Barbara Nitke/NBCMelissa Joan Hart is ditching her sitcom persona for a walk on the dark(ish) side: The Melissa and Joey star is getting physical on The Mysteries of Laura and she wouldn't have it any other way.
The actress, known to legions of fans as Sabrina and Clarissa, plays KC Moss in "The Mystery of the Deceased Documentarian." In the May 13 episode, she creates trouble for the team and goes toe-to-toe with Laura Diamond (Debra Messing).
"It's different than any other roles I've ever played. It was really fun to do this…The character was just so much fun. She's got this past she's trying to escape from and trying to change people's perception of who she is. In doing that, she's become very much like a nosy little busybody, very obsessed with this one murder case in particular and just thinks that she is going to be the one to solve this murder, this cold case that Laura and the rest of the team come upon…this cold case I've been working on for years," Hart told E! News. "I'm not quick to give it up, she's very persistent, very obnoxious and not always the brightest. She's not making informed choices, but she's persistent. It was really fun! It's the first time I've gotten to wear glasses, it's the first time I've ever gotten to play someone that got knocked out, and it's very fun."
But just because her character clashes with Messing's doesn't mean that extended off-screen. "She's wonderful. I feel like we're two peas in a pod. We both have that comedy background that people know us from, but she's obviously very versatile and I just took her lead," Hart said. "When the cameras weren't rolling we were talking about our boys because we both of sons, schools in New York City and things like that. Just chatting about normal, everyday stuff. She's really fun and funny off camera and then we get on camera and we're professional, we hit our marks, say our lines and we do it. It was, all around, a very delightful experience."
Mysteries of Laura star Janina Gavankar praised Hart's performance. "She's so funny in her episode. Can I tell you, what she did on the day was so hilarious," Gavankar said. "She did so much with her character in such a short amount of time. She really came in and knocked it out of the park. She had me laughing, I loved all of her ideas. It's just great."
On paper, the character may sound like Serial's Sarah Koenig, but Hart said the similarities end with the physical description. "When I build out a character, I think about who that person might be and I also think about who in my life—I think about things that might be relatable as far as my personality goes, like the little bits and pieces that might be in my personality that I can relate to with this character, but then I also think outside of that, about a friend or a family member that I might know that I might be able to sort of mimic or embody to help play that character. That's kind of how I work. This character was actually a compilation of a few people for me," she said with a laugh.
However, those people don't get to know they inspired a character unless Hart finds it very flattering.
The call for The Mysteries of Laura came right after Hart wrapped her ABC Family sitcom. Fans of Melissa and Joey should take note: the ending will be satisfying, according to its star.
"I think the writers did a fantastic job of wrapping it up very nicely. You really see the future for all four of these characters. You really get where they're going and I think that will make people feel warm and fuzzy. I think Sabrina wrapped things up in a really good way," she said. "I think Clarissa did not so much, though. I feel like people still have a lot of questions about Clarissa: ‘Where she might have gone? What she might be doing?' Whereas Sabrina, it's sort of like you saw so much of it and they wrapped it up in such a way that it's like, ‘OK, we get it. That's done.'"
As for what's next, Hart is looking for a new TV project—possibly a reboot of Clarissa or Sabrina? "Never say never"—but she's certainly keeping busy with her own clothing line, King of Harts, charity work and working with NutriSystem.
"I've just been looking forward to a relaxing summer and figuring out what's on the horizon after that," she said.
The Mysteries of Laura airs Wednesdays, 8 p.m. on NBC.
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