The people who comprise Manhattan's elite make for great television fodder — just ask hit shows like Gossip Girl and The Real Housewives of New York. Bravo's new series, Odd Mom Out , follows a fictional group of uber-wealthy New Yorkers, but from the perspective of Jill Weber, a born-and-bred Manhattan mother who is the "odd mom out" in a group of upper-echelon mothers. Sean Kleier, who plays Jill's "self-entitled" brother-in-law Lex, explains, "The show really is about the ladies and their world. The women drive the show."
However, that's not the only thing that excited the actor about Odd Mom Out, as he says that the concept of satirizing the world it's set in really drew him to the project. "We've come to a point where the wealth discrepancy is so wide, and so gross, that we really do need to shine a light on it."
That's where Jill Weber comes in. Loosely inspired by creator Jill Kargman's own life, the series' protagonist struggles with conforming to the prescribed uniformity of those around her. Not only is Jill surrounded by other Upper East Side mothers who, according to Kleier, "try to do their best to be apart of this social circle that they've been born and raised in," but she is also surrounded by in-laws who gasp at the site of bread on a dinner table.
Because the show revolves around the women in this social situation, it inherently makes it a female-driven show, which Kleier says, "couldn't be more exciting to me. I did stand-up, improv, and sketch for the longest time, and women are still fighting this false notion that they aren't funny. That's really tired at this point." He continues, "To be apart of a new show on a new frontier on Bravo, that is driven by extremely talented and funny women, I think it's a complete privilege."
As for his own mom, she's not anything like the mothers depicted on the show, and Kleier describes her as a "stone cold pimp." He even brought her to the premiere of Odd Mom Out, where she was able to watch Kleier hold his own as the odd man out in a cast filled with talented women.
Images: Barbara Nitke/Bravo (2)
