One Tree Hill co-stars James Lafferty and Stephen Colletti are back on the small screen, thanks to Netflix’s recent release of Everyone is Doing Great. The show, which began in 2021 and independently filmed season 2 in 2023, is a TV miracle in the streaming age. Years have passed, and platforms have switched, but the story of friends in the entertainment industry navigating their post-fame life still resonates.
Years after starring in the vampire drama Eternal together, Seth (Colletti) is still trying to land his next big hit while Jeremy (Lafferty) is reeling from his divorce from Andrea (Alexandra Park). Meanwhile, Seth’s ex-girlfriend Izzy (Cariba Heine) is on a roller coaster ride of a new relationship while still lending her support as a close friend of Andrea’s. Season 2 follows soon after the events of season 1 — but viewers won’t have to worry about figuring out what last happened, as both seasons are available to stream on Netflix.
ScreenRant interviewed Colletti, Lafferty, Heine, and Park about the winding road that took Everyone is Doing Great from an independent project to a 2-season show on Netflix, and how they approached the delicate topics with both heart and humor. The quartet also shared what viewers can expect from the characters in season 2 after season 1’s cliffhanger and subsequent time jump.
Independent TV Is All About People & Passion
ScreenRant: Many people are familiar with the concept of independent film, but independent television feels like a different animal altogether. Can you take me through the process of putting this show together without necessarily knowing who was going to get to see it when?
James Lafferty: It’s about being passionate enough to try something out, and then it’s a matter of, “Alright, how do we get this done?”
Fortunately, the pilot episode for this show was an idea that we realized we could execute within four days, and we didn’t need much to do it. We had spent plenty of time shopping things around and asking for permission, and this time around, we knew we could shoot it. So, we decided, “Let’s just shoot the pilot, and see where that takes us.”
Colletti continued his friend and co-star’s answer, emphasizing the importance of individuals coming together to make a project with no immediate future in sight.
Stephen Colletti: He did come over physically with the idea on a piece of paper folded up in his pocket, and we caught up as we do for a minute. And then he breaks this thing out of his pocket. He’s like, “Alright, here’s what I’m thinking.” I think there were a couple of coffee stains on it. [Laughs]
But from there, we were off and running. It was one of those beautiful things where, as soon as he was saying it, I was like, “Thank God it’s here. This is the kind of idea that I want to throw myself behind.” And I think we got to it right away, so the writing process and building the team happened pretty smoothly. People were down.
Ultimately, getting to this place was all about building a team of people who have different creative interests they can bring to the table to help raise the bar on this thing to a premium quality. That’s what you need when you’re working with a limited budget. Thankfully, we have so many talented friends — much more talented than us — like Caribe and Alex and people behind the camera, who came on board and helped us elevate this thing. people behind the camera as well.
Everyone Is Doing Great Explores Friendship, Professional Struggles, And Vampire Makeup
ScreenRant: The show begins with Jeremy and Andrea’s marriage falling apart, but they have a friendship that far outlasts their romance. Can you talk about exploring the aftermath of a relationship like that and all the different facets of their feelings for each other?
Alexandra Park: Absolutely. When you have a marriage, when you’re so close to someone and spend so many years together and have been through so many things together, I think many people can relate to that separation being pretty difficult. Your whole world changes when you suddenly don’t have that person anymore.
I think what we explore in the show is that, maybe they’re not romantically connected at the moment, but then things happen in life as they do in real life, and suddenly they find themselves wondering if they’ve made the right decision. That’s something that we’re definitely breaking down within season 2, especially. Have you made the right decision?
When life throws you another curveball, things change. But I think that, at the end of the day, these two really care about each other and their friendship goes a lot deeper than their romantic history. That’s something that’s definitely explored thoroughly within the second season.
ScreenRant: On the other hand, Isabella has started a new relationship that moves pretty quickly in season 1. How does the outcome of that affect not only her dynamic with her ex, Seth, but also her friendship with Andrea?
Cariba Heine: Yeah, for sure. I think Izzy goes on quite a ride in season 2 with her new relationship, and it mirrors really beautifully the marriage breakdown as well. It’s the same thing in real life. If your best friend is going through a breakup, and you’re just starting the road to marriage, there’s some really interesting dynamics going on there. So, I think there are some really beautiful mirrors going on.
Hopefully, people do relate to the experience of falling hard and fast for someone, the ride that that takes you, and how you truly don’t know someone until you really get into the thick of it with them. But Izzy’s got a real roller coaster with her new relationship in season 2.
