As Vicki Lawrence And Stephen Tobolowsky Join Lopez Vs. Lopez, The Comedy Greats Share What Surprised Them About Working With George Lopez
Lots of comedy icons on set for this episode!
Lopez vs. Lopez will be even more of a family affair than usual with the new episode on November 1 in the 2024 TV schedule, with the arrivals of Quinten's parents for a visit. The NBC comedy brought back Stephen Tobolowsky to reprise his role as Quinten's dad Sam and cast The Carol Burnett Show alum Vicki Lawrence as mom Ruthie. It's a safe bet that some kind of chaos will ensue, and the two guest stars spoke with CinemaBlend about what surprised them about working with George Lopez on the show.
Vicki Lawrence has more TV comedy experience than most coming into Lopez vs. Lopez, having started her career on The Carol Burnett Show and remaining on board for nearly 300 episodes across eleven seasons. Add in some later sitcom work on shows including Mama's Family, The Cool Kids, and even Hannah Montana, and Lawrence has a very strong list of comedy credits.
When I asked the actress what it was like for her to work with George Lopez – who has plenty of sitcom experience and well as stand-up success of his own – on Lopez vs. Lopez, she shared what she didn't know she was getting into:
Although George Lopez is of course successful on his own, a positive comparison to Carol Burnett is a high compliment coming from somebody who worked so closely with her for so many years. Vicki Lawrence didn't quite know what she was in for when she signed on for Lopez vs. Lopez but got a "delightful" surprise with the leading man. She went on to share what made her want to play the role of Ruthie on the show, since she hadn't met George before:
While the new episode on November 1 – called "Lopez vs. In-Laws" – will be Vicki Lawrence's first as Ruthie, it will mark Stephen Tobolowsky's return after playing Sam Van Bryan back in Season 1. At the time, series regular Matt Shively raved about Lopez vs. Lopez casting a "legend" to play his on-screen dad. (You can find that episode streaming with a Netflix subscription and/or a Peacock subscription.)
Stephen Tobolowsky is a renowned character actor with credits all over the large and small screens, notably including Groundhog Day as a film and One Day at a Time and The Goldbergs on TV. He even appeared in The Cool Kids opposite Vicki Larence during its one and only season. When I noted to the actor that I was looking forward to seeing him back on Lopez vs. Lopez, he responded:
George Lopez's level of leadership was "a shock" for Stephen Tobolowsky when he came to Lopez vs. Lopez, not least because that's not something that everybody says about the sitcom star. That said, creator Debby Wolfe praised Lopez's ability to energize the audience with his stand-up skills, and a co-star shared how his "hands-on" approach was helpful. Tobolowsky went on:
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The actor went on to share that One Day at a Time had the same great feeling among the cast, who came together earlier this year for a table read of final episodes. All in all, it's clear that George Lopez is a leader who makes joining Lopez vs. Lopez a positive experience for guest stars, earning him high praise from fellow (albeit different) comedy greats.
You can find Vicki Lawrence and Stephen Tobolowsky as Ruthie and Sam Van Bryan opposite George Lopez and Co. in the next new episode of Lopez vs. Lopez.. It'll air on Friday, November 1 at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBC, immediately after a new episode of Happy's Place. If you've missed any of Season 3 so far, you can find the earlier episodes streaming on Peacock.
Laura turned a lifelong love of television into a valid reason to write and think about TV on a daily basis. She's not a doctor, lawyer, or detective, but watches a lot of them in primetime. CinemaBlend's resident expert and interviewer for One Chicago, the galaxy far, far away, and a variety of other primetime television. Will not time travel and can cite multiple TV shows to explain why. She does, however, want to believe that she can sneak references to The X-Files into daily conversation (and author bios).
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