Pop-Culturalist.com

Meaghan Rath and Aaron Abrams are the stars of Kurt Smeaton’s must-see new series Children Ruin Everything (now available on Roku).

The laugh-out-loud comedy follows the lives of Astrid (Meaghan Rath) and James (Aaron Abrams) whose days are full of tantrums, tooth fairies, and train wrecks. As they try holding on to their pre-kid bliss, they realize in heart-warming and hilarious ways that there’s no going back, but the way forward is still a very sweet ride.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to chat with Aaron and Meaghan about Children Ruin Everything Season 1, how they build the family dynamic, and bringing the show to the States.

PC: We’ve seen series based around parenthood, but Children Ruin Everything is such a refreshing and much-needed take. Was there a moment for each of you when you were reading the script or filming the first season where you knew you had something special? Aaron, do you want to kick us off?
Aaron: There were a couple of things. Kurt Smeaton writes with love. When you’re writing with love and you’re as funny as he is, you really can’t go wrong. Secondly, there’s something about the way these characters parent in which they’re very much a team. There’s this emotional intelligence. It’s quite different from the usual family sitcoms.

Usually, the guy can be a palooka idiot. The wife is this stick in the mud. You fall into those tropes. But in this case, they’re both of that. When they’re idiots, they’re idiots together. When they screw up, they screw up together. There’s something so lovely about that. That really resonates with me and to the people at home. We film in Canada, and people are coming up to us all the time being like, “It feels like you have a TV in our house,” which is great.

Meaghan: The scripts were amazing, and we loved them. Sometimes there’s a lot that can go wrong while you’re making a TV show. When we started shooting, we actually started with Episode 6. That was the road trip episode. After a day or two of shooting, that’s when we were like, “We’re making something pretty special,” because of how it felt when we were doing the scenes and the way that it was shot. It was all being treated as something unique.

PC: Meaghan, you’re also an executive producer on this series. How has your work behind the scenes impacted what you’ve done on screen and vice versa?
Meaghan: It’s been nice to be included in the process. When we were casting last year, it was interesting to have an input on how the cast was coming together and creating this family.

Aaron: I never thanked you for that, by the way. Thank you.

Meaghan: You’re welcome.

Aaron: It took me a while.

Meaghan: Yeah.

Aaron: But I got to it.

Meaghan: It was nice to handpick Aaron. [laughs]

Aaron: Plucked me from obscurity. [laughs]

PC: Aaron, this series is based in Toronto where you’re from. The show is a character in itself. What has it been like getting to showcase your home city on this scale? How has the city shaped the artist that you are today?
Aaron: It’s an amazing treat to come back and shoot here. I live in LA now. It’s an amazing treat to shoot in Toronto where I’m from, but I haven’t lived here in quite some time. It’s so great to be back and see how the city’s changed and grown to be a character in the show. So often, Toronto is a city people film in because it’s so versatile. It looks like a European city. It looks like any American city. It looks like New York, but it looks like small suburbs. As a fan of Toronto, I love it. Hopefully, we’re representing it correctly.

Being an actor in Toronto was very helpful starting off because you need to be able to do everything here. Productions come here, and they can be anything. You have to fit what they’re looking for and be one of the ten guys that they hire when they come here. It creates a blue-collar mentality where you’re versatile and can be a cog in the wheel. [laughs] That’s a very helpful thing in this business. It’s a team sport and not a me thing.

Meaghan: That really makes sense for you.

Aaron: Thanks. That’s nice. [laughs]

Meaghan: No, it’s a compliment.

Aaron: Starting off career-wise in Toronto has been immensely helpful.

PC: There’s incredible chemistry that comes off the screen between the both of you even during this interview. Was that natural from day one? How did you build that bond?
Aaron: I think so.

Meaghan: I think from day one.

Aaron: Now that I remember, she cast me…

Meaghan: Yeah.

Aaron: Because it was pandemic times, there was no getting to know people. There was no rehearsal process. It was sort of like, throw us in this road trip episode and hope it sticks. Thanks to Meaghan’s casting abilities, it worked out. There really is great chemistry. I love the scenes with Meaghan. The kids are also incredible. Hopefully, it feels like a family.

I know casts say this all the time, but we feel like a family. Normally, when actors say that, that’s code for we hate each other. [laughs] But for us it does feel very…I don’t think it’s been necessarily familial, but it feels very close.

Meaghan: We’re all cogs in a machine. [laughs]

Aaron: Yeah, we’re all cogs in a machine. [laughs]

PC: Both of you have done so much comedy throughout your career, and you’ve said that working with Mikayla [SwamiNathan] and Logan [Nicholson] a lot of what you both were doing was riffing off what they delivered to you. How helpful has that been to have your comedic background as you’ve collaborated with these young actors?
Meaghan: It’s definitely helpful, but they make it easy because they’re genuinely really, really funny people that do very weird things. We very much encourage them to do weird things and say whatever comes to their minds. That’s what makes it feel so real in the show. Because the best material comes from when they’re really, really reacting to something that’s going on. They do that really well. They’re very free.

You get to mirror that a bit. It’s contagious. When they’re experiencing things for the first time, they’re just reacting. You’re like, “Oh yeah, I should do that. I’m also an actor. I should do that. That’s a good way to do that. I should listen and react.”

PC: Meaghan, you recently became a new mother. Congratulations, by the way. Has that brought a new level to how you’ve connected with this character and this series as you’re heading into Season 2?
Meaghan: It really, really has, especially shooting Season 2. I’m very grateful that I had the experience of giving birth and being a mother and holding a baby. Quite honestly, I didn’t hold too many babies before this. Our generation…

Aaron: It’s kind of a rule. [laughs]

Meaghan: Yes, I didn’t want to. I didn’t even realize that before I had a baby. I wouldn’t feel as comfortable as I do now holding a baby and dealing with kids if I hadn’t because I was really coming from nothing. So that changed everything. It really informed what I’m doing.

PC: Final question for the two of you: This series has been such a success in Canada, and now US audiences will be able to enjoy it as well. What has it meant for both of you to have this series reach a broader audience, and what are you most excited for them to see?
Aaron: Kurt’s writing. Kurt is an incredible guy. He writes with his whole heart. He’s so funny, and I’m excited for everybody to see that. He comes from Schitt’s Creek, Kim’s Convenience, and all these other amazing shows. For him to finally be writing his own personal material is really exciting. It’s very exciting for us to work on. I’m so happy that it’s going to find a wider audience.

Meaghan: Same. This is a very talented cast. I’m excited for people to see it. We live in the States, and all of our friends are like, “When can we see the show?”

Aaron: Saying this is a very talented cast is kind of a brag because you cast the show and you’re in it. [laughs] It’s a double brag.

Meaghan: Yeah, yeah. Whoever is in it and put it together is super, super talented. I’m excited to get the recognition for that.

Make sure to follow Aaron (Twitter/Instagram) and Meaghan (Twitter/Instagram). Watch Children Ruin Everything on Roku today.