"Army Wives" is Back This Sunday
Show creator, Katherine Fugate talks about the second season.
by MSM
In a rare opportunity, Military Spouse caught up with screenwriter Katherine Fugate, creator and executive producer of the hit television drama series “Army Wives” (Lifetime). The show’s second season is back, this Sunday, June 8, on Lifetime at 10 PM ET/PT. Fugate is busy preparing for this weekend’s premiere and generously took time to answer a few of our questions about the show, how they “keep it real” and what to expect this season.
MSM. How do your writers keep the show's story lines relevant to "real life" Army wives?
KF: We have many outlets to keep our stories relevant and current. We subscribe to several magazines, visit online websites, receive post newspapers, voraciously read books and have a research file that is constantly updated with news stories. A true library!
But what has been the most helpful to us is the military community itself and how open they’ve been to the cast and crew in our quest for emotional and physical honesty in portraying Army life. We are so grateful to our military advisors – both soldiers and Army wives - who patiently listen and respond to our emails and phone calls. I imagine at times, they must find us all so humorous - much like Roxy LeBlanc trying to learn all those acronyms! It can feel like an entirely different language!
The cast and crew have made trips to Fort Bragg and Fort Belvoir for in-person group discussions with Army wives. We’ve toured posts, shopped at the P/X, ate meals at the D-FAC and some of our braver folks even jumped off the parachute tower! We’ve also had Army wives and soldiers serve as extras on the show.
MSM: What has been the biggest challenge in creating story lines that are relevant?
KF: Finding the balance to show all sides of any issue is a challenge. Also, another challenge is making the military aspect of a storyline both understandable to a civilian audience as well as a military audience. In some ways, it’s like writing a medical or legal show. You have to remember that to “real doctors” the dialogue may be too simplistic or streamlined, but that to the average viewer it’s easier to follow and makes sense.
Our show centers on the personal relationships, rather than political stories of the day, so we strive to find issues that all relationships face and put those under the umbrella of military life. For example, if your teenager was caught with an open beer can, how would you as a parent respond? Now, make that teenager the son of a colonel and he was picked up by MPs – now what? Then we have the broader issues involved with the military itself - women in leadership positions, PTSD issues, changing Army policy. With the constant evolution and redefinition of the military – and in our world – we have to be on top of it to stay relevant.
MSM: Do you use real military wives on the show, or as consultants?
KF: Yes! Tanya Biank, who authored the book Army Wives: The Unwritten Code of Military Marriage on which our series is based, acts as a military consultant on every episode. Tanya is a journalist and an Army wife and mother. She’s also wicked smart, brilliantly funny, truly elegant and a great asset to our team.
We also have Department of Defense cooperation this season, to further ensure accuracy in our portrayals of the military. So yes, ladies and gentlemen, those berets will be on our heads correctly! We work with Lt. Colonel Todd Breassealle, who is a true gentleman, hero and soldier. His love of the Army and our country is quite moving and he provides us all with a strong example of the integrity all of our soldiers embrace.
MSM: What have you learned about military wives that you didn't know before (the show began)?
KF: The first thing that truly hit me was the sacrifices the wives make on behalf of an entire country when they marry a soldier. These women willingly become single mothers for years at a time. They watch the soldier they love go off to war, knowing they may not come back. They raise their children in an environment where life-and-death issues are part of their norm. They watch news reports about events on the battlefield and it’s not just another nightly news story they barely register. That a downed Black Hawk could hold their neighbor – or their husband.
I was also deeply moved by the camaraderie and friendships these women form. In the military culture, when the chips are down, these ladies are there for each other no matter what. All petty differences are put aside. They always get each other’s backs. They can even be complete strangers – and still, an Army wife understands another Army wife – and will show up to lend support.
When I went to Washington D.C. recently to speak to Senate members on issues related to PTSD, a woman came up to me afterwards and said, “I want to be an Army wife!” It was a rewarding moment. She went on to say, it’s not just to marry a handsome soldier – but to have that kind of community support. The women on our show are perceived as real, human, and at times, beautifully flawed – but always, above all, as heroes making a great sacrifice.
MSM: What can we expect from the show's main characters' relationships this season? Will their bond continue to grow or will cast members "PCS (relocate to a new duty station)?"
KF: PCS?! I feel so Roxy right now! That’s exactly what I meant earlier. Every world has its own language, its own system of beliefs. It’s fascinating to any writer to immerse ourselves in the life not lived and all that.
As for the show, it is our hope to deepen the experiences of the characters and allow the audiences to better learn who these women are. We can do that in many ways. For example, who were they before they became Army wives? Is there a way to explore their pasts to illuminate for our audience who they are now?
It’s a challenge to give audiences roughly 15 minutes of one character’s journey per episode. If you think about it, you’re dropping in once a week to see just a very small snippet of a life that is otherwise lived off-screen. For example, last year Denise Sherwood’s character (played by Catherine Bell) began a complete awakening, redefining who she is in the world. We are all given the opportunity to recreate our lives - to remember we’re the lead in our own story. For most of her life, Denise has been a secondary character - putting her husband and son first.
Now, Denise has stood up to her abusive son, approached her husband on a more equal level and gone back to her nursing career after almost 20 years. But once you start that process of spiritual and emotional growth – you must continue it. You can’t go back.
And we have several of our husbands deployed – who will they be when they return? The reintegration process is one aspect of military life the Army wives have hoped we’d explore. The soldier’s return to the home is difficult for even the most seasoned wife and the most loving couple. Lt. Colonel Joan Burton (Wendy Davis) is pregnant. Will she maintain the respect of her troops now that she’s throwing up on the sidelines?
Pamela Moran (Brigid Brannagh) has a popular radio show. She now has a very public voice at the same time that her husband is becoming more private, immersed in the secretive world of SpecialOps. Then there’s Claudia Joy Holden (Kim Delaney), who is now the Brigadier General’s wife. Last year, Lenore Baker (Rhoda Griffis) hinted the higher she rises on post, the harder it will be to maintain her friendships with her “colorful” friends of different ranks.
And then there’s bartender Roxy – who we all adore for her spunk and resilience – what’s to become of her? Is the military world, with all its rules and tradition, really a life she would have chosen for herself and her two boys?
All questions to be considered – if they live. Because when we last saw many of our Army wives, a bomb was about to explode inside the Hump Bar…
Thank you for having me. I am so in awe at all that you do, for all of us!
MSM: Good luck this season and we look forward to more of the wives at Fort Marshall.
Interesting fact: Katherine’s aunt is Barbara Eden, I Dream of Jeannie.