Guest On The Jess Cagle Show

Discussion moved on to Katherine’s new Netflix drama Firefly Lane and the significant number of women that were involved in the creative process. Co-host Julie Cunningham noted that it was refreshing for the sex scenes in the show to have been shot with a female gaze and asked if those moments – which ranged from the intimate to the traumatic – felt different for Heigl in front of the camera. Cagle was also curious if Katherine felt that the industry had changed in recent years, both in its approach and support of actors who have to film sexual scenes.

Katherine also had the opportunity to reflect on her Firefly Lane character Tully Hart, a famous broadcast journalist turned talk-show host who has been best friends with Kate Mularkey (played by Sarah Chalke) for over 30 years. She revealed that the inspiration for aspects of her portrayal came from Oprah Winfrey. “I was really drawing upon Oprah in the early 2000’s and that bigger than life personality and the undeniable draw that she had.  She could just draw an audience in and draw you in, and that is what I wanted Tully’s stage presence to feel like – just bigger than life.”

Firefly Lane was shot in Vancouver, and Katherine was asked if she looked forward to traveling for work or if she was selective about projects that take her away from her home and family.

“My kids are little gypsies, they’ve been doing this with me since the moment they came into our lives. They are really good about it and actually I am very grateful that they do travel with us because we are in the middle of nowhere in Utah. There is not a lot of diversity, there is not a lot going on, other than hiking and skiing and school. I worked in Toronto for 2 years on Suits and they got to experience a whole different world, they were able to come and go in Vancouver (Firefly Lane) but once again they got to experience a whole different world. So I don’t mind traveling for work, I actually really enjoy it, but it makes coming home that much sweeter. Utah has really become this very sacred place for me. It is just peace and tranquillity and time for us to really ground down and connect as a family without so much distraction.”

Katherine made her home in Utah because she has “always been a mountain and woods kind of person,” adding that after 20 years of living in Los Angeles that she “really needed an escape. I needed a quiet place to decompress and the mountains, that is where I felt called… I am so incredibly grateful that this is where we chose to root down… because it is exquisite. I never get sick of the views.”