Billy Gardell Speaks On The Steelers, The New Season Of Bob Hearts Abishola, And COVID
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Need a break?
Don't we all?
Between politics, and COVID who could blame you for seeking relief.
WATCH: Gardell Excited About Steelers' Start
That is true even for a big star like Billy Gardell. The Swissvale native and star of Bob Hearts Abishola is finding that relief in the undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers.
"Man we look good," Gardell says with a broad smile. "We're cooking with gas, week at a time, week at a time. I'm excited. Every week to watch them there's something different about this team, that there's just something special going on, and they're giving us such a great gift in the middle of all this crazy turmoil the world's in right now. What a gift they are on Sundays to watch them and to see them playing at this level is just as they would say in the late 70s when I was a kid, 'I got a feelin'.' That's what it feels like so..."
Gardell, ever the diehard, says, who cares if some games are nailbiters?
"Why it wouldn't be the Steelers if we didn't bite our nails once in a while man," he laughs. "You know whenever they do blow somebody out I'm giddy. That's like catching a unicorn, you know, we're pretty notorious for playing, you know, playing down a little bit when a team's not supposed to be able to hang with us you know and it wouldn't be easy if it wasn't the Steelers but they've given us quite a few gifts this year though in the other direction and that's something we haven't seen a lot lately."
As for going undefeated...
"Um...I, you know man, I don't, I don't care about any of that, I want to win the Superbowl, I think. I think that's the attitude of the team, and then it'd be nice to go undefeated but sometimes a loss can refocus you to I don't know, I don't know how it's gonna play out. It's gonna be exciting, man it's gonna be really exciting next few months."
Meanwhile, Gardell is enjoying the beginning of his second season of Bob Hearts Abishola which started with a shock in its premiere episode.
"Bob, will you marry me? Yes."
That's right Abishola proposed to Bob.
"They wanted to do something that was big and a thing that would distract people, you know a lot of shows are going, they're writing about COVID and they have a mask on, involved in the show and Chuck [creator Chuck Lorre] kind of decided over the summer, you know, we're going to try to be a distraction for people we're going to try to be able to tune in and see these two crazy families trying to navigate each other," Gardell said.
Gardell doesn't worry that getting Abishola and Bob together will jump the shark.
"There's always wonderful comedy in trying to figure out how to tolerate each other how to love each other how to get along with each other, how to accept each other's quirks and stuff," he said. "And that I think brings the couple closer together and that was a very attractive storyline to follow and I think it's one people can tune in, feel good, laugh and you know get a little bit of a distraction from what's going on right now."
As for coming home, Billy says the pandemic has clipped his wings and he hasn't been home since it began.
He misses his friends in Pittsburgh but is hunkered down with his wife Patty and son Will in Los Angeles and will be home as soon as it's safe.
Billy takes the coronavirus very seriously, the show is taking extraordinary steps to keep the cast and crew safe, and he encourages everyone to wear a mask and be careful.
