The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh, which premiered yesterday on Prime Video, was inspired by the personal experiences of Emmy-nominated creator Vijal Patel. The comedy series follows the events that unfold after the Pradeep family moves from India to America. Uniquely told from a police interrogation room through flashbacks that are always hilarious and often conflicting, the family finds themselves entangled with a contrasting neighborhood family. This leads to unexpected and entertaining twists, showcasing both the personal and professional challenges faced by the Pradeeps as they adjust to life in America.

Stars, Naveen Andrews, who plays the father of the Pradeep family, Mahesh, and Ethan Suplee, who plays his neighbor, Jimbo Mills, recently spoke with SciFi Vision about the new comedy series.

The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh was something quite new for Andrews, which was part of the appeal for him. “I guess the reason why I wanted to do it was because I'd never done anything quite like that before, the form, which is a half-hour sitcom,” the actor told SciFi Vision. “It turns out that form meant that we could do things that perhaps you wouldn't be able to do with conventional, straight-on drama.”

“To Naveen's point, I think there is some leeway with comedy where you can get away with a little bit more, or maybe not get away with more, but you can do something in a way that isn't so heavy,” explained Suplee to the site. “The levity gives you more breath to work with.”

For more, watch the full interview or read the transcript below and be sure to tune in to The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh, now streaming on Prime Video.




SCIFI VISION:   So, to start off, for people who haven't seen it, why don't you both just sort of talk about what character you play? We'll just go Naveen, then Ethan.

NAVEEN ANDREWS:   I play Mahesh, who's brought his family from India to Pittsburgh. And I guess the reason why I wanted to do it was because I'd never done anything quite like that before. You know, the form, which is a half-hour sitcom. And it turns out that form meant that we could do things that perhaps you wouldn't be able to do with conventional, straight-on drama.

ETHAN SUPLEE:   My name is Ethan Suplee; I play Jimbo Mills, the neighbor to the Pradeeps. And yeah, to Naveen's point, I think there is some leeway with comedy where you can get away with a little bit more, or maybe not get away with more, but you can do something in a way that isn't so heavy. The levity gives you more breath to work with.

SCIFI VISION:   Let me ask you, Naveen, because I know I'm used to your drama from Lost, was it hard for you doing comedy?...How did you find it from an acting standpoint?

NAVEEN ANDREWS:   Well, I try to approach it in the way that I've been trained. I mean, in England we're trained for theater. So, we're pretty much trained to hopefully do as much as you possibly can, and if that includes comedy, it includes comedy.

SCIFI VISION:   That's fair. Ethan, what about you? Do you find the comedic timing easy? I've seen you more in comedy, so I've kind of got the opposite with you.

ETHAN SUPLEE:   Yeah, you know, it's almost just a different rhythm. Like, I wouldn't make an analogy to like, one is jazz and one is rock and roll or something like that, but it does seem to have a different almost melody. And also, I feel good about doing either.

SCIFI VISION:   Okay, that's cool. What parts did you each find the easiest and the most difficult to connect with character-wise?

NAVEEN ANDREWS:   I found it very easy to connect with Ethan, quite honestly.  You know, every day that I saw you, I even said it to you, like, “I'm really glad to see you.”

ETHAN SUPLEE:   Yeah.

NAVEEN ANDREWS:   Because I meant it. We were able to find moments, which doesn't always happen - I have to stress this, doesn't always happen, where we could find things that weren't necessarily on the page in the script. When that happens, then it's worth it, you know? Makes it all worthwhile.

SCIFI VISION:   Okay. [laughs] I meant though, what did you connect with in your own character?

NAVEEN ANDREWS:   We connected with each other.

SCIFI VISION:   I meant, for Mahesh, was there anything you found difficult, like, becoming him is the best way to say it.

NAVEEN ANDREWS:   The fact that it was a completely new territory for me, in the sense that Mahesh is genuinely full of goodwill. He's relentlessly optimistic. Irritatingly optimistic, it seems and genuinely believes he's going to prevail with his family, regardless of adversity, through love. Who knew?

