3 Rounds With Dirty John
Entertainment Weekly|September 21, 2018

We couldn’t have designed a better Friday: drinks and an unfiltered chat with new costars JEAN SMART and CONNIE BRITTON.

3 Rounds With Dirty John
IN THEIR LONG CAREERS, Connie Britton and Jean Smart have both appeared on popular sitcoms and revered dramas, essayed Southern women, gotten way out on FX genre series, played real people, and generally been fortunate not to be relegated to stereotypical wife and girlfriend roles. One thing the women have never done: worked together. (Although they did both appear in the fifth season of 24.)

The dynamic duo right this wrong with Dirty John, an eight-part Bravo adaptation of the Los Angeles Times podcast of the same name. The series, which premieres in late fall, will delve even more deeply into the twisted story of the duping of Orange County interior designer Debra Newell (Britton) by sophisticated con man John Meehan (Eric Bana). (Smart plays Newell’s mother, Arlane Hart.)

We recently sat down with Smart, 67, and Britton, 51, at Mama Shelter in Hollywood to throw back a few of what they dubbed “Dirty John” martinis, get the scoop on the show, and learn how these two women crafted such enviable careers. Here are a few excerpts from that conversation.

ROUND 1

Two Devil Wears Pradas (watermelon margarita with Tajín rim)

Although this is your first time working together, had you been fans of each other previously?

CONNIE BRITTON This is awkward. You don’t have to answer because you probably don’t really even know.

JEAN SMART No, no, but it’s one of those things where you constantly see people, you think, “Why do I know them? Have I worked with them?” I mean, I’ve seen her in a million things. I remember watching her, obviously, on 24 because I was on 24, because it’s all about me. As it should be.

This story is from the September 21, 2018 edition of Entertainment Weekly.

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This story is from the September 21, 2018 edition of Entertainment Weekly.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.