Chip and Co. Interviews Melissa Joan Hart.

On Monday I got to sit in on a phone interview with Melissa Joan Hart, one of the  stars of Melissa and Joey, airing on the ABC Family Channel.  You may remember Melissa from Clarissa Explains it All and Sabrina the  Teenage Witch.   In her new show, Melissa plays a politico who suddenly finds herself taking care of her niece and nephew after their parents get into trouble.  She hasn’t the first clue about parenting, so she hires a “Manny” played by Joey Lawrence, who is recently divorced and has lost his white collar job.  Unlike shows like “Who’s the Boss”,  which had a similar theme, Melissa and Joey is more focused on the adults and will highlight their relationship.

Melissa and Joey have worked together in the past and it’s apparent  from the good chemistry the two have together.   They also share a similar work ethic, which no doubt has contributed to their longevity in the business. Says Melissa,

We have a very strong relationship with our siblings and now we have great marriages and children, but we both have this incredible work ethic that I think comes from when we were younger just knowing that we wanted to be in the business and instead of shooting for the stars, instead of just like “I want to be famous, I want to be rich,” like a lot of I think kids do these days, we were more “I want to work. I want longevity. I want to do this.”

In an era when child stars seem to go the way of Lindsay Lohan, Melissa’s words are refreshing.  Smart, funny, and as practiced in her craft as you’d expect someone to be who’s been acting since the age of  four, in real life Melissa is a married mom with two young children learning how to balance career and work.  About twenty minutes into the interview, I found myself thinking “Wow, she’s so nice . . . and normal.”   Speaking candidly, Melissa talked about her life as a teen actress during her Clarissa years, away from home and surrounded mainly by adults, and about the amount of work it took to put that show together. She also spoke of the thrill of working on the  Sabrina set where, for the first time, she worked with peers her own age, creating fun traditions like cookouts and a weekly bowling night .  Some of those people have remained as close as family. 

There are a lot of things Melissa loves about the new show, the wardrobe, being one of them.  Working with old friends is another:  Not only is Joey on the set, but she’s working with lots of familiar talent from her past.  But  what struck me is that was she truly loves the chance to make people laugh.  Sitcoms, she said, make her happy.  I had a chance to watch the show the other night and you can see that.   It’s cute and funny. And yeah, I like the clothes too.

Best of luck to Melissa in her newest endeavor.

Melissa and Joey airs tonight 8:00 p.m. eastern on the ABC family channel.  You can also get caught up with pervious episodes here.

Let our friends at Destinations to Travel help you book your next Disney Vacation. They are the preferred Travel Agency of Chip and Company and Disney Addicts, and who we use ourselves.

Get started below for your FREE No Obligation Quote.

Book With our friends at Destinations to Travel

Who is your Travel Agent?(Required)

Let us pick for youEric HilesStacy ReedAbbey JohnsonAlisa SullivanAlli WillisAmanda FolsomAmanda VannAmber BrillhartAmber FisherAmy SieburnAndrea SmithAngela AndersonAngie BaycuraAnna PetrilliAnnabelle DuboseApril StefanskiAshley RamseyBeth ParsonsBetsy SantoroBrandie McQueenBrian BuckleyBridget HatchBryan SchwartzCandice SneedCarrie ButlerCarson DockumCasey BoltCharleen HortonChelsea RoyChelsea WuebkerChris BoyerChristie GrubeChristina FratturaChristina SmithCourtney WhiteCraig YoderDan MercedDanielle NorcrossDarby MouritsenDavid ForrestDeborah AlvaradoEmilee BiegelEmily MorrisFaith HakesGail HatchGreg MatzkerHelen HummerHolly CurryJackie CavistonJaclyn PepitoneJamie SwansonJeanine JordanJeff CallahanJenni MaierJennifer BrownJennifer StephensonJennifer StoessnerJessica HatfieldJessica HuffJessica WunderJoe GuertinJon CarpentierJoseph SliwaJulie McCombJustin BrownKat AttridgeKathryn EberhartKathy AndersonKatie HarrellKatie PrevotKayla CookKelsey SullensKim HelmsKimberly HutchinsonKristi GallagherKyle RamsdenLauren DewlenLeanne MonterLinda DurhamLindsay AckermannLindsey VromanLissette BritoLori HardyMallory MorrisonMandi QuinnMaranda PerkinsMarisa AlvaradoMegan TeismannMeghan BlairMelissa ReedMichele KlineMike BeyerMissy McCormickMisty DickersonNancy CasteelNicole ThorntonPatrick O'ConnorPaul SulPeyton Ward-KubikRaylene CooganRegan OstranderRobbie BulusRobert ThomasSara SolbergSarah McCandlishShanna BrowningShelley BennettShelly MetzStacy CristStacy KrzyminskiStacy SmithStephanie DraganoStephanie FerencStephanie WalshSusannah McCordTara SlusserTerri MillerTiffany DobraskiTiffany DrenkhahnTina FarmerTonya LesiukTracy DaneTroy DuncanVeronica RenteriaVicki FesslerWendy CarllWendy HauserWendy KellehanWendy Shelley

Name(Required)

First Last

Email(Required)

Phone(Required)

Destination(Required)

Walt Disney WorldDisneyland ResortDisney Cruise LineAulani, A Disney Resort and SpaAulani, A Disney Resort and SpaUniversal FloridaUniversal HollywoodRoyal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian or other Cruise LineI don't know yet

# of Adults(Required)

# of Children(Required)

Check-in-Date(Required)

MM slash DD slash YYYY

Check-out-Date(Required)

MM slash DD slash YYYY

Comments, Questions or Special Requests

Name

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Δ

For the BEST in Disney, Universal, Dollywood, and SeaWorld Theme Park News, Entertainment, Merchandise & More follow us on, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube. Don't forget to check out the Chip and Company Radio Network too!