Creator April Blair reveals what she had planned for Jane & Billy’s first kiss, Ben & Rita’s race to the altar, and more.
Jane By Design fans were crushed last week when ABC Family announced the show wouldn’t be returning for a second season — I coped with carbs — but fortunately, creator April Blair was more than happy to give HollywoodLife.com an exclusive breakdown of what we would have seen in season two. And trust me, it would have been awesome.
1. Eli to the rescue: Curious how Jane (Erica Dasher) was going to explain to Gray (Andie MacDowell) and Eli (Bryan Dechart) why she was backstage at a high-school play? ”Our idea was that Eli was going to cover for her,” April says. “There were moments in episode 18 where he looked at the costumes crookedly, and throughout the play he pieced it together.”
2. Jane & Billy’s big moment: It sounds like Jane and Billy’s (Nick Roux) shippers would have been very happy with the show’s second season. “For two [finales], we really pulled the rug out from under people,” April admits. “But [in the second season], we wanted to give people that kiss, the moment they both acknowledge they have feelings for each other. We were really excited to do that, and give that to the fans.”
3. Wedding bells for Ben & Rita: April says there was a lot of discussion about Ben’s (David Clayton Rogers) future with Rita (Smith Cho), now that he decided to stay in town: “Do they get engaged? Will Rita become a bit of a bridezilla, obsessed with planning her wedding? We definitely wanted to have Ben propose next season.”
4. Jeremy & India: Things between Jeremy (Rowly Dennis) and India (India de Beaufort) would only become more complicated in season two. ”Jeremy would come back and start his own independent label, becoming a competitor for Donovan Decker,” April reveals. “His romance with India would grow, and they would become more serious — but at the same time, they would become professional rivals.”
5. Amanda, please: Amanda Clark (Briga Heelan) may not have found love with Ben, but April says there would definitely have been romance in her future. ”We were thinking of maybe having Amanda begin dating Todd [the other teacher originally vying for Rita's attention], and it would become a competitive couple thing. When you’re engaged or dating, you always have a friend that tries to one-up you. So we’d keep Amanda and Rita’s competition alive, but it would be less about Ben, and more about the rivalry between the two women.”
6. Mom’s back: “We were hoping to have [Jane's mom] make a reappearance,” April says. Teri Hatcher was contracted to direct an episode of season two, but actually having her appear as Kate in front of the camera ”would really be subject to Teri’s availability.”
How do you feel about Jane ending before its time was really up? Which of these potential story lines would you have loved to see? Drop me a comment with your thoughts! (We can get through this together.)
— Andy Swift
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Natalie
Posted at 11:27 PM on May 21, 2013
Please bring back Jane BY design! Can you switch to the CW somehow or another network? The show was Far better than some of the ones they kept! It had such potential and was loved by many!