Jane Krakowski is the fancy Countess in Apple TV+’s new musical comedy ‘Schmigadoon!’ She unpacks the eccentric role in an EXCLUSIVE interview with HL.
Musical and comedy legend Jane Krakowski joins the star-studded cast of Schmigadoon! as The Countess, taking several cues from the notably villainous vixen Baroness Elsa Schraeder from Sound of Music. As every Schmigadoon townsperson does, The Countess offers a lesson to Melissa (Cecily Strong) and Josh (Keegan Michael Key) in their quest for true love. “By the time Blerky (Gabriele Von Blerkom) comes into the scene, she has been in the city and comes back to Schmigadoon to visit the doctor, Jorge (Jaime Camil) and realizes that there might be something going on between Melissa and the doctor,” Jane explained in an EXCLUSIVE interview with HollywoodLife.
In the sneak preview of the 5th episode of the Apple TV+ show, Melissa tries to apologize to The Countess for flirting with the doctor, but is soon interrupted as the diva bursts into song. “Wait, you get a song? Well that’s surprising, you’re kind of a minor cha—” the out-of-towner begins before The Countess breaks into a melodramatic number while the two women are on a drive. “I find it incredibly humorous that Blerky asked Melissa to go for a drive. And I don’t think it’s the first time Blerky has taken a woman on the drive! I don’t know what’s ever happened to those women but I think she’s taken many a woman who is any threat to her on a drive,” Jane laughed.
As Melissa and Josh navigate Schmigadoon and try to find true love with others, since they can’t leave the town without it, the people they meet along the way teach them small, but important lessons about relationships. “Although mine is in a very melodramatic way, I think The Countess ultimately does remind Melissa, that maybe, maybe she is the bad guy in this scenario, as well,” the 30 Rock actress explained. “Even though we think that Melissa is not the bad guy, she’s the one only ‘looking for love,’ but as they are experimenting through the characters in the town and trying to find love, I found it very disarming that even The Countess could be reminding her that maybe you have to look for who the bad guy really is in the scenario.”
Tune in to Schmigadoon! on Apple TV+ with new episodes every Friday.