Rashida Jones, Stephen Moyer

Transatlantic Love

Can a New Yorker and a Londoner find love with an ocean between? What if the New Yorker is a downtown bohemian and the Londoner is a banker? Starring American Rashida Jones (Little Black Book) as Edie and Brit Stephen Moyer (Quills) as Michael, NY-LON is the first U.K. drama series to be filmed on-location in both London and New York's Lower East Side and East Village. Cinematic, stylish NY-LON follows an unlikely couple through a very modern and complicated relationship, the intervention of opinionated friends, and the inevitable teary good-byes and passionate reunions that make long distance love affairs so intensely romantic. NY-LON premieres Tuesday, September 20, 10 p.m. ET/PT.

"It's very rare to find a script for a TV show that portrays this particular age group - like mid-twenties, early thirties - in a really honest way," says the twenty-something star of NY-LON, Rashida Jones. "NY-LON embodies the seriousness of being this age. You're trying so hard to get your life together and you think you've got it, and then you meet somebody and everything is on its head all of a sudden."

When record store clerk Edie meets London banker Michael for the first time, neither is in the mood for love. Michael's best friend Raph (Navin Chowdhry, Teachers) has just been fired, and in frustration Michael heads to a bar, where he finds Edie thrashing a broken public phone. The vacationing Edie has just been robbed and needs to get in touch with her friend Astrid (Rachel Miner, Bully). Desperate, Edie asks to borrow Michael's cell phone, he obliges, but then charges her when she asks for a cigarette. The chance encounter has them both wondering, what if...?

Edie is dedicated to the life she has created for herself in New York. Her friends are especially important to her because they also serve as a surrogate family. Michael has become a breadwinner and is a father figure to a young boy. Neither feels they can just abandon the lives they have carved out on a whim, but they can't seem to forget each other, either.

A transatlantic cast comes together to tell the story of Edie, Michael, their friends, and their worlds. In addition to Raph and Astrid, there's Michael's self-indulgent sister Lauren (Emily Corrie, The Vice), Edie's domineering, expat friend Katherine (Christine Adams), and Edie's rocker ex-boyfriend Luke (David Rogers, Law & Order). Each week the seven characters play out the highs and lows, joys and disasters of true love, only exaggerated by the clash of cultures, the misunderstandings, and sheer lunacy that comes with having a love affair 3,000 miles apart.

"NY-LON is perfect for BBC AMERICA," says President and CEO Bill Hilary. "Our roots are in London, but our new home is New York. We love the energy and passion created by both fantastic cities, and that is captured in NY-LON."

THE CAST

Edie - Rashida Jones

Michael - Stephen Moyer

Astrid - Rachel Miner

Raph - Navin Chowdhry

Luke - David Rogers

Lauren - Emily Corrie

Katherine - Christine Adams

Tabitha - Anna Wilson Jones

Kristin - Marit Kile

Created by Simon Burke and Anya Camilleri

Written by Simon Burke (Episodes 1-4, 6,7) and Gary Parker (Episode 5)

Directed by Keith Boak (Episodes 1,4,5), Otto Bathurst (Episodes 2,3), and Anya Camilleri (Episodes 6,7)

Producer - Peter Norris

Executive Producer - Rob Pursey

WHAT THE U.K. PRESS SAID:

"The pace is relentless, the soundtrack terrific, the photography dazzling." Daily Star

"Sexily shot, sharply edited and starring gorgeous thirtysomethings with designer suits and sparkling smiles. It's young, good-looking and is set against the backdrop of two of the greatest cities in the world. What's more, it revolves around that most romantic of storylines - the long-distance love affair." The Independent

"Like chocolate - you know it's not doing you any good, but there is something irresistible about a romance in which love overcomes difficult circumstances. Plus Rashida Jones, who plays Edie, is wonderful." The Guardian

"A surefire winner. Beautifully filmed. Director Keith Boak has got the chemistry of this well-cast pair just right and he knows precisely how he wants to tell their story. The camerawork is movie-standard and the costumes are spot-on." The Guardian

