Just like That ’70s Show could actually reach someone’s “mother-in-law who lives in Wisconsin,” Grace is hoping for the same reach for Home Economics, especially after the global pandemic we’re all still currently living through. The pilot was first cast before the pandemic, and then didn’t get to go into production before the world shut down, leaving Grace and the rest of the cast and crew to wonder if viewers would still want their show after such a catastrophe.
“As the pandemic went, I thought, ‘Oh, I think it’s going to change what the world wants to see when everyone comes outside,’ and then I went, ‘Oh no, this is actually even more relevant,'” he says. “It just became more about class and where you are socioeconomically.”
It helped that so much of the show could come from a very real place. It was created by Michael Colton and John Aboud, based on Colton’s real life. Many moments from the show are lifted directly from Colton’s own experiences, and the cast can contribute, too.
Grace plays a dad with young kids and a creative job, and in real life, he’s a dad with two young kids and a creative job. Whether you’ve got twins, as his character does, or just one kid at a time, “it all feels the same,” he says. “You’re underwater and you’re just trying to hang on, raise these kids and not mess up.”
