Friday nights on NBC have become a family affair in the 2022-2023 TV season thanks to Lopez vs. Lopez, starring the real-life father/daughter duo of comic legend George Lopez and Mayan Lopez. The show quickly became enough of a hit to earn a full season order into 2023, and the next new episode is bringing in a new kind of obstacle in the form of a bird specialist. (Yes, really!) Runaways and Pretty Smart alum Gregg Sulkin comes to the hit sitcom to play this specialist, and he opened up about his role mixing things up for the Lopez family in the face of George's "curse."
Gregg Sulkin appears as a guest star in the Lopez vs. Lopez episode that airs on March 24, called "Lopez vs Cheating." George's history of infidelity in the show has been a running joke throughout the first season so far, but it turns out that this bird specialist character will mean Mayan considering whether or not she shares the same tendencies as her father. The actor previewed how his character plays into a scenario that seems ripe for some good old-fashioned sitcom shenanigans, saying:
Well, I play a bird specialist, which is the first time in my career I've ever played a bird specialist. I play Dr. Bell and I visit Mayan's vet clinic for the week to prepare for Bird Con. As I take a professional interest in Mayan, and I ask her to assist me at the convention, Mayan starts to believe that she may have father's curse, which is that the Lopez DNA struggles to be faithful. There's a great sort of love story that potentially blossoms on the show, which then causes a lot of havoc and comedy throughout the Lopez family. Honestly, working with birds is something that is a lot of fun and a lot more difficult than you may think.
I've heard of San Diego Comic-Con and I've heard of New York Comic Con, but "Bird Con" is a new one in my book! It seems that sparks are going to fly between Sulkin's Dr. Bell and Mayan, which could spell trouble if she takes after George and his "curse" of infidelity. Of course, Mayan is a very different person than her father, and her relationship with Quentin (played by Matt Shively) has stood strong even in the face of her father dropping a lot of jokes at his expense.
And real birds were involved in the production of this episode! When I noted to Gregg Sulkin that most actors probably do not have a bird specialist credit on their resume, the actor responded:
Now I can add it! I'm really, really happy with the new skill set. I learned a lot about birds and I learned that basically there's an art to working with birds, and it requires professionals to stand by you at all times while you're basically just following advice.
While fans will have to wait until the episode on March 24 to see how the show manages to tell its stories on top of including birds, it's already safe to say that Lopez vs. Lopez has never done an episode quite like this. In fact, having the animals on set meant that the show couldn't film in front of a live studio audience as per usual, according to Gregg Sulkin. He went on to explain that working with George and Mayan Lopez was an "amazing" experience, then elaborated:
George is just such a professional. He's done it for so long, and so when I wasn't working, I was basically just watching him. I used it as an opportunity to just to learn, and George was the loveliest and so welcoming to me. Obviously everybody knows who George Lopez is, so when you get to work, yes, he's your colleague, but you're still working with George Lopez. He couldn't have been friendlier. He couldn't have been more welcoming.
It's not every day that an actor gets to work with a comedy legend like George Lopez, so is it any surprise that the Lopez vs. Lopez guest star wanted to take advantage of the opportunity? With Lopez known for his standup comedy as well as his performances as an actor, Sulkin had nothing but praise for the comedian, then heaped some praise on Mayan Lopez as well, saying:
Mayan actually has become a friend of mine at this point. She is extremely hardworking, extremely talented. I mean, this is her first sitcom and she's determined to continue improving and determined to just knock it out of the park and I've been really impressed with her both professionally and personally. I think there aren't many people in this town with as big of a heart as Mayan. I just [felt] lucky to be sort of welcomed into the Lopez family.
Gregg Sulkin may have felt that he was welcomed into the Lopez family after coming to the show, but I can imagine that George the character might not be so open-armed to Dr. Bell if he makes Mayan doubt herself and believe in the "curse" of her father. Fortunately, the wait to see what exactly happens is nearly over.
The "Lopez vs. Cheating" episode of Lopez vs. Lopez will air on Friday, March 24 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC, so be sure to tune in to see how Gregg Sulkin's bird specialist character will mix things up for the father and daughter. You can also revisit earlier episodes of Loepz vs. Lopez streaming with a Peacock Premium subscription.
