Yunjin Kim entertains John Schneider. (ABC)
Don’t let the title fool you: Only one of “Mistresses”’ four great-looking leading ladies plays an actual mistress. And none of them — including its biggest star, Alyssa Milano — fits the mold of the stereotypical husband-stealer and home-wrecker. “When I was first pitched the show, I was like, ‘Oh, God, a soapy show called ‘Mistresses,’” says Jes Macallan, who plays Milano’s commitment-phobe younger sister. “But it wasn’t that at all. It wasn’t a bunch of women pulling guns on each other and stabbing each other in the back. We really have a core friendship.”
Based on the hit British series, that friendship bubbles into a steamy summer pot-boiler as the thirtysomething women negotiate the pitfalls of dating and marriage. More serious in tone than “Sex and The City,” more realistic than “Desperate Housewives,” the series focuses on four working women whose love lives are — in a word — a mess.
Milano, playing a married lawyer, gives in to a workplace dalliance. Macallan is a realtor who turns down a dazzling opportunity to be a kept woman. Yunjin Kim, playing a psychiatrist, gets intimate with a dying married patient. And Rochelle Aytes is an interior designer and shop owner who discovers that her late husband led a secret life. We asked them about their real-life thoughts on “the other woman.”
NYP: What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word “mistress”?
Milano: Extremely negative.
Aytes: Infidelity. The only way I would become a mistress is if I didn’t know he was married.
Macallan: We keep talking about this because of the title of the show. And I keep thinking that you can’t help who you fall in love with.
Kim: I’ve become more sympathetic to the mistresses of the world.
NYP: What would you do if you found out your husband or boyfriend had a mistress?
Milano (married): I would be absolutely devastated. I would not stick around after that.
Macallan (married): Oh… my God. As old as I feel, but as young in years as I am, I’ve had a lot of bouts with infidelity in my life. With my own family, my own parents, myself, we could talk for days. But I’ve also learned a lot from infidelity. Sometimes it was me, sometimes it was the person I was seeing. I would be heartbroken if I found out my husband had a mistress. He’s the love of my life, so now the stakes are higher. I think I’d be in a hole for quite awhile.
Aytes (single): Well, the first thing I would do is grab a knife from the kitchen (laughs) and it would probably be an out-of-body experience. In my mind, I would probably want to take off certain body parts. I would be devastated. I would definitely have some choice words for him — and her.
Kim (married): I would get out! I think before I got married, if you had asked me, I would’ve said, ‘It’s a done deal.’ I wouldn’t even want to know the circumstances. But now, looking around, and being more mature, and older, I don’t think it’s so black and white anymore. Especially after playing a character who becomes a mistress on the show.
NYP: What makes a woman become a mistress?
Milano: Looking for love, looking to fill some void in their life, and they make some bad decisions. I don’t think anyone goes into a relationship wanting to be the other woman.
Macallan: You’d never say: “Oh, I love that girl. She’s such a mistress!” Ultimately, it happens for a reason. Nobody goes out and does that if there’s not something deeper going on.
Aytes: I think there are several reasons. She could have low self-esteem and think she couldn’t get anyone else. And sometimes, men can really be extreme charmers and can lure a woman in with their words, with extreme chemistry. It’s that human flaw that we all have.
Kim: About ten years ago, one of my friends became a mistress. She fell in love. And I have to be honest: Ten years ago, I really judged her. I didn’t end the relationship, but I did really judge her. This is something I haven’t thought about, but her face pops up as soon as you ask the question. And now, looking back, I feel really bad that I judged her. Unless you’re in that situation, you really can’t judge.
NYP: Should mistresses form a self-help group?
Macallan: Fantastic!!! I think that’s a great idea. I’m sure it exists. It’s called Wine With The Girls on a Friday night. That’s what I love about our time-slot, following “The Bachelorette.”
Kim: We already have a self-help group and it’s the show! We cover every base of infidelity.
Milano: If your question is: Do the characters provide a self-help group with each other, I think a big part of the show is the friendship and the sisterhood and they do become a support group for each other.
Aytes: You know what, I think you’re on to something. I think a support group would be very helpful. Perhaps the mistresses have similar flaws they could work through. But it’s not just about the mistresses. I think the MEN need to be in a self-help group, as well.
MISTRESSES
Monday, 10 p.m., ABC