On the Newlyweds Set, Jamie Lee Curtis and Téa Leoni Confess Who Gets Very Competitive at Pickleball

A competitive pickleball game

In an interview with Collider, Curtis, Leoni and Daly talked about performing pickleball scenes in front of a live studio audience. Asked about the game, Curtis indicated Leoni was the one who got competitive.

Daly recalled that he and Leoni had once played with friends using damp, moldy paddles. He said they were doing well after about a game and a half, though he could not remember whether they had let their opponents win. Curtis said she also played pickleball, then digressed to recalling that she had learned contract bridge at summer camp.

Butterflies and gophers

The cast was asked whether they identified more with Jeanie, described as a butterfly, or James, described as a gopher. Daly joked that he was trying to combine the two.

Curtis called herself a butterfly and said she preferred big ideas to pages with too many words. She added that the show began with a big idea.

Building the show’s pilot

Leoni praised Pamela Fryman’s work directing the pilot, saying it mattered to have someone she considered “pure at the helm.” She described stepping onto the stage for the first time with only five or six days before performing before a live audience. Leoni said the pilot had 22 minutes to introduce the characters and the show’s central idea. The trio also discussed costume designer Michelle Cole, though the conversation provided here gives no further detail about her work.