Beloved Celebrity Grandparents Join 'Jon & Kate' Cast
By Jeff on Jun 2, 2009 in News | 12 Comments
In a bold move to ease the palpable tension and growing discord on the popular multiple-birth reality show, “Jon & Kate Plus 8,” producers have added four veteran actors to play grandparents to the houseful of Gosselin children. “Were hoping these lovable television personalities will present a more nurturing and stable home life for the children,” said executive producer Kelvin Boyle-Reilly.
“Our fans on the blogs demand these kids get more hugs, attention, love and that sort of stuff, and who better to provide that than professionally trained actors.”
Both TMZ and US Weekly have confirmed George Takei (Star Trek) and Marlo Thomas (That Girl) will play the roles of Jon’s parents and Patrick Duffy (Step by Step, Man from Atlantis) and Meredith Baxter (Family Ties, Family) will take on the roles of Kate’s parents.
“We’re kind of aiming for the fun and crazy familial vibe from “16 Candles” when the two sets of grandparents stayed in the house for the sister’s wedding, remember that?” chuckled Boyle-Reilly. “That was awesome… I digress. Seriously, you know Kate and Jon are very very busy with their own things now and you can’t expect them to be parents 24/7. That’s were the ‘grampees’ come in! Everyone loves grandparents.”
When asked about the new cast members, Kate curtly replied, “That’s fine with me, we have like 6 spare bedrooms now, let em have at it.” After fidgeting a bit and examining her latest French manicure, she added sternly, “But absolutely no couch time for these people and absolutely no talking to the camera! Got it? That’s all me. Don’t mess with it.”
The production team and staff of writers are hoping for an easy and organic introduction of the new senior cast members. Boyle-Reilly said, “We’ll probably have the grandparents just ‘pop over’ with some pies during the upcoming Fourth of July episode.” The episode will also feature a $25 thousand dollar firework spectacular staged on the Gosselin estate for the sextuplets’ 5 ¼ birthday party.
One stumbling block for audience acceptance may be the show’s history. In one episode where Kate is berating Jon for not throwing away some old junk, Jon mentions the junk belonged to his deceased father.
“I’m sorry, I don’t recall that,” said a slightly flummoxed Boyle-Reilly. “Are you sure you remember that correctly? I think Jon was talking about his old soccer coach… or his mailman.”
In another episode, Kate mentioned her parents were not part of her life. The producer added quickly, “Well, people change their minds, don’t they. Who wouldn’t want to be part of a popular TV show?”
When reached for comment about the new cast members, Jon, who was vacationing in the Hamptons with new pals Nick Lachey and Gervase from Survivor, asked “Are they gonna yell at me too?”
The Huffington Post reports that show producers have started casting for a “wacky neighbor” and a blond-haired, nerdy cousin with glasses who may be considered a jinx.
TAGS: George Takei • Gosselin • Gosselins • Jon & Kate Plus 8 • Jon Gosselin • Kate Gosselin • Marlo Thomas • Meredith Baxter • Nick Lachey • Patrick Duffy • The Huffington Post • TMZ • US Weekly
