Would you walk away from a $100,000 paycheck to help a coworker keep their job? For Tim Meadows‘s character in DMV, that is the question at hand.
**Spoilers ahead for the midseason premiere of DMV, now streaming on Paramount+**
After complaining about his rickety old chair with little to no response from higher-ups in the California DMV system, Gregg (Meadows) finally is offered a four-figure settlement, but only if he chooses not to continue with his lawsuit. Oh, and the HR rep is going to fire Barb (Molly Kearney), who is a total liability.
After contemplating the situation for much of the episode, Gregg ultimately decides to drop his lawsuit, but only if the HR admin opts to let Barb keep her job, saying that while she is a liability undoubtedly, she’s their liability. Sitting down with DECIDER via Zoom to chat about the episode, the Saturday Night Live alum shared that it only makes sense given their years of history.
“I was surprised when he did it, too,” Meadows said of Gregg’s decision in the midseason premiere. “But I think he’s got a big heart, he really does. And Barb has a very special place in his heart… They’ve known each other the longest. I think it was a big deal for him to sort of give up the money in order to save her.”
While Meadows says he understands why the writers wanted his character to make the right and noble choice, it’s one of those times that, as an actor, he might have disagreed with the person he is playing.
“I get what they’re trying to do, the writers, as far as pushing the storyline along. As an actor, I can go, ‘Yeah, I’m going to perform the scene or make the decisions that this guy is going to make, because that’s the way it’s written.’ And so I understand it,” he said. “It’s harder when I don’t get it or I don’t understand something.”
Overall, it’s a pretty solid episode for Meadows’ character, who gets to turn down the money by telling the HR employee he’s standing by his friend rather than cashing out. That yields a hilarious response from the HR rep, who tells him he’s throwing away money that would allow him to retire or travel the world with his wife. To that, Gregg says that he has no use for money like that, considering the only way he wants to travel the world with his wife is if he’s in ash form and she’s spreading them. It’s a line that is sure to make any fan of the show laugh out loud.
Sadly, Meadows told DECIDER he cannot take credit for that line, but did get a good chuckle out of getting to say it on the day of filming.
“That was written, yeah, it’s one of those lines that was funny and it was fun to do. I knew it was a good line,” he said. “And it really does sort of give you a good insight into what Gregg is all about, which is he loves his wife, but he doesn’t like being with her all the time.”
DMV, which also stars Harriet Dyer, Tony Cavalero, Alex Tarrant, and Gigi Zumbado, airs on CBS Mondays at 8:30 p.m. ET on CBS. Episodes stream the next day on Paramount+.
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