Each week, Hit The Floor creator James LaRosa provides us with some photos from his personal archive to give us a look at life on the set of the show. This week he shares with us some hilarious shots with McKinley Freeman and Tichina Arnold, some gossip about Sommore’s roast of Derek Roman, and a very Game Of Thrones-like pic of himself in the roasting chair. Read on for some great backstage gossip now!
Roman Family Therapy isn’t going so well here. LOVE LOVE LOVE Tichina Arnold. So down to earth, but so f***ing talented. I’ve loved her since Little Shop of Horrors. She was the perfect person to play Mary Roman, who comes by on a rare occasion to get a basketball signed to flip online for a designer bag. Ah, a mother’s love. When Mary starts talking about all the things she was there for in Derek’s childhood and the list amounted to one thing, that suuuucked to watch. Poor Derek. My mother has a little crush on McKinley and was pissed at me for how this episode ended. She might’ve been a little upset that I named Mary after her. Oh well, if Derek can get by without a mama, so can I.
Here I am clutching Jonathan Frakes, who directed two earlier episodes and who I dragged back to play kinkmeister Hank, keeper of Sloane’s photo and apparently every other filthy snapshot in Los Angeles. He “needed a moist towelette” when he got Jelena’s call about hosting another Devils party. I needed one when we were done filming this scene. I told him, in the final take, to improv and be just as gross as he could possibly be. And…he was. And that’s why I love Jonathan Frakes.
Here’s me and a Queen of Comedy. Sommore was the perfect roastmaster because she goes hard. She’s also a fan of the show, so I think she kinda liked showing up, ripping everyone and then leaving. I wrote extra jokes for her that weren’t in the script so I could surprise the actors, so a lot of those reactions are real. Also real, that blow up doll in the background wearing a toga. Those were anatomically correct and a couple of our female cast members WHO SHALL REMAIN NAMELESS enjoyed seeing just how many things from craft services could fit in her nooks and crannies. This is what we do with our days on hashtag Hit The Floor.
Oh you know I wasn’t walking off that set without a picture of me in the pimp chair.