Homefront returns to the ABC schedule tonight at 10 with a jolt for viewers: One of the regular characters is killed.
“I’m not going to tell you who it is,” said Tammy Lauren. “But it’s going to be very unexpected; a shock.”
Lauren, who plays the character Ginger Szabo, is one of 14 regular cast members (make that 13 after tonight) on the show that focuses on America in the mid-1940s immediately after the end of World War II. It has been, she said, an educational experience.
“I discovered that a lot of issues of today – racism and feminism – were alive then,” Lauren said. “I didn’t know they were such vital issues then.
“There are some things I like about the period. I do like the courtship between men and women. I think people read more. And there’s a lot to be said for the values, morals and ethics of the period.”
The creators of the show, the husband-and-wife team of Bernie Lechowick and Lynn Marie Latham, have gone to great lengths to accurately depict the 1940s. Both said they fear something like viewers spotting a 1949 movie poster in a scene that is supposed to take place in 1946.
“The research has been very time-consuming,” Latham said. “It’s been more difficult than I had imagined. It felt like being back in college. I go home with a lot of books from the period.”
Lechowick said one afternoon he was watching a clip from the show of a guy walking across the street. There was something about it that didn’t ring true in his mind, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.
“I ran it about five times before I finally realized what was wrong,” Lechowick said. “The guy was wearing his pants below the waist. That was wrong. In the 1940s, most men wore their pants above the waist.”
As Latham and Lechowick pointed out, it takes more to recreate the 1940s than putting a 1946 Studebaker in front of the camera.
Homefront has not scored big in the ratings. It ranks 66th overall, which places it just a notch above another fine drama, NBC’s I’ll Fly Away.
But, Lauren said, the show has a group of loyal followers.
“When I run into people on the street,” Lauren said, “the response has been overwhelming. The fans are really, really nice and just want to talk.”
ABC appears to be committed to Homefront. The network recently ordered two extra episodes bringing the season total to 26 instead of the usual 24.
The creators also like the idea of the show moving from Tuesday at 10 to Wednesdays at 10.
“We like it because we were promised it would not be pre-empted in that time spot,” Latham said. He said that was unusual these days when networks constantly jerk shows around.
Both expect (hope?) the show to be renewed for next season.
Lauren, however, isn’t ready to celebrate.
“I’ve been on several television shows,” she said, “I know there’s always a little sweating involved waiting to be renewed.”