‘Younger’ Star Sutton Foster’s Heart ‘Broke’ Over This Series Finale Moment
A lot happened in the Younger series finale. But the TV show’s star, Sutton Foster, didn’t embrace every twist and turn. One in particular left Foster, who played Liza Miller, a 40-year-old posing as a 26-year-old to re-enter New York’s publishing scene, heartbroken.
Charles and Liza’s relationship realization ‘broke’ Sutton’s heart
The Team Josh (Nico Tortorella) and Team Charles (Peter Hermann) question loomed during all seven seasons of Younger before fans got an answer—well, sort of—in the 2021 series finale. Who would Liza end up with? She and Charles, the publisher at Empirical, certainly had chemistry. But so did Liza and Josh, the tattoo artist who mistook her for a 20-something in the pilot.
Spoiler: Liza didn’t end up with either of them. Although it was implied in the series finale she and Josh would try again (more on that later). So, what part of Younger, from creator Darren Star, left Foster heartbroken? When her character comes to a tough realization about her relationship with Charles.
“I’m glad that Charles and Liza could have one last moment before they ultimately realized that Liza’s lie does have consequences,” Foster told Variety after the Younger series finale aired. “It’s why ultimately, they will never work. It broke my heart, but it felt true to the characters.”
“I’m most proud of how they handled the Charles relationship. Even though I’m sure people will be upset that they don’t end up going off into the distance together,” she went on, calling it “incredibly mature.”
Despite the way things ended for Liza and Charles Foster still enjoyed how the show depicted their split. “I love the scene in the bedroom where Liza says, ‘We’re not going to make it, are we?’ The maturity of them just being able to realize that. And then the generosity of both of them in their futures, I thought was really beautiful.”
Charles handed over the reins as publisher to Liza while he took time off to finally finish writing his book. “The way we were equating it is that Charles is now having his reinvention moment; he’s almost Liza in Season 1, starting off on his journey as an author,” Foster said. “I loved the way they dealt with that all.”
The ‘Younger’ series finale ‘couldn’t end any other way,’ according to Foster
Ending up back where Younger began, with Liza trying to get a bartender’s attention and her and Josh replaying their first conversation—with the addition of his “I’ve been here all along” comment—proved to be a “perfect ending” to the series in Foster’s view.
“I had no idea how it was going to end and I remember reading the finale and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, it couldn’t end any other way.’ I felt very satisfied,” she told Variety. “It felt true to the character, and it was not without sadness. I really felt like Darren just nailed it.”
“It’s a perfect ending for the show,” the Tony winner told Entertainment Weekly in a separate interview. “Josh is the reason that Liza does all this stuff. He was the catalyst. So to have him be the end, when I read it, I went, ‘Oh yeah, there’s no other way.’”
Nico Tortorella and Sutton Foster ‘barely made it through’ filming the final scene of ‘Younger’
As for filming the full-circle moment with Josh and Liza back in the bar (see thee original scene above), Foster shared that emotions were running especially “high.” The reason? Because it was the last scene Tortorella shot for the show.
“Nico was a disaster. He was bawling and we barely made it through,” Foster said, noting her co-star was the first cast member to wrap to begin The Walking Dead: World Beyond. “So it was really a beautiful moment. It was a real gift to be able to go back.”
“Seven years ago we had just met each other, and so much has happened in our own lives,” Foster added, calling it “a really special way to tie up that story.”
Younger, which originally aired on TV Land, is now streaming on Netflix.
