‘The Mysteries Of Laura’ Star Janina Gavankar Talks About The Series, ‘Giggly’ Debra Messing, Josh Lucas’ ‘Baby Blues’ And Birthday Greetings From Paul Reubens [EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW]

NBC dramedy “The Mysteries of Laura” begins its sophomore season tonight at 8 p.m., and fans are looking forward to the strange new cases NYPD Homicide Detective Laura Diamond (Debra Messing) and her team need to figure out, as well as the resolve to many of the personal issues each character was dealing with in the Season 1 finale — especially what will happen next for Meredith Bose (Janina Gavankar) and Billy Soto (Laz Alonso) who finally kissed after many flirtatious encounters.

“I can tell you that they definitely like each other,” Gavankar told Headlines & Global News during an exclusive interview one week before the show’s Sept. 23 return. The 34-year-old actress was on her lunch break while shooting the series at Silvercup Studios in Long Island City, N.Y. The cast already filmed six episodes of the hour-long program at the time of our chat, having come back to work after the Fourth of July. “We’re chugging right along,” she said.

Gavankar came to “The Mysteries of Laura” after successful roles on television shows like “The L Word,” “The Gates,” “Arrow,” “True Blood,” “The League” and “The Vampire Diaries.” In addition to acting, she also has a passion for music. “I’m a percussionist and a pianist and I produce all my own vocals,” explained the bubbly Joliet, Illinois, native.

Read on to see what the beautiful and talented Gavankar had to say about the new season of “The Mysteries of Laura,” her amazing co-stars and performing at Carnegie Hall.

You had a big ending to the first season of “The Mysteries of Laura” when you finally kissed Billy.
Yes, yes I did! It was nice to see some action in that area for once after her waiting so long for him to notice. It’s nice to see that Billy likes her as much as she likes him. It’s not easy, though, because they are both still on the job, and they’re in dangerous conditions all the time. Navigating a new relationship — while you’re also taking down murder suspects — is tricky. We are not picking up where we left off, we are picking up in real time. A few months have gone by. Billy and Meredith may or may not be in a relationship at this point. I don’t think they even know what they are doing. It’s very cute.

What would you like to see in Meredith’s future?
I want to see just how weird it gets between her and Billy — see how they figure out how to be together for real. I love watching people figure out how they fit or don’t fit. Maybe it won’t work out, but I’m still excited to see them try after that long [period] of waiting for him to figure out she likes him.

Do you think Meredith wants to move up the ranks in the police force?
Oh, absolutely! Meredith is definitely a go-getter. She loves her job. It takes a lot to be a young, female detective in the NYPD. She’s a deadly-serious lady. Of course she would like to move up!

Do you do your own stunts for the show?
Oh, hardly. We have incredible stunt doubles. My stunt double, Heidi Schnappauf, and I are actually very close and have become really good friends. She does stuff for a whole bunch of different badass shows that are [filming] in New York right now like “Jessica Jones” and “Daredevil.” These are all shows she can never tell me anything about, but I’m always fantasizing about what’s she’s off doing for all these amazing productions. She’s also a musician, so we get along really, really well.

Let’s talk about your co-stars. Tell fans something interesting about Debra Messing.
She’s giggly! She’s super cute to me. At the beginning of the season, she and Max [Jenkins] and I were talking about boys the whole time. It was super fun! We have a lot of fun just giggling all the time. Roman, her son, is the best! Roman for president — that’s how I feel about him.

Is Josh Lucas, who plays Jake Broderick, really that handsome?
Yeah, if you like the American cowboy type — and who doesn’t? Those baby blues are real! They’re not contacts; they’re the real deal. Josh is an incredibly intelligent actor. He is constantly listening to his surroundings. While I may be giggling with Max about something ridiculous, he is 10 steps ahead of us at all times because he’s just such a pro and is listening constantly. He’s just an incredibly gifted and talented actor.

What’s interesting about Laz Alonso?
Laz is the king of the funny video. He’s also got this incredible [Donald] Trump impression. I don’t have to follow what’s happening with Trump at all because, every day, he’s got the news on what ridiculous thing Trump did the night before. It’s bizarre, but he’s got it down now.

What about Max Jenkins, who plays Max Carnegie?
Max is a comedy genius! I really am excited to see what the world gets from him in the years to come. Mark my words, this is just the beginning for him. He’s a comedy genius, and we’re so lucky to have him. This is his first series. What a bit of luck that we got him so early in his TV career.

He’s my favorite character on the show!
Mine as well! I made what I’m calling the “unauthorized spinoff,” and I’m hoping that NBC and Warner Bros. Television will allow us to release it because he’s just so outrageously funny in it. It’s for all people who love Max Carnegie to see more of him because he’s just too good. Just too good!

