LOS ANGELES-Michael Cudlitz and Mary McCormack act a lot like the longtime married couple they play in the flashback series "The Kids Are Alright."
Set in the 1970s, the new ABC comedy follows a traditional Irish-Catholic family as they deal with the big and small changes going on in the world. The stories unfold in a home with one bathroom that's shared by 10 people. The series was inspired by the childhood of creator/executive producer Tim Doyle.
"I grew up in a family of eight boys, no girls," Doyle says. "And, yeah, some of the material, some of the inspiration, some of the moments have been kind of divvied up to different characters and this and that. But, the character of Timmy, who is a bit of a jack*** who's got this wonderful verve for putting himself in front of the audience, that's pretty much me."
One of the topics of conversation between McCormack and Cudlitz is because they have done so much dramatic work, they doubt they were at the top of anyone's list when it came to performers to hire for a TV comedy. Among McCormack's credits are four seasons on "The West Wing" and as the star of "In Plain Sight." The most recent credit on a long resume of dramatic roles for Cudlitz is playing Abraham on AMC's "The Walking Dead."
McCormack suggests their deep backgrounds in drama help with the comedy.
"I try to approach all the work with honesty," McCormack says. "Moms move a certain way in this time period. They don't necessarily make time to kiss their husbands because moms are very busy. If the characters were softer, people would call us on it and say that was not the way they were raised.
"It was a time when people felt love but didn't talk about feeling loved."
Cudlitz likes that he's being allowed to play the father as tougher and stronger because that gives him a chance to make the performance feel more truthful.
'THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT' 8:30 p.m./7:30 p.m. Central Tuesday, ABC