David Del Rio Previews ‘Maggie,’ Hulu’s Newest Rom-Com Series [Interview]

Hulu’s newest romantic comedy has an otherworldly twist that will draw viewers in from the very first episode.

Maggie follows Maggie (Rebecca Rittenhouse), a fortune-teller who can see the future. Her life is simple, and she avoids love at all costs because of her powers. But everything is flipped upside down when she reads the palms of a man named Ben (David Del Rio) and sees herself in his future.

I recently had the opportunity to chat with David Del Rio about Maggie and what fans can expect from this new-age rom-com.

Rio plays Ben, a teacher who lives in the practical realm and doesn’t bother with the supernatural aspects of life.

“He’s a history teacher, and that contrast between the two characters of Maggie looking into the future and it being Ben’s actual job to sort of embrace the past as the history teacher is one of those things that clashes in that friendship [and] brings a lot of chemistry between the two characters.”

“Ben’s funny, he’s a family guy. He cares about his friends, and he’s not fazed by the sort of mystical strength that Maggie has. It’s just a strength that a person has in his eyes. He kind of like really accepts it, and I find that really cool about him,” Rio continued.

One thing that drew Rio to the role of Ben is the Billy Crystal sarcastic vibes attached to the character. Another is the character’s flaws. “What continued to draw me to Ben when I was playing him throughout the season was just how much of a flawed character he is, with sort of fighting his head versus his heart. And that was one of those things that I wanted to continue to explore,” Rio said.

For Rio, the thing that makes Maggie unique is how the series doesn’t focus on the supernatural aspect. Instead, it focuses on the other essential factors that make us who we are.

“It’s truly a magical rom-com, dealing with characters that automatically don’t take the idea of someone seeing into the future so lightly. You know, they just accepted the conditions as they exist. I think the audience will get on board with these characters immediately.”

“I think that the audience will definitely respond to the relationships because you can be a firefighter, doctor, lawyer, or someone who can see the future, but it’s not about your gift. What it is about is who you are as a person and who you are to the people around you, and Maggie explores that,” Rio added.

Maggie also has a concept that we haven’t seen on television before.

“I think the rom-com narrative formula has been enhanced with the writing in Maggie. I liked the concept of, can you really live in the moment if you can see the future? And I love that argument. I think it’s an argument that hasn’t been told on the television screen before,” Rio said.

Audiences can definitely expect to laugh a lot while watching Maggie. “It’s one of those shows that’s written where there are jokes constantly happening. And you gotta rewind it because you laugh so hard. I’ve had many different times watching Maggie that I’ve just been cracking up, and I had to rewind it to see it again,” Rio said.

Maggie is also Rio’s first outing as a lead in a romantic comedy. “Being a romantic lead comes with searching for yourself in other ways, in your arsenal as an actor in terms of what you can bring to the table. Being a romantic lead in my career for the first time was a very adventurous process and one that I’ll never forget.”

One highlight for Rio on the Maggie set was getting to work with one of his favorite actors. “Kerri Kenney is one of those actors that you do a scene with, and you’re kind of like, ‘I just want to sit here and watch you all day.’ Off-screen, she’s just so incredibly motherly to all of us and so interested in what’s going on in your life.”

“She took all my fandom with grace. I’m a humongous Reno 911 fan, and I have been since it premiered on Comedy Central. Hearing her stories of how that’s made and how it came to be and then seeing her tap into her comedic genius was surreal,” he said. “That’s my favorite part about being an actor; being able to work with people like her.”

—

Maggie Season 1 will be available to stream on July 6th on Hulu.

 Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!