Callie Thorne is new to the show this season as Captain Nancy Santiani.
She’s playing such a hardass, but she’s one of the cutest human beings I’ve ever met in my life. She is adorable and melts everybody’s heart all the time. She fit right in right away. We actually hazed her! We found ways to make it a ridiculous experience for her the first week. She had a huge monologue with so much information, and she really had to memorize an insane amount. She had to say all of it, and Debra and I just started messing with her. Debra would just say something to throw her off. This was the first or second day. I would just yell, “Keep going, keep going, keep going.” We just laughed and laughed and laughed. “Welcome to ‘The Mysteries of Laura!’” I love her! She’s very close with Sam Trammell who I worked with on “True Blood,” and Sam emailed me saying Callie was coming to work on the show, so I got a heads up immediately. It’s like I got first dibs, and I feel very lucky about that.

Overall, the cast seems like a close-knit group.
Yeah, absolutely. We just went out to dinner for one of our hairdresser’s birthdays. We’re pretty tight. It’s a funny thing because network TV can be so fickle, we all know this. Our favorite shows get canceled all the time and, when you’re lucky enough to get a second season and come back, you can all relax and really love each other, and know that you’re not going to have heartbreak a few months later. So it’s really nice to be back and see these people and continue our little family.

How scared were you that “The Mysteries of Laura” wouldn’t get renewed for a second season?
Listen, I’m sure there were many people who were very confident. I never trust anything because I’ve been doing this long enough to know there is no sure shot, especially in network television. I just never trust anything. It’s the safer way to be, I think.

There were some great guest stars on the first season. Anyone cool lined up for this year?
You will see somebody return that you recognize from last year. It has been announced already that we have Gabriel Mann who was just on “Revenge.” I adored him. [An actress from “Nurse Jackie”] was a big score for us as well. We never worked together her entire episode; I was really bummed. She was walking on the street, I saw her and was like, “Are you with us?” She was like, “Yeah!” She’s so funny and talented!

Do you keep up with the storylines that you are not involved with?
Yeah, but we’re not in each other’s faces on set. We read every script and know what’s happening in every part of the show.

You’re in the 2016 movie “Pee-wee’s Big Holiday.” How did that come about?
It’s the coolest thing ever! I did a very interesting short film [2013’s “The Final Moments of Karl Brant”] with Paul [Reubens] a few years ago. We became friends then. I happened to be in L.A. doing a pilot, and he texted me. I went to go visit him and Joe Manganiello, who’s working on it as well. It was nice to catch up with them. Then, the next week, he texted me: “Are you still in town? I figured out a way to put you in my movie.” I went and did a very quick, but very fun little cameo.

What is Paul Reubens, aka Pee-wee Herman, like as a person?
Paul is just the sweetest guy. He sends the best Christmas cards and, if you’re lucky enough to become friends with him, you’ll get the best Happy Birthday texts that you ever did see — these amazing, awkward birthday photos of people just having awkward birthday moments. He will just send them rapid-fire throughout the day to you on your birthday, and it will just make you giggle the entire day. He’s just lovely, and he’s got a weird artist brain — just like the rest of us weirdos who are attracted to this weird industry. You got to be weird to be in this industry. People call you crazy until you make it, then they call you eccentric.

How is your music career going?
I played Carnegie Hall this year with my best friend, who I know as Ahmir, but most people know as Questlove of The Roots. He asked me to play a duet with him, which was amazing. I played vibraphone and he was on drums, and we played a very jazzy rendition of Prince’s “Diamonds and Pearls.” That was incredible! I chose to be an actor and, when I did, I sort of had to say to myself, “I’m never going to play Carnegie Hall as a percussionist.” So I was kind of walking around New York in a dream-like state going, “Holy cow! I’m about to play Carnegie Hall!” It was wild! We loved it. It was such a great, emotional experience.

Are you still working with Randy Jackson?
If I release something original again, I’ll probably still do it on Randy’s label. The last piece I put out, [“Don’t Look Down”], had a drum line, a 50-person drum core, as well as a drone in the music video, and I produced the whole thing between “Cut” and “Action” on “The Mysteries of Laura” set. It was the most complicated, difficult thing I’ve ever made in my life, and I’m so glad I did it! I just have to find the brain space to do it. Right now, I’m making smaller, shorter on-camera pieces like the “unauthorized spinoff.” I’m constantly making something. I can’t stop. Everybody here makes fun of me. “She just can’t do just one thing — she’s got to do more than one thing at the same time!” There’s always something interesting going on in my life. If you want to keep up with whatever crazy thing falls out of my head, you can follow me on all of the social media channels.