If you’re looking for a show that’s good for the soul, look no further than Little Voice. The Apple TV+ series debuts on July 10 and explores the journey of finding your authentic voice in your early 20s. It’s a moving drama with the magic of music at its core. Little Voice centers around Bess, played by Brittany O’Grady, as she navigates her life and music career in New York City. Along the way, she crosses paths with Ethan and Samuel, who become worthy suitors for her heart. HollywoodLife spoke EXCLUSIVELY with Sean Teale and Colton Ryan about why this show, which is executive produced by Sara Bareilles, Jessie Nelson, J.J. Abrams, and Ben Stephenson, was one they knew they had to be a part of.
“I remember when I read the character breakdown, besides the people involved, it was just a no brainer,” Colton told HollywoodLife. “It’s a smorgasbord of unbelievable, unique talent. When I read the character breakdown that this dude was soft-spoken, goofy, and going to be singing Sara Bareilles songs, I was like, if I don’t get this, I will be kicking myself until the end of my days. Thankfully, it just didn’t play out that way.”
Sean added, “It just read so beautifully and so simply. I really don’t want that word to be misconstrued as in any way negative or undermining. It is just very real, very pure, and puts you right in that space as a performer. I felt it instantly. It had such a charm about it that Sara and Jessie have about themselves. Sam is a beautiful character, and Ethan has this sort of resilience in not being a jaded and broken person after the hardships that he’s gone through with a drunken father that passes and then a mother that passes from a broken heart after he’s an orphan. He remains hopeful and sees the world in a better light. The very hardships he went through define how he is as a filmmaker now, and how he views the world. That journey is exactly what I wanted.”
As the season moves forward, a love triangle between Sam, Bess, and Ethan begins to form. Bess falls for them both, and they each bring something unique to their relationships with her. “That’s the only way that story can function is if the love triangle is conceivable from each angle,” Sean said. “Bess falls in love with two different men in different ways that provide different things for her under different circumstances. That’s what makes it so appealing. Ultimately, they’re both good, kind-hearted guys that care about supporting Bess much like me and Colton knew that we had to support Brittany in this story. She’s so generous and so big that there was space in her lovely performance for the two of us to align next to each other. Kudos to Brit for doing that because if she was to come in with any sort of narrow mindset, then we would have to be fighting to understand why that triangle is what it is. She’s got such a beautiful range and plays Bess with such a lovely complexity that you can see why she falls for Ethan and why she falls for Sam and why it’s not wrong that both of them have a shot.”
This love triangle is not seeking fans to choose sides but to support Bess in her individual journey. “From a storytelling aspect, they’re both seeing something inside of Bess because she is so committed and earnest in her path to finding what she wants to say,” Colton said. “It’s very believable that we get to watch her bounce back and forth with the two of these guys, not as like Team Ethan or Team Sam, but as a feminist icon, with Bess King actually just playing the field and actually finding out what she really feels and thinks and wants to say on our own. Whether or not she chooses one of the guys, I think it would be great either way. She also could keep dating around because she’s on the path of finding out exactly what she wants and what she’s going to put out there, which is so inspiring to watch as a viewer because all we want to know is what is her voice like so we can eventually find out how do we find our own.”
Colton, who recently played Gene Laine in Broadway’s Girl From The North Country, got to work closely with Brittany as Samuel and Bess’ musical journey intensified. To play Sam, Colton began playing the guitar and hasn’t “put it down since.” He opened up about what it was like forming that musical bond with Brittany.
“Honestly, a lot of times she was comforting me because I was the one having to actively look like I’m some seasoned guitar player and supporting her,” Colton revealed. “We fell into a great friendship. That scene where we’re underneath the arch in Washington Square, a lot of that is live vocal capture because we were actually laughing and playing in front of all these real people who are just walking through Washington Square. It was one of the first times we were making music together. This is where you learn the most about each other. I think as you watch the show, it gets deeper and deeper, this musical soulmate connection. Not just the romantic [aspect], but music is its own sort of language. When you find someone else who speaks a very similar one to you that’s, as I learned about from Sara, a one-in-a-million thing.”
The first three episodes of Little Voice will premiere July 10. New episodes will debut every Friday thereafter, exclusively on Apple TV+.