‘American Housewife’ season 5 is kicking off with a celebration! HL spoke EXCLUSIVELY with Meg Donnelly about Taylor’s high school graduation, welcoming the new Anna-Kat, ‘Zombies 3,’ and more.
American Housewife returns for its fifth season on Oct. 28. The series is picking up with Taylor’s high school graduation, and you can expect insane shenanigans on this special day. HollywoodLife got the EXCLUSIVE scoop from Meg Donnelly in our new interview about Taylor bidding farewell to high school and what’s next for her.
Meg teased that there will be a “surprise” that happens at Taylor’s graduation. As Taylor goes to college after graduating, her relationship with Trip will be tested. The new season will feature a new actress playing Anna-Kat after Julia Butters’ exit from the show, and Meg revealed that Giselle Eisenberg is the “sweetest.” Meg also discussed hew upcoming new music and what she knows about a potential third Zombies movie!
Taylor is graduating! What can we expect from her graduation shenanigans?
Meg Donnelly: It’s so funny. It was supposed to be a huge graduation finale, and we never got to finish the episode, which was kind of ironic because during this time a lot of people had to graduate online. We didn’t even finish our graduation in this show. So then we decided to make it the season opener. It’s really cool because it kind of wraps everything up. But at the same time, it’s a good fresh start. A bunch of shenanigans go wrong. I don’t want to give too much away, but everyone’s running around, everyone’s arguing, no one’s getting along. There’s a little surprise that happens at the graduation. It’s more than a graduation. You definitely have to watch to see what that means. There are a bunch of other things going on at the graduation as well. It makes it so chaotic. It’s a lot of fun. I really liked this episode. It was a lot of fun to film.
What can you say about Taylor’s life after high school and throughout the rest of the season?
Meg Donnelly: So now she’s going to college. I think so far in the episodes that we’ve been filming after the finale/season opener Taylor’s at the same college her dad went to in Westport. She’s still living at the house, but it’s kind of hard because she’s still living under the same roof as her parents. She’s 19 at this point, but she’s still living under their roof. Her parents are like, what freedoms do we give her? What freedoms do we not give her? She’s still with Trip, her boyfriend, so her parents navigating through the whole do we let him over to the house? Do they just do their own thing? It’s really, really funny. I feel like it’s relatable for a lot of kids who are in college. They’re adults living their own life, but they’re still at home. They still have to abide by the parents’ rules. But what kind of restrictions are there? It’s really, really funny and super relatable. I can definitely relate to it.
How are things going for Taylor and Trip?
Meg Donnelly: They’re going good. The last finale episode things were kind of rocky, but they’re still together. They’re going strong. Trip is still in high school, but Taylor is going to college. So there’s definitely like a gap between them. She’s definitely broadening her horizons, having new interests, meeting new people, and Trip is kind of staying in the same place that he was in. So there’s definitely complications with them, which I think is really relatable because when couples go to college after high school, it’s kind of balancing the world changing around them. Do we change together? Do we grow apart? So there’s definitely a lot of that going on. But they’re going strong, and they’re still as hilarious as ever. They really don’t even know what’s really going on, but they have each other.
How does Taylor adapt to college in terms of academics?
Meg Donnelly: I think she definitely thinks she is ahead of her game now that she’s learning all of these new things, and she definitely thinks she’s more professional and more educated than she was before. So a lot of times, she’ll start bragging about new words she’s used or things that she’s learned, and she thinks she knows everything just because she’s a little bit more in tune with school. I think that’s hilarious because she’s really feeling herself right now.
There is a new Anna-Kat this season. What has it been like welcoming Giselle Eisenberg into the American Housewife family?
Meg Donnelly: It’s been so much fun. She is the sweetest girl. One of my best friends in the entire world, Holly Barrett, was on Life In Pieces, and Giselle was her TV sister when they were working on that show. I felt like I already knew Giselle just because Holly has talked so highly of her, and I’ve talked about her so many times. So I felt like I had a little familiarity. It wasn’t like I was going in just meeting someone completely new. She is so sweet, so nice, so down to earth, so kind, and it’s been really fun working with her. She’s such a talented girl, and I’m really excited for the season. It’s going to be awesome. She has hilarious scenes with Franklin. The Anna-Kat and Franklin dynamic is just incredible. It’s so fun. I’m looking forward to everyone to see their scenes together.
Recently, you released a new song called “More Than A Mystery” as Addison from Zombies. Are you working on more new music right now?
Meg Donnelly: Yes, I am. Actually, during the show quarantine period, I’ve been working on music by myself. Now that studios are opening more, I’ve been going into the studio, and I’ve been finishing up another body of work. So I’m really, really excited about this one. It’s like a lot more mixture and a lot more of what I want to sound like, so that’s really cool. I’m not really sure when it’s going to be released. but I’m sure it’s going to be top of the year. Also, “More Than A Mystery” just came out. That was so much fun. It was such a fun shoot for the music video. It was so cool to be back in the Addison costume.
Zombies 2 came out in February. Has there been any update on a third Zombies movie?
The cast and I text every day and we’re like, when are we going to find out? We’re waiting and waiting. It’s definitely hopeful. I think it’s definitely going to happen. I hope so, but I think it’s just a matter of navigating through these crazy times because we also film in Toronto as well. I think it’s just a matter of figuring out how to go about it during the current situation.