Necessary Roughness: Q&A with Callie Thorne

USA Network is all set to welcome a new character to its line-up. You’ve already met Shawn and Gus, Burke and Caffrey, Marshall Shannon and Dr. Hank, but now viewers prepare to meet the incomparable Dr. Dani as she gears into action on the new series Necessary Roughness. In a Q&A conference call with lead star Callie Thorne, the actress talks about her new series, the true inspiration behind it, and when it all falls down, who does Dr. Dani turn to?

In Necessary Roughness, Thorne stars as Dr. Danielle Santino, a professional psychiatrist who unexpectedly finds her own personal life tossed into turmoil. Newly divorced and now taking the reigns of single parenthood, Dr. Dani struggles to keep her family afloat in the midst of instability. But when the tough no-nonsense Dr. Dani signs on to be the therapist for a professional football league, she finds her personal and professional lives helplessly intertwined. And as she gets more and more popular in her professional life, Dr. Dani must learn how to balance a career with her family.

Necessary Roughness is inspired by the real life story of Dr. Donna Dannenfelser, who also serves as a supervising producer on the show. When asked about what initially excited her about doing the show, Thorne makes it clear that to her Dr. Donna’s the real draw.

“The fact that it was a true story,” Thorne says, “and the fact that it was a real woman, a real extraordinary woman,
is why I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this script.”

Even before reading the script Thorne says that because of the real-life aspect of this story, as well as Dr. Donna’s participation in the writing room, this series would be more “layered” and grounded. And it turns out she was right.

“I read the script,” Thorne says, “and it felt so honest and based on a real kind of truth. Even when I got to meet her it all sort of fell into place so perfectly because there’s a spirit about her that fills up the entire page.”

And while it may seem daunting to try to capture that spirit on camera, Thorne says that meeting with Dr. Donna made it all easier.

“It wasn’t so much about researching her actual history… what was important to me mostly was I just wanted to soak up her spirit, that’s partly what makes her so extraordinary,” said Thorne.

Thorne says that to that end, although Dr. Donna was always on set to answer any questions about cognitive and behavioral therapy, what Thorne really relied on was her presence in order to tell her story.

But while Dr. Dani is the main focus of the show, Thorne says that to her Necessary Roughness feels sort of like an ensemble, “the scenes are so rich with these other characters… they took such great care in every character. It didn’t matter if it was a lead character.”

“Each moment with each character is important,” she said before continuing that each story feels like an “A” story, that every storyline seems as important as the next. Mehcad Brooks stars as TL King, Dani’s first and (to Thorne) favorite patient. And while there will be a series of other patients Thorne tells us that TK will definitely be on the scene from week to week. (I have to admit, I was worried about Mehcad’s face time with all these other ‘patients’ crashing the scene. And just hearing this makes me extremely happy.)

Also starring in the series is Marc Blucas as the football team’s trainer with whom Dani has a one night stand before they find out they’re going to be working together. Scott Cohen plays Nico the “enforcer”whose job no one seems to know as of yet. But I don’t know, maybe his role is just to provide a little romantic competition. Which Thorne admits, he definitely does. And while Thorne says that she doesn’t know how the relationships with Matt/Nico will evolve (will they stay friends or something more?), I have got to say that I’m just looking forward to seeing how they do. Craig Bierko stars as Ray Santino, Dr. Dani’s ex-husband, and Amanda Detmer takes the role of Jeanette, Dani’s best friend.

And while Dr. Dani is the sounding board for many of the characters on the scene, when asked who Dani can turn to for a listening ear, the answer is a surprising no one. Sure, she has her best friend, her mom, (who’s apparently crazy, by the way) and the potential interest of Matt who as Thorne says is not quite yet that person.

“They’re walking that romance will they-won’t they line or do they keep things professional? So he’s not quite somebody who she can turn to,” explains Thorne. If it’s not them, then who? “It is part of what pushes the story; who does she turn to for help.” Thorne admits that she likes that everything is up in the air for Dani and that the audience is figuring it out just as she – Dani – is, “I think that’s kind of what makes it extra interesting.”

Wanna know more? Be sure to watch Necessary Roughness as it premieres this Wednesday, June 29 at 10/9c on USA Network.

Photos courtesy of Justin Stephens, Quantrell Colbert, and USA Network.