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James asks “Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas” star Jane Levy about the hand jive she had to learn for the film and learns she actually had to learn multiple dances and songs in just four days. And Ansel Elgort gives James a deep dive on Warhammer figurines.
305 HD Screencaptures have been added to the gallery
The Emmy contender reflects on her show’s cancellation, how it changed her, and how it might still come back.
On Thursday night, a long week finally hit Jane Levy. She’d wrapped up an acting class and reluctantly went out afterward, for “too much chicken” and “a tiny cup of beer” in Koreatown. She stayed past midnight. The next morning, she seems a little worn out. “I have realized how old I am,” the 31-year-old actor deadpans over Zoom from her Los Angeles home. It could also be, Levy concedes, the mere effort of a real social outing, as COVID-19 restrictions have begun winding down. Or, perhaps, it’s the emotional exhaustion of processing the cancellation of her NBC musical-comedy series, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist. “This week has just been a roller coaster,” she admits.
For Levy, the news came as a shock. “When we finished [shooting] season two, I put all my stuff in storage in Canada [where the show films],” she says. “I was like, ‘Of course we’re coming back.’” She and her castmates all but knew Zoey’s would not continue at its original NBC home. (The show averaged just over 2.5 million live viewers for its second season.) Yet as propelled by critical acclaim and a likely Emmys embrace, following Levy’s breakthrough Golden Globe nomination earlier this year, signs pointed to a third-season renewal via Peacock until a late-breaking shift. “Last Friday it seemed like it was a green light,” Levy says. “And then Monday morning it was a red light.” On Wednesday, NBC confirmed Zoey’s was canceled and that Peacock would not revive it after all. (The studio behind Zoey’s, LionsgateTV, is now shopping it to other networks.)
The delightfully relatable star of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, identifies as a “product whore.” Same, Jane.
Jane Levy’s life features a conflict that just about all of us can relate to.
As a little girl, Levy’s mom taught her that her value was in her mind and voice and her goodness. “Never was I taught that as a woman your value is how beautiful you are,” she says. “It was a shock as I got older, like, “This is a woman’s currency in our society.”
As we grow up, it becomes hard to ignore how much our appearances matter—at least, to other people. For Levy, of course, that feeling is magnified. “I’m an actress,” she says, simply. “My job is to have my face filmed.”
Okay, most of us don’t star on blockbuster TV shows, like Levy in Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist. Our jobs are more about resisting texting our bosses “R U mad at me?” and less about walking red carpets. But most women—most people, really—know this exact struggle.
How can we live with intense beauty standards without allowing those standards to define our worth? How are we supposed to determine which parts of the beauty industry actually make us feel beautiful, and which make us feel broken? And as long as we’re spiraling, what about the fact that a lot of beauty and wellness stuff is actually fun? And relaxing? What about the fact that, as Levy says, laughing, “I have vanity!”
Levy tries to focus on the parts of the beauty world that actually feel good. “I love being touched,” she says. “Even getting my makeup done feels like a massage to me. I love getting facials. I love the feeling of being loved on, paid attention to—clearly, I’m an actress!” she laughs. “I also get joy out of finding new products, maybe finding a product that is not as expensive as something else.”
Levy says that on a good day, she feels great about her skin. But on bad days, she struggles. “My whole life I have dealt with a version of psoriasis on my body—it makes me self conscious and it itches and it upsets me,” she says. “I’ve gone to every naturopath and acupuncturist and it’s really hard for me to get rid of it. I totally relate to women out there who struggle with their skin in that way.” She hasn’t found any magic treatment for it, sadly. “The thing that helps the most is the healthiest lifestyle—but I have to basically live like a nun,” she says. “It becomes a lot more faint if I don’t drink or eat sugar, but that’s no fun!”
What she does find fun is products. “I’m a product whore,” she says, happily. “I also get joy out of finding new products, especially finding a product that is not as expensive as something else.” Is there anything more relatable than struggling with beauty standards, having psoriasis, and loving affordable products? There simply is not. Read on for Jane Levy’s contribution to Glamour’s series, Drop the Routine.
Jane Levy discusses working on Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist with no prior musical theater experience and shares her thoughts on Leslie Jones’ vlogs reacting to the show.