EPISODE SYNOPSES

Episode one - Something About Chemicals

When Edie Miller (Rashida Jones), a New Yorker on vacation in London, has her bag stolen, it leads to a chance meeting with native Londoner Michael Antonioni (Stephen Moyer). Sparks fly even though Edie is due to fly home the very next day. When Edie and roommate Astrid (Rachel Miner) get home to New York, they discover their good friend Cookie has died. Edie has to break the news to Cookie's brother - her ex-boyfriend Luke (David Rogers). Meanwhile, Michael confides in housemate Raph (Navin Chowdhry) about his feelings for the American girl he's met only once. Determined to see her again, Michael flies out to New York, where he doesn't exactly receive the reception he might have hoped for. Back in London, Raph is equally shocked when Michael's on-off girlfriend Kristin (Marit Kile) turns up in the middle of the night to announce she's pregnant...

Episode one premieres Tuesday, September 20, 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Episode two - Something about Baggage

Michael once again sets off for New York, although his thoughts are preoccupied by the news of Kristin's pregnancy and the fact that he's had to leave his young nephew Angelo with a poor substitute, his roommate Raph. In New York, Edie's ex-boyfriend Luke declares his love for her, and requests a second chance. Edie is torn. Michael arrives and they spend a fleeting few hours together before Edie has to leave to attend the memorial service for Luke's brother Cookie. Killing time, Michael hooks up with his old flame, Tabitha (Anna Wilson Jones), a broker now living and working in New York. Edie sees them together, jumps to conclusions and almost calls the whole thing off. But it's Michael who backs off, realizing he has to do the right thing by Kristin. Back in London, Raph has a heart to heart with Kristin, urging her to release Michael or face a future with a man who doesn't love her. But will his words persuade her?

Episode two premieres Tuesday, September 27, 10:00 p.m. ET/ 7:00 p.m. PT.

Episode three - Something about Commitment

Edie regrets losing Michael and uses her friend Katherine's house-warming party in London as an excuse to fly over and try to make up. But Michael has abandoned hope of seeing Edie again, and when she calls, a lover has just left his room. Edie and Michael are finally starting to reconnect when Michael's student sister Lauren makes a rude remark, causing Edie to leave abruptly. Michael can't help but feel it's all just too difficult, even though he wants it to work. Edie arrives at Katherine's North London mansion, where the party's in full flow. But she's not in the mood for a party with a bunch of middle-aged strangers, so it's a shock when she finds Michael in their midst. Michael, urged on by Raph, has found his way to Katherine's to make up with Edie. Meanwhile, in New York, Astrid is warming up to Luke in Edie's absence.

Episode three premieres Tuesday, October 4, 10:00 p.m. ET/ 7:00 p.m. PT.

Episode four - Something about Honesty

Edie is anticipating a weekend with Michael but is struggling to find the right moment to reveal their relationship to her tight-knit group of New York friends. Confronted by ex-boyfriend Luke, she lies to him about Michael and her plans for the weekend, using her part-time teaching job as her alibi - a lie she also tells her boss in the record store. Michael is having a bad day at work, when ex-girlfriend Tabitha tempts him with the possibility of a job at her company in New York. Michael calls in sick and heads to New York a day early for the interview. He decides not to tell Edie, for fear that she'll freak out, but an even worse scenario plays out as she finds out anyway and he is caught in a lie. Michael is offered the job but they want him to start immediately, which his family commitments in London make impossible. But it may be his only option - Raph calls to tell Michael that his boss has already heard about the rival offer and plans to fire him. Michael and Edie agree to be more open with each other but Michael still has to fly home to see if he still has a job in London.

Episode four premieres Tuesday, October 11, 10:00 p.m. ET/ 7:00 p.m. PT.

