“We Had to Have Hamm”: Jonathan Tropper Says Jon Hamm Was the Key to Selling and Casting ‘Your Friends & Neighbors’
Before there was a script, there was Jon Hamm
When you’re building a dark, delicious, suburban dramedy about a disgraced hedge fund manager-turned-burglar, casting the right lead is everything. For Your Friends & Neighbors creator Jonathan Tropper, there was never a Plan B. It was Jon Hamm or bust.
“I think it was super important. I actually didn’t write the pilot until I had him involved,” Tropper told PopViewers’ Chris Witherspoon in an exclusive interview. “I pitched him the show before I sold it. Got his interest, wrote the pilot, and showed it to him before I showed it to anybody else.”
“Walking in with Jon Hamm is a lot different than walking in without him”
It worked. Hamm loved the concept—and the role—and signed on not just as star, but as executive producer. That changed everything.
“Once he signed on, we took it together to Apple TV+,” Tropper continued. “I think walking in with Jon Hamm is a lot different than walking in without him.”
No lies detected.
A proven powerhouse on-screen—and behind the scenes
Hamm, of course, is best known for his Emmy-winning turn as Don Draper on Mad Men, but he’s also a chameleon—just as comfortable doing drama (The Morning Show, Fargo) as he is dropping into a comedy (30 Rock, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) and stealing scenes. On Your Friends & Neighbors, he does both. And according to Tropper, he did even more behind the camera.
“Creatively, he added a lot. As an actor, he adds a lot. As a producer, he was super helpful in getting the rest of the show cast with me—reaching out to actors. It was really easy to get our first choices for everybody else because when Jon Hamm is your lead, there’s a certain quality to the show and people were ready to take us very seriously.”
The series follows Andrew “Coop” Cooper (Hamm), a recently divorced hedge fund manager who gets fired in disgrace and turns to robbing his wealthy neighbors in the ultra-exclusive Westmont Village. But when he breaks into the wrong house, things spiral fast—and dangerously.
Alongside Hamm, the cast includes Amanda Peet, Olivia Munn, Mark Tallman, Hoon Lee, Lena Hall, Aimee Carrero, and more. The series hails from Apple Studios and Tropper Ink, with executive producers including Connie Tavel and Cruella’s Craig Gillespie, who also directs the first two episodes.
Your Friends & Neighbors premieres globally onFriday, April 11 on Apple TV+, dropping its first two episodes, followed by one weekly through May 30.
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