Their new ABC comedy Imaginary Mary may be all about the sudden resurgence of one woman's childhood imaginary friend, but stars Jenna Elfman and Stephen Schneider are more than happy leaving the pretend pals on the set, rather than taking them home with them.
When E! News caught up with the duo for a chat about their new series, we asked them who their imaginary friend would be if they ever found the need for one. And unlike her character Alice, Elfman admitted that she likes to keep herself grounded in reality. "I'd like to stay in the real world," she told us. "I'm not really one for imaginary friends."
Schneider, who stars as Ben, the father of three who Alice has fallen in love with, teased that working in Tinseltown was more than enough for him. "I think this is Hollywood, so all of our friends are imaginary," he joked.
While they may not want one of their own, Elfman and Scheider sure are hoping that America will fall in love with Alice's imaginary friend, Mary, an adorable CGI cartoon monster voiced by the hysterical Rachel Dratch, who pops back up when Alice just might need her most. "My character is a very accomplished career woman, who at a very early age, because of the upheaval of her parents and the absent-ness of her parents, decided no marriage, no kids, not going to do it," Elfman explained. "And then meets him, [and] despite all my intentions to not fall in love, falls in love. And then he's got three kids, which is like, 'Say what?'"
So, it's Mary to the rescue. "My imaginary friend from childhood, who was my mentor and my parent, basically, reappears unexpectedly to help guide me through navigating this process," Elfman continued.
For more from Elfman and Schneider, including some insight into the process behind filming a TV show when one of its main characters doesn't actually exist, be sure to check out the video above!
Imaginary Mary premieres Wednesday, March 29 at 8:30 p.m. on ABC before moving to its regular night and time, Tuesdays at 9:30, on April 4.