Episode five - Something about Family

Edie arrives in London, expecting to have dinner with Katherine and Michael. But instead finds herself racing to find Michael's young nephew Angelo (James Bird), who has run away from home. He disappears after learning that his irresponsible mother, Tara (Lucianne McEvoy), intends for the pair of them to move to Bristol - far away from Michael, who is the only father figure he's ever had. When Michael confronts Tara about the move, Edie gets caught in the crossfire - she's not family so her views aren't welcome. Edie needs to hear a friendly voice so she calls Luke and comes clean about Michael, knowing that when she gets home she'll have to deal with the effects of this news on the gang...

Episode three premieres Tuesday, October 18, 10:00 p.m. ET/ 7:00 p.m. PT.

Episode six - Something about Friends

Michael flies out to New York with Katherine, expecting to be introduced to Edie's friends. En route, Katherine tells him more than he needs to know about Edie's family history and her close circle of friends, who are bound to dislike him since Michael is the very antithesis of their bohemian lifestyle and socialist values. Michael remains confident he can win them over - after all he is a salesman. But Edie has laid careful plans to keep Michael away from the group, at least on this occasion. However her plans are blown out of the water when Luke, his band, and the rest of the gang come back early from their out-of-town gig and she and Michael arrive at Astrid's bar to find them all there. Michael is on trial and Edie wants the ground to swallow her up. Astrid is particularly upset that Edie has kept Michael a secret from her all this time, not least because she'd really like to make a play for Luke, but does he still want Edie? Back in London, Raph has already lost interest in his new job, and finally accepts that the rat race is not what he wants from life. Katherine returns to London to discover that her husband has left her and their marriage is in shreds.

Episode six premieres Tuesday, October 25, 10:00 p.m. ET/ 7:00 p.m. PT.

Episode seven - Something about Love

In the final episode, Michael decides that the transatlantic to-ing and fro-ing has gone on long enough and that he and Edie need to truly commit to each other to make this work. In a rash mood, he flies to New York to propose to Edie and suggest they live in London. But she is ideologically opposed to marriage and wants them to live together on a trial basis instead - in New York. Michael finds the idea of a trial insulting - it's half-hearted and against his romantic instincts. He flees back to London just in time to join Raph for his farewell party as he heads off to find himself in Tibet. Back in New York, an emotional Edie is celebrating with the students who have completed her literacy course. She also waves goodbye to Luke, who's taking off on an international tour with the band. Katherine, also in New York following the collapse of her own relationship, urges Edie to give Michael another chance and loans her the money to follow him back to London. It's clear that the lovers can't bear to be apart but, overwhelmed by the intractable problem of which city they should live in, is either of them prepared to back down and make the move?

Episode seven premieres Tuesday, November 1, 10:00 p.m. ET/ 7:00 p.m. PT.

RASHIDA JONES ON EDIE

Beautiful and unconventional, Edie loves her indie music, her friends and her bohemian New York lifestyle. And then she falls for Michael - can she really have him too?

Edie and Michael are very different - their backgrounds and lifestyles are totally opposite. What is it that brings them together?

That's what's so interesting about this show, it's not like we've just got two people with very similar lives and careers who just happen to live in different cities, like if it was Michael and Tabitha, say. Edie and Michael are different to the point where their friends think they must be insane to try to make it work, but they both recognize that there's something between them that transcends all that everyday stuff. It's that romance that's at the heart of the show, although it never fails to realize how difficult this makes it for both of them!

Edie and Michael's relationship starts with one chance meeting that changes their lives. Do you think it was love at first sight?

It's not love at first sight, but there's some friction there, an energy. It's not like she just saw some guy and thinks 'oh he's cute', they have some fire. And then once she gets to know him and sees his sweetness and kindness then it turns to love.

How did you find the shoot in London, was it very different working with a British cast and crew?

It's very different! I think in America, for better or for worse, there's more coddling going on. There's more of a hierarchy, where as in England people are all about doing their job, which is great. And the humor on set is completely different - it's really dry and self-deprecating which is nice because nobody ever takes themselves too seriously.

What were the highlights of the shoot for you?

Shooting in New York - I don't mean in a bad way! I actually mean shooting on the streets of my home town, in places that I know, that was really great. Also, the best times were when we were shooting all together, like big party scenes, because they're so much fun. A lot of the time you're shooting very intense scenes with one person so it's nice to do those big set pieces.

