Mandy Patinkin’s ‘Seasoned’ Debuts at Tribeca Festival

Three years ago, Mandy Patinkin and Kathryn Grody shot a pilot for a scripted comedy based (loosely) on a heightened version of their real-life marriage. Now, after a network reorganization at Showtime, a cancellation and an industry-wide strike, they’re bringing the project — along with the show’s co-creators Gideon Grody-Patinkin (their son) and Ewen Wright — to the Tribeca Festival in hopes of finally finding a viable buyer. The actors know they’re up against an industry still struggling to find its footing, but, they can’t help but point out, they’re also up against time. “We really hope to have this show out there very soon, before we drop dead,” says Patinkin. “Which is right around the corner.” The couple spoke to THR ahead of the festival to reflect on Seasoned‘s long, arduous road to the screen and to explain why they’re so passionate about making it work. “And I just think there are not nearly enough cultural examinations of couples at our age,” says Grody. “And I hope I live long enough to be able to share it with other people.”

Can you talk about the journey you’ve been on with this show since filming the pilot?

PATINKIN We had a green light from Showtime, but they needed to cancel it for financial reasons. They did the same to Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa’s show, which was a much more expensive production than ours, and several other shows. I was told at the time that it was the pandemic and the strike, etc. Gary Levine, our executive, was a big fan, and I know he felt terrible about it. He offered to help us in any way he could, but we decided to wait until the strike was over and things had calmed down, but then it became evident that the business had turned upside down during that period. I have so many friends trying to get financing for various projects.

You were only able to film the pilot, but is the rest of the series ready to film?

PATINKIN Showtime was a wonderful collaborator in that process, and they decided to do this piece [that we’re bringing to Tribeca] as the pilot. The other five episodes are like nothing I’ve seen or read before — not just in television. Gideon and Ewen send us off on wild adventures that come from their own imaginations. I really like that we’re not shown as cute, little older people, which can be so patronizing. It’s like people grow and grow and then hit a moment where they’re diminished.

GRODY It really goes against what we usually see of older people: lying on the floor saying, “Help me, help me!”

What are you looking for in a distributor?

PATINKIN People we can have a partnership with. We’ve structured it so that it’s incredibly affordable. It doesn’t waste money at all. I’m not going to say their names, but I’ve done shows that cost literally a million dollars per day. I think it’s unconscionable. This show is ethically, morally budgeted for the climate we’re living in. And I lost my thought because I’m 72, so I don’t know where I’m going with that.

GRODY I’m six years older, but I can interrupt. We were so excited when this was originally greenlit because it felt like perfect timing, but we’re hoping there’s an original, creative person out there who sees this for what it is.

PATINKIN When I was on Homeland, what was so extraordinary was that it was the right chemistry. We made a wonderful product and everyone listened to each other, including the people at the network and the studio. We would all have dinners together! It was a beautiful arrangement, and it doesn’t happen every day. But let me be clear: I mostly want to sell this show so that we can be on the cover of AARP magazine.

Has watching the show, or reading the scripts, made you look at anything about your relationship in a new light?

GRODY When we first met, if we had a fight, I thought, “OK, we’re not getting married,” so I appreciated our longevity in a new way, and how we now know each other well enough to be able to express a full range of emotions with each other and move on. Some people assume that longtime married couples are boring, but my husband has never bored me. Ever. This episode shows that we can still surprise each other.

PATINKIN Gideon knows us like a book, and his dear friend Ewen knows us equally well. What they’re completely aware of, to a terrifying extent, is our insanity. We are fucking crazy. It’s almost inconceivable that two people like us could be together for even one dinner, let alone 47 years. But they’ve witnessed our indestructible, almost unconscious commitment to the love we have for each other. As my sound man of many years used to say, “The two of you are doomed to be together.”

This story appeared in the June 4 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.