ScreenRant: Jeremy and Seth’s friendship feels really realistic, and it’s something that many people have experienced. Obviously, friendship is give and take, and sometimes some people need more than others at different times. Can you guys talk about the back and forth there, and how you play with the comedy element while still being really honest to the characters?
James Lafferty: I think you really hit the nail on the head there. It’s that push and pull of a friendship, where people are so different from each other in how they handle things. They handle similar situations in life in almost the polar opposite ways, but there’s also this unspoken recognition that they need each other because they are lacking what the other one has in many ways. Or they have something to offer that the other one needs.
That works on many different levels, whether it’s situational or emotional, and the contrast between the characters is really what creates the comedy. I feel like that’s what we realized from the very start: all you have to do is put these two characters in any situation, see how they react to it differently, and then see how they try to get through it together. From there, the comedy’s just going to arise and come to the surface.
ScreenRant: I love the flashbacks to their time on Eternal, and the actual scenes from the show. What’s it like getting into that vampire makeup, and where did the theme song come from?
Stephen Colletti: How much time you got? Because we would love to go into the music for season 2. Mike Grubbs, who we worked with on One Tree Hill, is incredibly talented. He was another person behind the camera here who thankfully lent his services to us to help really elevate the show. Season 2 is a classic example of that because the music is phenomenal. That theme song, from the first time we heard it, was so funny.
As for what it’s like doing that stuff? I kind of just want to do more of it. I want to get into that show. It just cracks me up. I think that there’s a physical aspect to it, when you have just the makeup and the fangs, and that’s what we were drawn to. Vampires and werewolves are always going to be hanging around, but there was definitely a time back in the 2000s, when we were getting Twilight and The Vampire Diaries. They were having quite a moment, so we thought that reflected the time period.
It’s really fun to get into that stuff, especially because there’s so much absurd comedy in this show, but it’s also met with those very sweet, dramatic moments that are heartfelt and grounded. So, it’s fun when we get to swing it over to the comedy and absurdity. We’re playing these vampire roles and exploring what it’s like to be on set with these spoiled little brats in their early 20s who think they have the world in the palm of their hand, sitting on set in vampire makeup, discussing how they got the wrong sushi order. That image is just naturally very funny, and we have a lot of fun in that world.
Everyone Is (Not) Doing Great In Season 2
ScreenRant: Season 1 ended with quite a cliffhanger, which made me nervous about how season 2 would start. What would you say is most different for each of your characters in season 2?
Alexandra Park: For Andrea, there’s a huge shift. In season 1, she’s very confident. She’s got that early 20s confidence in the vampire makeup, like Stephen was saying, but she is also like, “What’s everyone’s problem? Let’s get on with it. ” I think we’ve all been there at a certain point in life.
Season 2 is a total switch, if you will. She’s not as confident as she was, by any means, and I think that’s due to the curveballs of life that she simply was not expecting. We’re seeing a very different Andrea in season 2, who’s dealing with a lot more than she was in season 1, and wondering where it all went and when it’s going to start again. Such is life.
Cariba Heine: To piggyback on that, I think there’s a really fun dynamic between the girls in the second season. In the first season, it looked like the girls were flying high and everything was fantastic, but then season 2 is a pretty spectacular fall from grace for both of them in different ways.
I think it’s really fun to see that outward image crumble. We all know someone who looks like everything is peachy keen, but behind the scenes, they’re just in absolute chaos. It’s a disaster! Which is particularly fun to get into.
If the girls find themselves struggling in season 2, they are still outdone by the boys, who find themselves sinking to lower depths (if possible) as they try to improve their lives.
James Lafferty: I think we all saw what Jeremy was like in season 1, and how poorly he was dealing with what he was going through. In season 2, we see Jeremy attempt to get his act together, but I’d say don’t expect it to go much better than it did in season 1.
Stephen Colletti: Man, poor Seth. He really is trying his darndest to get things done, but I think that he’s playing 2D chess while everyone around him is playing 3D chess. He’s really playing as hard as he can, but he’s just on a different playing field.
Sometimes that earnestness, where he is trying to get to a certain goal and has got blinders on towards that, means he’s not looking far enough ahead to understand what might play out. You see a couple of classic examples of that in season 2 that are really fun. He’s going to be out there, he’s going to be trying his hardest, but there’s going to be some failure along the way.
Both seasons of Everyone Is Doing Great are now streaming on Netflix.
- Release Date
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January 13, 2021
- Network
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Hulu
- Directors
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James Lafferty
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James Lafferty
Jeremy Davis
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Stephen Colletti
Seth Stewart
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Alexandra Park
Andrea Davis
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Cariba Heine
Isabella Beck
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