Everyone always talks about how different the dating scene is in the U.K., did you notice that?

Oh God, it's completely different! I mean personally I'm not really into it but there's a whole dating culture here in New York where it's almost like a job, like being on Wall Street and looking for commodities! It's a lot more relaxed in England and I think that's better - you don't have all that pressure, dates are such an unnatural situation in which to get to know someone.

You've not worked in the U.K. before, although you've done lots of TV shows in the U.S. What was it about NY-LON that won you over?

It's very rare to find a script for a TV show that portrays this particular age group - like mid-twenties, early thirties - in a really honest way. It's not like the fluffy Sex and the City or the out-and-out comedy of Friends, which are both great, but this embodies the seriousness of being this age. You're trying so hard to get your life together and you think you've got it, and then you meet somebody and everything is on its head all of a sudden. And if you are really into the person you have to find a way to integrate them into your life. But I just think the discussions that we have and the issues that come up in this show make it a really good honest portrayal of how important this time in our lives actually is.

Do you think long-distance relationships can work?

I think they can work for a time, but I don't think you can be with someone for like five years and only see someone for once a month and make it work. If you really love somebody enough and you feel like you can't be with anyone else then you make it work and eventually you have to find a way to live in the same place, even if one of you has to compromise his or her own life massively.

How would you describe Edie?

She is a very strong-willed, loyal, caring, stubborn, smart person who takes a lot of pride in the life that she's created for herself. I wouldn't say she's a control freak but she doesn't like really spontaneous things in her life that take her out of this comfort zone she's made for herself - she's created a kind of shield around her that she doesn't like to be broken.

Are you anything like her?

Yes in the sense that I'm a very loyal person, sometimes to a fault like she is, and I can be a bit righteous like her - she has very strong views on society and how things should be. And we're both outspoken and opinionated. But I don't think I'm as closed off to new experiences as Edie is at the beginning.

We learn that Edie is estranged from her family. How do you think this affects her relationships with her friends and Michael?

Because she is estranged from her family, she has made her friends her family and maybe they're more important to her than they otherwise might be. She's actually chosen these people, so in some ways she's even more protective of them. At first Michael interrupts that harmony, that order that she's created in her life. That's what makes their relationship so difficult for Edie.

Edie's group of friends is very tight knit - how much do you think they influence Edie when it comes to her relationship with Michael?

Well because Edie's friends are, in effect, her family, then they have that same sort of influence over her that someone's parents or brothers and sisters might usually have. They all really care about Edie; she's kind of the 'heart' of the group. I think that's part of the journey that we see Edie take - at first she worries too much about what they think, but she learns to trust herself and live her own life.

Stephen Moyer on Michael

A broker in the city, Michael's hard-nosed work persona belies his devotion to his dysfunctional family who rely on him, and not just financially. Meeting Edie upsets his already complex home life, but maybe she's just what he needs.

Michael can be ruthless at work but, unlike some of his colleagues, he has a heart. Is that how you'd describe him?

The really interesting thing about Michael, and one of the things that drew me towards the role, is that he tends to cover up the fact that he has a heart. He appears quite cold. He's dealt with a lot in his life and has become the patriarch of his family, therefore a lot of the reason why he's found himself doing this city job is that it's the only way he can pay for everything in his life. He's very bright, from a working class background, got a scholarship to go to college and was probably one of the only ones from his school who had that opportunity and made something of himself. Michael does have a heart but I don't think it's on show. I think he does everything he possibly can to cover it up and then when he sees Edie for the first time, when he meets her, it opens up that part of him he thought had been hidden away.

Are you anything like Michael?

He's a working class boy from Essex who's made his own way in life and he supports the soccer team West Ham. When I read the script I immediately thought he was someone I could relate to. A lot of my friends from school in Essex went off and actually became Michael. I knew I wanted to be an actor but if I hadn't, that probably would have been the path I would have gone down too. We were all gobby Essex boys who were cocky and able to talk the hind legs off a donkey.

