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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

‘Truth Be Told’ cast dishes on new NBC comedy

Rick Bentley Tribune News Service

LOS ANGELES – NBC continues its efforts to find a new successful comedy with the launch of “Truth Be Told.” The comedy about two couples stars Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Tone Bell, Vanessa Lachey and Bresha Webb.

The show is the creation of DJ Nash.

Here’s what the cast had to say about the show.

Nash on the show being loosely based on his life: “My wife is Korean. My best friend and his wife are black. We were doing take out one night and I realized I’m the only white guy in my house, and I want to do a show about four friends who are what I call true friends, friends who don’t pull punches.”

Gosselaar on playing the character based on the show’s creator: “It always helps to have a foundation to work off of when you read a script. These are his stories. It was very easy for me to just say, ‘What’s going on in here, DJ?’ I’m not inherently this character. I don’t choose roles that, when I read them, I go, ‘Yeah, this is a good role for me to play because this is me.’ There’s no challenge in that.”

Lachey on why every story won’t be about race: “There are so many perspectives of a certain situation, which I think is why the writing is impeccable on this show. And that’s obviously the beauty of what you take out of it. And I know like, for example, there was a pitch that he gave us in the room, and all four of us took a different thing out of it. And what’s funny is the comedy that ensues, because that’s life.”

Bell on bringing his stand-up material into the show: “I pitch jokes. Even though he doesn’t touch the mike as much anymore, DJ is a stand-up at heart.”

Lachey on her character: “The beauty of this show, unlike most shows that you watch, I’m not a finger wagging wife that’s, like, ‘Let me tell you something,’ or ‘You are doing this wrong.’ You don’t watch that and see the struggle between the two. I genuinely love Mark Paul. And I’ve met his wife and his children. And I love Bresha and Tone and had barbecues at my house. This is a genuine relationship because this is what life is about.”

Gosselaar on going from dramas “CSI” and “NYPD Blue” to a half-hour comedy: “I don’t think we go into the season looking for either drama or comedy. I don’t like to limit myself as an actor. When I read the script, I could see it, and I knew we’d be sitting here one day. I mean, you just know when you have everyone on our crew as a team, things are going to happen, and frankly, I made the right decision.”