Lola Tash Previews Four in the Morning

This Friday night, CBC rolls out the new single-camera, half-hour comedy Four in the Morning, which follows four friends in Toronto as they stumble through life, career, and relationships, often at the titular hour of the day.

The series stars Lola Tash (Republic of Doyle), Michelle Mylet (Letterkenny), Mazin Elsadig (We Are Disorderly), and Daniel Maslany. It was created by Ira Parker, who’s worked as a writer and producer on The Last Ship and Rogue.

The Televixen readers will recognize Tash from her two-season arc on one our favorites, Republic of Doyle, and I jumped on the phone with her this week to chat about her character, Mitzi, and the show.

“I auditioned and at first I didn’t get it, and a year later I got a phone call that they wanted me for it,” she recalls. “[Mitzi] is, at first, an emotionally withdrawn banker who is really easygoing and approaches everything with detachment and then you see that she is detached for a reason and gets hurt easily and cares more than she lets on.”

Tash says we’ll dive a little deeper into that over the course of the first season’s eight episodes. “She has a lot of moments of self-discovery in regards to her relationship,” she explains. “[We’ll] explore a lot of betrayal and adultery within the friend group. We see how she deals with disappointment, heartbreak, and ultimately, loss.”

The single-camera format involves quite a bit of dialogue vs. on-set sitcom fare, and Tash enjoyed the challenge. “Each scene was at least seven pages. It as such good training and I’m so grateful for it now,” she says. “I was so nervous going into it. [The schedule] was really compressed, and we were shooting at three or four in the morning, It was grueling and rewarding.”

Mitzi’s pet pig figures heavily into her story, and Tash got to shoot a scene with him this season, which turned out to be an unexpected joy. “I got to act opposite a pig. We have a conversation and there were a few pages of dialogue,” she says.

“When I read the script, I wondered whether it would be CGI or a real pig. I was nervous because they’re kind of big. It was probably the best shooting day. He was such a lovely, sweet pig. I got so attached to him.”

Tash looks back fondly on her stint on Republic of Doyle, and is grateful she got to go play with everyone in Newfoundland. “It was amazing. That whole cast and crew were such a family. Everyone knows everyone. They were all so nice,” she says.

“Allan [Hawco] made the crew and cast feel so warm. It was such a comforting atmosphere to act in…slower paced and relaxed. My arc was very dramatic and [they] let me act emotions I hadn’t done yet. They took a lot of chances on my character, and I was really grateful for that.”

She points out that there’s a little of that comedic/dramatic mix in Four in the Morning, too. “It gets heartbreaking [at times]. It’s not completely comedy or drama,” she says. “It’s a nice mix of both. It’s similar to [Republic of Doyle] that way.”

Four in the Morning airs Fridays at 9pm ET on CBC. The cast will be live-Tweeting the premiere and the show is on Twitter at @4inthemorningTV. You can find Tash on Twitter at @lolatash.

Photos and Video Courtesy of CBC