He has a very close relationship with his nephew - they are almost like father and son aren't they?

His relationship with his nephew Angelo is how we get to see that he has a heart. In all his relationships - with Angelo, with Raph, with the people at work - he's completely deadpan but they all know that there's something underneath. It's a great opportunity for Michael to play the father when he looks after Angelo at weekends but then he can give him back. Of course in the beginning his relationship with Edie gets in the way. He can't be Angelo's weekend father because he's away so much but he adores Angelo and obviously he longs for that life. Strangely, Michael's relationship with Angelo's mother, Tara, is that of an ex-husband and wife even though they haven't even had a relationship.

Is he someone you'd go to the pub with or be friends with?

He's got an unhealthy interest in Mondays, which I don't share! He's had to go that way because of what he thinks his responsibilities should be, but I think he's great.

He falls in love with Edie pretty quickly. Is he just an old romantic at heart?

Definitely! I think he's shielded himself from it for years and perhaps he never thought he was going to meet somebody who, like him, could give as good as they got. He's not used to meeting people who can click like that and be funny, bright, intellectual and quick. As soon as he meets Edie he's met somebody who's giving him as good as he gets and he loves that. For him at the beginning it's almost an obsession. To make that decision and go to New York it's kind of crazy and something that's completely uncharacteristic for him, especially as he's doing all that for a woman. The big difficulty with transatlantic relationships is that you want them to work and your whole heart is invested in it but it's the logistics that make it tough to keep it going. If you are an old romantic then it's really tough when things like logic take over.

How did you find working with the Americans?

One of the really interesting things was the culture clash - how they're used to a totally different way of working. I think we were really lucky in that our Americans were very funny and had a great sense of humor and we all got on very well, very quickly.

How did you find filming in New York?

New York was amazing, a dream come true. We'd all been really stupid because when we'd been filming the interiors for New York in London it was so hot in the studio we were in t-shirts and little flimsy jackets. All the costume ladies said to us "make sure you wear nice big coats because it's going to be cold in New York" and we were all like "yeah, yeah, yeah" not taking any notice. Of course when we got to New York we were tied in to our continuity and we couldn't add anything to our costumes so we were freezing our butts off, all of us, and it was the coldest winter in about 125 years or something! We filmed everywhere; the Lower East Side, the Lower West Side, SoHo, Long Island, Queens, it was just amazing to be able to film there.

What were the highlights of the shoot?

I think for me the highlight was definitely visiting New York, but it also has to be Simon's script and being able to play that character and say those lines. I just thought it was a fantastic piece of writing and I really enjoyed bringing Michael to life. It was a long shoot and it was hard but it was great fun. My final shot was in the middle of Times Square screaming my head off. How many people get the chance to shoot in Times Square at 4 o'clock in the morning? It was incredible. One of the funniest things that happened was when I was shooting that scene in Times Square and I was crying my eyes out. It was a tight shot, just of my head, but just out of shot there were cars pulling up and people heckling me! There's a moment in Rocky where he wins the fight and shouts out for his wife "Adrian, Adrian" and somebody actually came up to the side of me, off camera so no one could see, and started shouting "Adrian! Adrian!" like Rocky while I was trying to do my crying scene. I thought it was hilarious!

Have you ever had a long-distance relationship? How did you find it?

I have yes. She lived in Los Angeles and I was very much into her and I think we both really wanted to make it work. The problem was that when we first got together we couldn't bear to be apart so we'd be flying over to see each other a lot. It's easy to sustain that intensity for a few months but then it becomes incredibly difficult because you start to get back to normality and one week becomes three weeks and it's very difficult to keep that intensity when you've been apart for two or three weeks. I think I was probably a bit too young to be able to handle it. I also didn't have Michael's money!

How did your partner feel about your intimate scenes with Edie?

Every single job I've had since we've been together I've had a love scene and sometimes much more explicit than anything that happens in NY-LON. But I've been really lucky because she knows that's my job and it's what I have to do. Whether I'd be quite so cool if it were the other way around I don't know!

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