US sitcom Men at Work has already proven a hit at home; two seasons in, with a third on the cards, the comedy - created by Franklin & Bash star Breckin Meyer - is about to make its UK debut as the latest Stateside import on FOX.
Digital Spy spoke to actor Michael Cassidy - late of The OC and Smallville - who plays suave, sharp-suited Tyler. We ask him what UK viewers should expect from Men at Work, and how it felt to reunite with his old OC co-star Ben McKenzie!
For UK viewers, what can you say about Men at Work?
"The show is about four guys who are all best friends and work together at a men's magazine in New York City, and it's about them navigating their love lives and personal relationships and work relationships.
"It's hopefully a very fresh and modern look at that - people say it's like the male version of Sex and the City."
The friendship between the four guys is central to the show - as actors, did you all hit it off straight away?
"Yeah, it was interesting - none of us really knew each other. I think we did a table read first and then went out to dinner before we shot the pilot, and we all just got along really well.
"Our relationships are a little bit different than they are in the show - that's to be expected - but we're all pretty tight. Everybody came to my wife's birthday recently… so it's just great.
"We all get along really well and I feel like that's one of the things people respond to on the show - it looks like we're all buddies in real life, because we've become buddies as we've worked together."
As you said, you're a married man - but can you relate to the guys and how they interact?
"Oh yeah, absolutely. When I read the pilot, I really responded to that feeling of heartbreak that Milo (Danny Masterson) is going through - he gets dumped right at the beginning and he doesn't know what to do, so he runs to his buddies and they want the best for him. But we all give him bad advice, or advice that he takes the wrong way, and I have a ton of experience with that!"
Do you have a favourite episode from season one?
"My favourite episode is episode three, 'Devil's Threesome', where I end up going on a sort-of platonic friend date with Amy (Meredith Hagner) - Neal's (Adam Busch) girlfriend. She helps me get in touch with my feminine side and I go a little overboard!
"They always give me great stuff to do on the show - I literally get the scripts the Friday before the week that we shoot and it's like opening a present. I'm excited for the show as a whole, but I also love the stuff that they give me."
There's some great guest stars across the first season - what big names can we expect to see?
"On season one, we had Kevin Pollak, Ethan Suplee… Billy Baldwin was super fun, he was so funny! Stacey Keibler was awesome - she came in at short notice, because she had other stuff going on…
"We have great guest stars on our show and in the second season, when it comes time, it's even more loaded - it's awesome, it's a really fun part of working on the show."
Men at Work was picked up for a second season whilst the first was still airing - that must have given you a confidence boost?
"Absolutely - this format of TV is such that you become a little bit closer with the executives because they come to run-throughs and things like that, before we even shoot. So we're buddies with them and when the show started airing, they'd come in with smiles on their faces.
"They were really excited with the ratings, the way it was performing - it seems like the network and the studio have been really pleased with our show. A boost of confidence is an understatement - you really feel like you're supported on all levels, because there are so many hundreds of people who work on this kind of thing and we've always felt like everybody involved creatively had our back. It's awesome - it's a great, great gig."
Why do you think viewers in the US have latched onto the show?
"I think that television comedy can get a little bit silly and weird - we're definitely silly, but it's all grounded in a very specific point of view. It's very truthful - truthful to what it's like to be in your 30s and still be single and living in a big city and trying to figure out how to connect with a girl. All that stuff - it's super-specific, so I think that's what people respond to."
Since you only shoot 10 episodes per season, does that give you the opportunity to pursue other work?
"Yeah, I've done a few little gigs here and there. if they called me and said, 'You're gonna do 100 episodes in the next 100 weeks', I would be ecstatic, 'cos I love this gig - but also one of the awesome things about being an actor is that you get to work different jobs and every day is different.
"I like it both ways. I'd be happy to do way more [episodes] but 10 a season is great too, because I'm able to hang out with my family and travel and work on different stuff."
Is it true that season two will see an OC reunion between you and your old co-star Ben McKenzie?
"That's absolutely true - he definitely rolls through for an episode. That was great - we're buddies, so I talk to him often, but it was really fun to work with him again, because it had been… I don't even know… seven years?"
Do you still hear from The OC and Smallville fans, or does Men at Work dominate now?
"No, I still hear from those fans - the OC / Men at Work connection is strong! And actually Smallville too - people have said, 'Man, I loved you in Smallville, but I really dig Men at Work now!'
"As I've aged, so have the people who watch the things I do, so The OC had a slightly younger appeal and now those people are older and they're looking for a relationship comedy - they've found one in this show and I happen to be on it!
"I hear from people who've seen me pop up in multiple things - it's hard for me to get my brain around that… that millions of people see the show all around the world. But it's super gratifying when I hear from a fan and they say they'll never forget on Smallville when they found out I was a clone!"
Men at Work premieres on FOX on Tuesday, April 23 at 10pm.
