Lauren Graham Plans to Change 1 Part of Her Performance if ‘The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers’ Gets a Second Season
The Mighty Ducks are (sort of) back and this time Lauren Graham‘s joining them. The Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist star takes on the role of a mother who wants her son to be able to play hockey for fun in the reboot of the ‘90s hockey movie franchise.
A TV show on Disney+, the first episode of The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers has been streaming since March 26, 2021. Despite the program’s recent release, Graham’s already looking to the future. She plans on changing one part of her performance if the show moves forward.
Lauren Graham starts a hockey team in ‘The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers’
Graham is Alex Morrow in the Disney+ reboot. When her son, Evan Morrow (Brady Noon), is cut from the Ducks — now a top junior hockey team that’s extremely selective — she takes matters into her own hands.
Alex forms a new hockey team that’s more about having fun than winning. She assembles a team of kids who are underdogs — a nod to the original Mighty Ducks franchise — with the help of Gordon Bombay (Emilio Estevez), the Ducks’ original coach.
The actor wants to improve her ice skating skills for ‘The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers’ Season 2
During a March 2021 interview with TVLine, Graham revealed she wants to get better at ice skating if The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers Season 2 happens. Only recently released, it’s not clear yet whether or not the reboot will return for more episodes. But if it does, Graham’s going to work on her ice skating.
Asked by TVLine about the ice skating experience she brought to the role, Graham shared she relied solely on the skating she’d done growing up.
“My training was eighth-grade birthday parties in Arlington, Virginia,” she said with a laugh. “I did a fair amount of skating as a kid, just for fun.”
Graham continued, saying she’d been looking forward to getting some formal training but it didn’t happen because of COVID-19.
“That’s part of what was appealing to me about this show— can I learn this new skill? There was a built-in break between the first and second episodes, but that’s when [COVID-19] happened. And that break was supposed to be my intense skating boot camp, which I was really looking forward to,” she said. “And then everything closed.”
“I wasn’t as good as I wanted to be,” she added. “If we come back [for Season 2] I plan to improve.”
So, if The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers gets renewed for a second season, Graham’s improving her skating skills.
What drew the ‘Gilmore Girls’ alum to ‘The Mighty Ducks’ reboot?
Graham wanted to star in The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers for a number of reasons. She told TVLine it wasn’t just the acting but the entire experience that interested her.
“One of the things I have evolved into [when choosing roles] is thinking more about the big picture. It’s not just the part — it’s what is the endeavor,” she explained.
So what attracted her to this project specifically?
“I was drawn to Disney+ as an entity,” she said. “I was drawn to [only doing] 10 episodes [per season]. I was drawn to being a producer — and being tapped to direct if there’s a second season. It ticked a lot of boxes. And being a person who is sensitive to reboots, I’m hoping the audience will feel seen and respected.”
Graham starred in Netflix’s 2016 reboot of Gilmore Girls, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. See her in The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers on Disney+ in a new episode every Friday.
