Chasing Life - Italia Ricci Previews Second Half of Season
14 Jan 2015
Chasing Life Reviews“Chasing Life” is about to begin the second half of the season – and SpoilerTV has the scoop on what you can expect. Italian Ricci, who plays April Carver, took time to fill us on in where her character and the season are headed.
April may be done with chemotherapy, but she is still managing the effects of the cancer and treatment. Ricci tells us, “We see how she deals with everything now after having been through what she’s been through. You see how she deals with the things that happen to you physically after you finish chemo. Mentally, she becomes forgetful and deals with trying to get back to where she was, even before she was diagnosed. She just wants to be normal again.”
That means returning to work and trying to carry out her daily duties with the newspaper. But she’s been gone four months and a lot has changed while she was away. She soon finds out she has an ambitious new boss who wants to shake things up. And she is not on top of her game. Work and life have both changed. “You see her battle with not being able to do certain things and trying to figure out ways to make them happen,” Ricci says. “She makes mistakes and just wants to be a girl in her twenties again, and have fun and live her life. You’ll see her trying to do that but having some of those obstacles stopping her. You’ll experience everything with her – it’s so much fun, and very entertaining.”
Ricci says there is light at the end of the tunnel for April and if she could give some advice to her character, she’d tell her to stay strong. “It definitely gets hard and her family is there for her and sometimes that still doesn’t feel like enough. I would tell her to not give up. I would tell her to keep holding on and keep believing that you’ll be okay, because if you don’t have that, then what are you holding on to?”
One person April is definitely holding onto is Leo. After flat-lining on the surgical table at the end of the Christmas episode, we will see how he comes through his surgery. Through it all, he and April remain connected. “I think that April is proud and impressed and very grateful that Leo decided to fight because that’s been the driving force of the whole first half of the first season,” Ricci explains. “To get him to do that feels selfless – and that opens up a whole new connectivity between the two. That decision solidifies a stronger bond between them, at least from April’s perspective.”
Another thing fans can expect from the show: expanded storylines from the supporting characters. Ricci previews, “It’s going to center less specifically on April and you’re going to learn more about Brenna and what she’s going through. You’ll learn more about Sara, more about Grandma. I love where Grandma’s storyline goes – it’s pretty great. It becomes more of an ensemble. Everyone’s storyline widens a little more by going into more detail about Beth, and Dominic, and everybody else on the show. I think that’s going to be exciting for fans.”
Yes, don’t expect Dominic to disappear now that he and April have broken up. They still work at the same paper and have some unresolved feelings and issues. A December ABC Family “Chasing Life” promo highlights April’s relationship with each man. So does Ricci have a preference? When asked if she is team Leo or team Dominic, she first hedges a bit and then laughs, “I’ve never actually admitted this publicly before. I don’t know if I’m ready to. But I’m team Leo.”
That leads us to believe Leo is going to be okay – at least for now. And Ricci has another teaser for her character. She tells us we can expect a humiliating karaoke scene at some point this season. Fun scenes like that are just one of many reasons Ricci is thrilled to be a part of the series. “Everybody is so happy to be making this show,” she says. “Everybody knows it’s an important and relevant story to be telling and wants to be doing the best job they can. I am so glad that I could be a part of telling this story and I’m so grateful that the audience feels like it’s not only a story worth watching, but it’s a story that they can relate to and they feel represented by it. That means so much to me.”
“Chasing Life” makes its winter premiere on its new night, Monday, January 19 at 9/8c.
What are you most looking forward to seeing when "Chasing Life" returns? What would you like to see happen this season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Thanks so much for this, man I've really loved watching Catching Life and Italia is such a joy to watch. Looking forward to its return.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gavin. You're very welcome. I've loved watching it, too. Isn't Italia great? I'm also looking forward to the show's return!
ReplyDeleteJust because she is Team Leo does NOT mean that Leo will survive. She has said she was Team Dominic in other interviews. So I don't really get how you think that means that leo survives. It's just her opinion. I have read an interview with the producer that refers to her feelings for Leo in the past tense. And that she and Dominic will have a deeper relationship this time around. So that does not sound promising for Leo.
ReplyDeleteNo, you're right - it doesn't necessarily mean that, but in my opinion it points to it. I highly doubt she would say that if he died right away and wasn't around through the rest of the season. As an actress promoting her show, from my experience interviewing people, she wouldn't say that as she was talking about the rest of the season. Also, Leo is mentioned in the ABC Family press release for episode 14 - saying Leo & April "attempt to make a new start" and "chart new relationship waters" so obviously he survives the surgery. Also he's credited on imdb through episode 16. Beyond that I don't know. I specifically said it sounds like he's sticking around "for now." I don't know if he will die later. It's possible he might and the things you say could definitely be true. But he will be around through several more episodes at least. That's all I was saying without trying to list "spoilers" in an article since not everyone likes to know if someone is sticking around. Thanks for your comments and perspectives!
ReplyDeleteI just love that Chasing Life poster (the one at the end of the article). Isn't that a great picture of Italia?
ReplyDeleteYes, it definitely is. Thanks so much for the awesome interview :) Can't wait for the show to return.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nirat! I appreciate it. I can't wait, either!
ReplyDeleteShe can't give ANYTHING away. So again it proves nothing.As I said she has said she Team Dominic in the past. So this really is nothing more then her opinion. Um that is NOT what it says. It says "April has to deal with the consequences of Leo's surgery". So where you are getting this from is beyond me. I read from the PRODUCER that April and Dominic will have a deeper relationship this part of the season.IMDB is not reliable either. Where are you getting this episode description from?
ReplyDeleteI don't think it proves anything, but I believe it points to something. You & I will just have to agree to disagree on that point. Thanks for letting me know what you read about April & Dominic having a deeper relationship. Sounds interesting. That is indeed what the press release (straight from ABC) says. Here is the press release for episode 14: http://www.spoilertv.com/2015/01/chasing-life-episode-114-cancer-friends.html
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