Miriam Shor Hitches Her Wagon to Darren Star for Season Two of Younger

If you think Broadway is a fickle mistress, try television, where thousands of series simultaneously court audiences for a weekly slot of time and attention. Miriam Shor, a stage native who, since the turn of the millennium, has spent much of her career on the tube, only now has reached the coveted landmark of television success that all actors strive for: Season Two (not to mention the recently announced Season Three).

Shor stars opposite two-time Tony winner Sutton Foster in Younger — Sex and the City creator Darren Star's latest successful comedy series — which begins its second season on TV Land January 13. While Foster plays 40-year-old single mom Liza Miller, who pretends to be 26 to restart her career, Shor portrays her demanding boss, Diana Trout, head of marketing at the powerful publishing firm Empirical Press. TheaterMania last spoke with Shor over the summer as she prepared for her long-awaited stage return in The Wild Party at New York City Center. But now that she's back in the warm embrace of her TV Land family, she couldn't be happier to put on her power suit and get back to work.

Tell me about shooting season two of Younger.
I've loved it. This is my first season two! I've done recurring roles on shows that have been running for a long time, but this is the first one where I've started out as a series regular from the beginning of the show and it went a second season. So that is incredibly exciting. It's [also] my first show as a series regular in New York City and that's where I want to be. It's my home.

Did you expect the response to the show to be so positive?
I didn't know because I've managed to kill every show I've been on [laughs], so I thought, "What's gonna happen with this one?" There's no way of knowing what gets people, so you just roll with it. [But] people started responding right away and then it just kept building. It's so nice to be in something that you're proud of that people really are enjoying. It's a delightful confection of a show that is actually about something that matters [and] that people care about.

Did season one win Diana Trout fans?
People love her. I think people secretly would love to nurture their own inner Dianas and let her out every now and then. There's something really delicious that she just says what she feels immediately. And wouldn't we all like to do that? Hopefully we wouldn't all actually do it, but there's an admiration for people who speak their minds. And also — I've said this before and still feel this about her — she is unapologetically ambitious and proud of her achievements. I feel, especially for women, that's often frowned upon, and so I am really in awe and an admirer of that in her.

Strong female characters seem to be Darren Star's specialty.
I love that about him. He loves to tell stories through female characters, and he doesn't have to alter his decision about what's important and what's not important just because they're women. He's like, "They're fascinating, their stories are interesting, they're complicated, there are so many directions to go in." He loves it and I love that about him. You don't have to give yourself parameters that are narrower than other characters just because they're women. He's like, "Yeah, sky's the limit." And good for him. Good for me!

Liza [Sutton Foster's character] is the one pretending to be 26, but what do you think Diana was like when she was 26?[[br ]]
The thing I know about Diana Trout is that she's the hardest working person. She even says it in season one — that nobody works harder than she does. I believe that's always been true about her. That is why she has high expectations of everyone around her. So I just imagine her being the hardest worker at literally everything. She was the best assistant that you have ever had. But also, I believe that Miss Diana Trout, when she parties, it's with all of that ambition behind her — and equally in her love life, which doesn't always go super well for her. You might need a little more nuance in personal relationships. Climbing the work ladder is different from climbing the social ladder.

Has the process of shooting season two been everything you hoped it would be?
It's a lovefest. We loved each other at the end of the first season, but we're even closer now. It's nice to be with a cast where everyone is so lovely and grateful and talented and just the kind of people you want to be hanging out with… and I think the writers are going even further in pushing the envelope. I keep on pinching myself. Is this really happening? I'm so lucky. [I] go to work, play pretend, hang out with my friends, and wear fabulous clothes. Not a bad day at the office.