone!