Younger: Molly Bernard and Nico Tortorella Reflect on the Final Season | ATX Television Festival

Saying goodbye to Younger was bittersweet for cast members Nico Tortorella and Molly Bernard, who reflected on their experiences during a panel at this year’s virtual ATX Television Festival.

The two talked at length about their favorite memories, and along with costume designer Jacqueline Demeterio discussed the show’s evolution — and its fashion. (It is worth noting that the panel was pre-recorded before the series finale aired.)

“I think our show fundamentally has a really, really good heart,” Bernard said when asked what it is about Younger that hooked its audience in so well. “I think it was cast really, really well, and by that I mean the alchemy is right,” she added, noting the incredible chemistry the cast had.

“I think at its core, the show is perpetually optimistic and joyous,” Tortorella said. “These have been some interesting seven years, politically, socially. I think this show is an escape in so many ways.”

Over the course of seven seasons, every key character evolved in major ways. For Tortorella, Josh’s growth led to something particularly joyful — working with a child.

“Josh was putting so much pressure onto his relationship with another person, you know his romantic relationship for so long, that once Gemma came into the picture he was able to shift focus and perspective and really start taking care of himself in a way that he maybe wasn’t before. Because he has to show up for himself in order to show up for his daughter,” Tortorella said.

“And I will say as an actor, working with an infant is such a joy. It reminds you what it means to be an actor. Anything can happen at any given moment, and you just have to roll with it,” Tortorella added. “Arguably one of my favorite parts of the last few seasons was working with a kid.”

For Bernard, one thing that stands out on the show is the way her character Lauren’s sexuality is portrayed.

“This is a really important side of queer representation. I think Lauren is an aspirational queer person,” Bernard said, noting that while she believes the difficult stories are important, showing how Lauren is accepted by her parents and friends is a type of portrayal that is “critical” on screen.

Both actors also reflected on their favorite memories of working on the show, and what it was like saying goodbye as they finished shooting the final episodes.

“The most rewarding scene work was the emotional stuff with Sutton. We were both so attached to our characters and specifically the relationship between Josh and Liza,” Tortorella said.

The last scene they shot was particularly emotional to get through. “I could barely breathe, let alone get any words out. I was a mess,” Tortorella recalled. “I don’t think we realized how spoiled we were or how good we had it.”

“It was such a singular season because of what the world was going through. So I couldn’t see my parents, who lived ten minutes away from me, but I saw this family every day,” Bernard shared. “I was there for everyone’s last day. I just happened to be scheduled that way, and watching Nico leave and seeing Nico the moments before he shot his last scene and the moments after, I will never forget the tenderness. We all were heartbroken.”

“It’s a high even though it’s obviously very bittersweet, but it’s a high because we built those relationships through this show over the last seven years,” Bernard added. “It’s defined my entire twenties, this show.”

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