Get ready for some country-fried fun with Country Comfort. The adorable new Netflix series premieres on March 19. Country Comfort follows a country singer named Bailey, who takes a job as a nanny for cowboy Beau and his five children.
HollywoodLife got the EXCLUSIVE scoop about the series from Ricardo Hurtado, who plays the oldest kid Tuck. Ricardo discussed Tuck’s journey and working with LeAnn Rimes and Katharine McPhee. He also weighed in about more Malibu Rescue in the future!
What was it about Tuck that really stood out to you and made you want to be a part of the show?
Ricardo Hurtado: I grew up in Georgia. Tuck’s just a very funny guy. He’s a very funny character. When I got the audition for this, I just loved playing this type of role, the kind of cocky, ladies man. But what I also love about Tuck is that he’s got not just that comedic aspect of him. He’s also got his heartfelt side to him, especially when it comes to the loss of his mother. I love getting to see both those layers in Tuck.
Tuck comes from a big family. What is his relationship like with his siblings?
Ricardo Hurtado: Tuck’s got a great relationship with his siblings. He cares about them very much. It’s funny because he and Brody, the second oldest brother, always have some kind of conflict in this, especially when it comes to girls. You’ll be able to see a lot of that in the show. It’s really fun.
You said you grew up in Georgia. How was it tapping into that southern accent?
Ricardo Hurtado: It definitely wasn’t difficult. That was definitely one reason I felt confident going into the audition. I grew up around a very southern accent all my life down there. I think I was able to replicate it pretty good, even though I don’t have one personally.
You get to perform on this show. What was it like for you to be able to collaborate with so many musically-inclined people at once?
Ricardo Hurtado: It’s seriously a dream. I love getting to work on projects that also have a lot of musical elements. My first-ever project that I worked on was the Nickelodeon show School of Rock. That was like the first thing that I ever started acting on, and they had a lot of musical elements to it. We got to sing, and I was the drummer on that show. Getting to do another show now with a lot of new musical elements just really makes me so happy because those are two of my main passions, acting and music, so getting to combine them and experience the best of both worlds is so much fun.
LeAnn Rimes comes to the show as a guest star. What was that like?
Ricardo Hurtado: It was so cool. I love LeAnn Rimes. She’s such a sweetheart and was so nice. She does great on the show. Seriously, it was a dream come true for a lot of people on set. It was really a pleasure working with her.
What about Katharine McPhee? What was that process like of building that bond between Bailey and the kids?
Ricardo Hurtado: Kat’s awesome. She’s a sweetheart, and I really love getting to work with her too. She’s super talented. That’s what I love about all my castmates. They all have a tremendous work ethic. They’re all very professional. Everyone does a great job. It’s such a pleasure going to work because there’s no drama or anything like that. Everyone just goes to work. They do their job and go home. I love that because we all get along super great. It’s just a great time on set.
How did you build up that chemistry with your onscreen siblings?
Ricardo Hurtado: My siblings are seriously the coolest. We actually met during the audition process, but we didn’t even really get to know each other until we started filming the show. It was almost like an instant connection. We all just got along super great. They’re like the siblings that I never had because I’m an only child. It was really exciting to be with such a cool group of kids. They’re super talented and super fun to hang out with.
How would you say that Tuck is coping with the loss of his mother?
Ricardo Hurtado: Tucks is definitely hurt in his heart. The loss of a mother is always going to be very painful. It’s going to have lasting damage on someone definitely, but he just tries his best to be a good brother for his siblings. He tries not to show the hurt that he has inside so that he can help his little siblings get through the grief as well. That’s what I like about Tuck. Although he might seem a little selfish at times, especially when it comes to handling the ladies, and he is such a lazy guy and whatever, but he definitely has that deeper layer to him where he wants to care for his family. He keeps his family first at all times.
There are so many possibilities for potential guest stars down the road. Is there a pop star or a country artist that you would like to see on the show?
Ricardo Hurtado: Man, that’s a tough one. I don’t know. Let me see… I would love for Josh Turner to be on the show.
Will there be more Malibu Rescue down the road? A lot of fans are wondering.
Ricardo Hurtado: You know what, I’m not really sure if there’s going to be more. I really hope so. I really hope that there’ll be some more. I really enjoyed being part of that project. It’s such a fun show, and I know that there are some diehard fans for it. That just makes me so happy. We’ll see. You never know.