We’ve talked over the years, but there’s an immediate bond as this show is set at 505 E. 79th Street, where Josh (Feuerstein) lives in an apartment between his parents, Judy and Harry (Linda Lavin, pictured at top with Feuerstein, and Elliott Gould) and his brother, Andrew (David Walton). I know the building well as it was a selling point when my daughter moved into a walk-up across the street. His (much nicer) building has a doorman and I had cautioned her to walk on that side of the block and then cross to hers. Now that doorman, building and the only-in-New-York set-up are fodder for 9JKL on CBS, premiering Monday, Oct. 2.
After Royal Pains, The West Wing and many other shows and films, Feuerstein is certainly accustomed to being in front of the camera. This time, however, he’s also a co-creator and executive producer with his wife of 12 years, Dana Klein.
The transition has been fascinating for him, as he mines his life for plotlines.
Feuerstein was at CBS’ Upfront in May, promoting the show. “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” he said, riffing on the old joke with the classic punch line, “practice, practice, practice.” His version? “Exploit your family! Exploit your family! Exploit your family!”
So he draws from the wackiness of his family for the sitcom. A few hours earlier, he and the cast gathered on the soundstage to meet with members of the Television Critics Association (see image below). The 9JKL sets is on hallowed sitcom ground; The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Roseanne shot there. Set designers replicated his parents’ apartment down to the Post-Its on the refrigerator, which is what they use in lieu of an address book.