Question: How have audiences reacted to the first season?

Laura Linney: Well, for me personally, people have been very appreciative.  I’ve had a lot of people from the cancer community come up and say how much they love the show and that’s always a nice thing to hear.

Question: How do you describe THE BIG C?

Laura Linney: Our creator, Darlene Hunt, has always said that THE BIG C is not about living with cancer, but it’s about living – with cancer.  And I think that’s pretty accurate.

Question: What kind of medical research, if any, did you do to play Cathy Jamison? 

Laura Linney: I did a lot of research on melanoma, the progression of melanoma, on treatment, on doctors, on insurance.  I knew a little bit about it coming in and then I’ve learned a lot more about it recently having just lost a parent to cancer. So, yes, we’ve all taken our experiences and it makes it all the more immediate.

Question: Do you think THE BIG C has an original voice when it comes to portraying cancer?

Laura Linney: I hope THE BIG C has an original voice. I always think about when people have a limited amount of time, more than a “bucket list”…I think what they’re really trying to do is figure out who they are as opposed to what they want to do. I think it comes with an original voice because we are taking a more well-rounded, humanistic view of what happens and how comedy is what people lean on to survive.

Question: Do you think THE BIG C makes fun of cancer?

Laura Linney: THE BIG C doesn’t make fun of cancer in any way. It’s the story of a woman who has limited time. Cancer is what is creating that situation. And she is fighting like crazy to figure out how to manage that time and how to manage the difficult relationships and how to figure out who she is.

Question: Have you heard from doctors or nurses about the show?

Laura Linney: I spent some time on a cancer ward recently and there was a lot of support there.

Question: There is an authenticity to the show. Where does it stem from?

Laura Linney: So many people have gone through this and there is a sort of common reference to dealing with hospitals, to dealing with insurance and to dealing with family members. There’s that universal sort of template that everybody can relate to. And we certainly draw on that from all of our experiences that we’ve all had. We’re constantly remembering a certain doctor who we encountered or a situation in a hospital or something that someone said to one of us or something that someone observed. But everyone on our show has some direct link to a cancer experience -- all of our writers, our producers, I do. Everybody does.

Question: Is there a stigma in Hollywood for someone to admit they have cancer?

Laura Linney: Yes, I think. Hollywood can be a frightening place. Without cancer it can be a frightening place. With cancer, I think within the business, I understand why people are nervous to “come out” if they’re battling cancer. I want to believe that they’ll get more help and support than they think. I certainly know that the artists will do anything they possibly can do. We’ve really tried to let the word be out on our show for extras or anyone who is stricken with cancer at the moment who is really desperate for their insurance to be extended. We actually seek those people out. It’s important to keep a community healthy and supported.

Question: Where do we begin the second season? How has it changed from the first?

Jenny Bicks: The first season was the first stage of grief -- denial. Cathy held off telling people about her situation and acted out a lot because of it. This season we are playing the second stage -- anger. Cathy is going to take her cancer head-on and fight for her life. The second season starts a few weeks after last season ended, so now we are into Fall. Cathy has started her Interluekin treatment but it isn’t going as planned.

Question: Cathy is now in the Anger phase of the grief cycle. What happens on her journey this season?

Jenny Bicks: She will start a clinical trial under the auspices of a new Doctor, Dr. Atticus Sherman (special guest appearance by Alan Alda) and will meet a fellow patient (guest star Hugh Dancy) who will help her on her journey.

Question: What are the themes this season? Is there any tonal shift?

Darlene Hunt: We're always striving to maintain a "laughter through tears" tone. This season we're digging into the conflicts between the caretaker and the patient and the different pressures that both people face. Rebecca (special guest star Cynthia Nixon) is pregnant, so we're exploring how preparing for a new life fits into our world where someone's might be ending.

Question: What compels Cathy to finally agree to the clinical drug trial after she seemed so against treatment in Season 1? Is there any parallel with Sean now accepting help for his mental health issues?

Darlene Hunt: There's a parallel for sure. It's (hopefully) interesting that both characters are seeking medical help for very different reasons.  You know, we did play that Cathy was trying to get into clinical trials in Season 1.  Again, it was always in the background, but there was an episode where her disappointment about not getting into a clinical trial spurred her to take Ecstasy for the first time.  But for sure, Cathy is much more focused and aggressive in her quest for treatment this season.  She's feeling more hopeful and has wrapped her head around the idea that this may not be easy or pretty but [she] wants to fight for more time.

Question: Are you incorporating any of the new melanoma treatments that have been in the news lately?

Darlene Hunt: There's been a LOT of new melanoma treatments in the news lately, hasn't there?! I'm awestruck by so much of what I read, particularly the doctors dedicating so much of their lives to finding a cure for this. We're trying to stay generally true to the science, the ups and downs, the new possibilities. With all of the advances being made, Cathy would be very remiss not to aggressively fight her disease right now, which is exactly what she's doing.

Question: Is there a medical consultant vetting the scripts?

Darlene Hunt: Not each and every script, but we regularly consult with a melanoma specialist. We're not a medical show so you won't here a lot of names of drugs being bandied about and God are they hard to pronounce anyway, but we are certainly trying to stay true to some of the realities of cancer treatment. And of course there are so many, so the possibilities are endless.

Question: Tell us about the guest stars this season?

Jenny Bicks: We are blessed this season to have such amazing talent joining us. Alan [Alda] had worked with Laura [Linney] before and had expressed an interest in being on the show, so we actually wrote Atticus Sherman with him in mind. I have always admired Hugh Dancy’s work and I sat down with him to talk through this character and who he was. Hugh signed on to play Lee and he brings such a great truth and humor to the character (not to mention a kick-ass American accent).

Question: What does Lee (Dancy) represent for Cathy?

Jenny Bicks: Lee is a Buddhist Cathy meets in her clinical trial.  Because he is going through exactly what she is going through, he is able to empathize with her and make her feel seen in a way no one else can. He also is a calming force for her, teaching her to breathe and slow down and not be afraid of death.

Darlene Hunt: We wanted to see the special bond that is formed by people who share something so random, like the same disease and treatment for it, who may not have otherwise connected. How will Paul and Cathy’s relationship change this season?

Jenny Bicks: Paul and Cathy become closer this season, now that she has been honest with him about her disease. Paul steps up as best he can to be her “cancierge” and to support her journey. But her relationship with Lee, along with employment issues for Paul, will cause conflict for Paul and Cathy.

Darlene Hunt: You'll definitely see them come closer together and work as a team, which is very different than how you saw them interact last year.

Question: What kind of response did you get from cancer survivors from the first season?  Did anything they share inform the writing of the second season at all?

Darlene Hunt: Overall, there seemed to be a sense of appreciation that we showcased a character who is dealing with such a dark but relatable issue. My goal as a writer has long been to get more "real" people on TV. Of course, the show is primarily entertainment and the characters are just that, characters, but I truly hope our audience can relate to them in some way and that we'll provide them a good laugh or cry if they need it.

Jenny Bicks: It was really gratifying to hear from those touched by cancer how much the show meant to them. They were happy to see that we were tackling the issues of cancer and family head on, and that we were showing the struggle Cathy has to try to live her life to the fullest. Many were relieved to see we weren’t doing “wit”. That this show was as much about living as it was about dying.

Our intention for the second season was always to have Cathy hit the ground running -- that she would be fighting to stay alive. This is something that we heard from our viewers as well. Those with cancer, and those around them, are always fighting to get as much time as they can.