SCIFI VISION:   What about you? What did you connect the easiest and hardest with?

ETHAN SUPLEE:   You know, Jimbo's wife is very Christian. And the way I relate to that is like, you know, occasionally my wife will throw a curveball at me and tell me that we're now vitamin people or something like that, and I have no real desire to take vitamins, but I go along with it, because that's what my wife says we're doing. I think he's kind of the same way in his life. It's like, he's happy with his life. He loves his family, and he just wants to be kind of a good puppy dog to his wife, you know? And I fully, fully understand that.

SCIFI VISION:   Was there any specific prep you guys had to do? Because I know, obviously, you don't build rockets. I don't know if you know much about basketball, but was there anything like in that sense that you had to do before you guys got the parts?

NAVEEN ANDREWS:   We had archery lessons, didn't we?

ETHAN SUPLEE:   We did. Yeah, we knew nothing. Neither of us knew anything about archery, and we did do some good stunt rehearsal. We had an expert come out and show us around the old bow.

SCIFI VISION:   That sounds like a lot of fun. Do you both have, without spoiling anything, do you have like a favorite scene that you can tease?

ETHAN SUPLEE:   I think that for me, it's the archery scene. Like that whole sequence, which, by the way, got separated oddly because of weather, right? Like weren't...

NAVEEN ANDREWS:   You mentioned it much earlier, and we had to wait like, was it a month or...

ETHAN SUPLEE:   Yeah, we shot the interiors. And the next day we were going to shoot the exteriors. And it snowed so much. And at one point, they brought giant like, hair dryers basically to come out and try to melt the snow, which just, it was everywhere, and they couldn't melt all of the snow in the universe for us. So, then it got kicked down the road. And it was almost one of those weird things where it was incomplete for so long, and it was like, we’ve got to get back out there to the bows and arrows. Yeah.

SCIFI VISION:   What about you? Is that your favorite scene too? Or do you have a [different one] What's yours?

NAVEEN ANDREWS:   I have to say, yes, that scene is the one that I remember more than any other scene.

SCIFI VISION:   Other than working with each other, what was kind of your favorite part about this, memory, about this being on this show that kind of sticks out to the both of you?

ETHAN SUPLEE:   For me, I loved seeing Vigil on set because this is a version of his life. And I think that that must have been so much fun for him. And I loved watching him enjoy the process of watching his life turn, you know, his childhood turn into this artistic piece.

You know, I really, really got a kick out of that.

NAVEEN ANDREWS:   Vijal's boundless enthusiasm for the whole piece, because it's based on his life and how much he was invested in it.

SCIFI VISION:   Did either of you worry at all about the roles, because it was part of his life, because it was so important to him? Did you think about that at all?

ETHAN SUPLEE:   There was no pressure on me. I felt like I was playing a conglomeration of people in his childhood, so there was no pressure on me. Ostensibly, Naveen's playing his dad. So, maybe there was some pressure there. I don't know.

SCIFI VISION:   I was going to say, I don't think the neighbor would be as mad or could be that mad. What about you? Did you feel any pressure because of that?

NAVEEN ANDREWS:   The challenge for me was to find a reality with a character who is genuinely full of goodwill, because that's not my experience, and it certainly wasn't my experience growing up as the child of immigrants in England in the 1970s. So, this was new territory for me.

SCIFI VISION:   Makes sense. I think we're about out of time, but really quick, both of you, describe the show in three words. I know sometimes that's hard, but...

NAVEEN ANDREWS:   Anarchy in Pittsburgh.

SCIFI VISION:   Okay. What about you?

ETHAN SUPLEE:   A neighbor’s love.

SCIFI VISION:   Okay, fair enough. I'm near Pittsburgh, so I liked they showed the awful weather. [laughs]

ETHAN SUPLEE:   Yeah. They nailed that. We nailed that for sure.