TV Interview!
Interview with Victor Levin, writer/creator of “Alice & Jack” on PBS and writer for “Extended Family” on NBC by Suzanne 2/22/24
It was very interesting to speak with Victor, who has written for so many wonderful shows. Tonight is the premiere of his miniseries “Alice & Jack,” which he created and has been working on for many years. I can tell, from this interview, that it was a labor of love. It’s not really my kind of show, but I will be sure to finish watching it. I did start watching “Extended Family,” on his recommendation here, and it is a very funny sitcom. Check them both out for yourselves and enjoy the interview!
MORE INFO:
Victor Levin was born in 1961 in New York, had a traditional upbringing in the suburbs, and attended Amherst College. In the 1980s, Levin worked at advertising agency Young & Rubicam, writing commercials for Jell-O and Dr Pepper before moving to Los Angeles at the urging of a friend. While writing ads, he had been practicing writing screenplays, so once he was west, he wasted no time breaking in to television. His first show was “Baby Talk” (ABC, 1991-92), based on the film “Look Who’s Talking” (1989). From there he moved to “Dream On” (HBO, 1990-96), then to “The Larry Sanders Show” (HBO, 1992-98), where he earned his first Emmy® nomination. “Mad About You” (NBC, 1992-99) was the show that Levin credited with really teaching him how a TV series is run. Levin worked on the series from 1994 to ’99, eventually working his way up to Executive Producer and earning two more Emmy nominations. His first produced feature film was “Win a Date with Tad Hamilton” (2004) starring Kate Bosworth and Josh Duhamel. He re-teamed with his “Mad About You” star Helen Hunt for her feature directorial debut, “Then She Found Me” (2007), which Levin co-wrote and which starred Hunt and Bette Midler. He earned another Emmy nomination as co-executive producer on “Mad Men” (AMC, 2007-2015) in 2012. Levin’s directorial debut, “5 to 7” (2014) premiered at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival to favorable reviews. The film was released by IFC Films in 2015. 
Alice & Jack reveals how love plays out between two very different people over 15 years. The story explores the seminal question of whether the bonds between us are stronger than the forces that would tear us apart. “It’s more honest about human behavior than most romances allow,” says RogerEbert.com, and “[asks] audiences to think about subjects they think they know well and look at them from a different angle.”
The miniseries is created by Mad Men award-winning writer Victor Levin (Mad Men, Mad About You) and features moving performances Andrea Riseborough (To Leslie, Birdman) as Alice, a single woman invested in her career while grappling with a childhood trauma, and Domhnall Gleeson (The Revenant, About Time) as the scientist she meets in a bar. The cast also includes Aisling Bea (This Way Up), Aimee Lou Wood (Sex Education), and Sunil Patel (Love at First Sight).
About Extended Family: Jim and Julia, after an amicable divorce, decide to continue to raise their kids at the family home while taking turns on who gets to stay with them. Navigating the waters of divorce and child-sharing gets more complicated for Jim when Trey, the owner of the Boston Celtics, enters the picture and wins Julia’s heart. Also streaming on Peacock.
Proofread and Edited by Brenda