Our Fairly Legal week continues with the profile of the sometimes stiff, but lovable, Lauren Reed. If you missed it, please check out our previous profiles of Michael Trucco’s Justin Patrick and Ryan Johnson’s Ben Grogan. And, of course, stop by and enter to win our Fairly Legal Coffee Collection giveaway!
When we last saw Lauren Reed (Virginia Williams), she finally had enough of Kate (Sarah Shahi) and fired her from the firm. Of course, that firing won’t stick since there isn’t much of a show without Kate and Lauren. But, the evil stepmother, who really isn’t so evil, and Kate will continue to go at it in season two.
Virginia Williams explains the differences between Lauren and Kate and what ultimately brings them together, “… as much as Kate sees the world in shades of grey, and Lauren sees the world in black and white, and they’re clearly the mediator in the attorney, and one is very polished, and one is very messy. And there’s, you know, all the lovely differences between them, that they both are still phenomenal at their jobs. And they’re both really smart. They just both have completely different approaches to everything in life. And so I think the trick is to keep getting back to a bit of the respect that each has for the other.”
Their relationship will continue to grow throughout the season, but Kate still resents Lauren. Sarah Shahi explains, “Kate, I don’t think has the maturity yet to accept that this woman did not cause the death of her father. … she blames the initial separation of – or the distancing of Dad and Kate – she blames that on Lauren, because she and her father were very close and here comes the other woman, takes Daddy away. I don’t think Kate has the emotional maturity to understand that that’s not Lauren’s fault. So she’s going to pin everything on Lauren still.”
Despite Kate’s resentment, their relationship gets stronger throughout the season. Shahi adds, “At the end of the day, they would give the shirt off of their backs to help the other person, because they are family. And you know, if there is one thing that keeps them together, it is the firm and it is Teddy. So – and I think in honor of their father – of Kate’s father, she would never do. But yes, again, you know it’s going to quite a while before we see full change in their relationship – a full evolvement in their relationship. But there are some situations this year in which they have to come together and help each other. But then the kind of is back to square one, you know.”
On the work side, Lauren and Kate will be forced to team up to save the firm, along with a newcomer. Williams explains, “And I think we see a little more of Kate really recognizing what a great job Lauren has done. And we do get to see this season, … that Lauren does bring the firm back, and better than before, which is outstanding. I mean, they go througha hole, and it’s extremely scary, and all these people jump ship, but Lauren is, despite her age, and despite some of her setbacks, she’s amazing at her job. And she ultimately brings on a new partner, the character of Ben Grogan. And, really does an outstanding job turning the firm around, and they end up doing even better than they were before, which is pretty outstanding. So, there has to be a level of respect for that I think.”
One of the challenges for Lauren this season will be getting over the death of Teddy. Williams makes it clear that Lauren did care for Teddy, “I mean, my God, her husband died, and she did love him. I hope that that came through in season one. She wasn’t a gold digger. And that she did love him very much. And it doesn’t make sense to the outside world, and she doesn’t care.”
To help her move on, Lauren will go out on a date this season!
Virginia Williams is on twitter at @VirginiaWms. Follow her throughout the season for special tidbits about the show. New for season two, she will be tweeting about the amazing clothes that Kate wears each episode.
Clacked by Carla Day 
on Mar 15, 2012 @ 10:18 EST5EDT
I liked Lauren and hated Kate during the first season. For that reason, I wasn’t planning on giving this show a second chance. After this, perhaps I will give it a go for a while.