Jean-Luc Bilodeau Talks “Baby Daddy” Summer Premiere
The arrival of Summer brings many things: sun, adventures, but most importantly, the answers to television cliffhangers. In the case of Freeform’s “Baby Daddy,” this means finding out if love will survive. To refresh your memory of where the gang left off: Riley found out Danny hooked up with Sam in high school and returned his pre-proposal and Ben decided too late that he wanted to be with Zoey.
Will Danny and Riley survive? Will Ben be able to recover from his latest romantic blunder? We got Jean-Luc Bilodeau on the phone to talk about the summer premiere and give his thoughts on what’s next for our favorite dysfunctionally functional family.
Though Ben has been put through the emotional wringer lately, Bilodeau is confident about his character’s future. “He’s going to be totally fine, it’s Ben,” says Bilodeau. “Regardless of how a relationship ends, if they do end, he’s always got his daughter.” For Bilodeau, the relationship between Ben and Emma has always been the most important, not the romantic relationships.
Jean-Luc came to a decision about Ben’s love life and who he should end up with very early on. “I always say I don’t want Ben to end up with anybody,” says Bilodeau. “I’d rather he just focus on his daughter and just be with her. He doesn’t need any help in that department, he’s got his girl.” In the remainder of season five, Jean-Luc Bilodeau’s mindset and Ben Wheeler’s mindset just might match up, thanks to how much Ben has grown, and continues to grow. “I think he’ll slowly realize that he doesn’t need anybody,” says Bilodeau. “I think that he’ll eventually realize he just needs to focus on his job and on his daughter and not worry about women.”
Though Ben Wheeler might not need anyone, that doesn’t mean he won’t want anyone. “He’s got his eyes set on someone, I can’t tell you who because you HAVE met her,” says Bilodeau. As for actually locking a relationship down, Bilodeau offers up a different approach for Ben. “He’s been focusing on finding someone this whole time, and he’s been striking out every time,” says Bilodeau. “So I think he just needs to let it go, for a little while, and then see what happens. Let fate intervene a bit, and maybe push someone toward him.”
In the first half of the season, it looked as though fate might be pushing TWO someones toward him: Zoey and Sam. Even then, Bilodeau didn’t think either were right for Ben. “It’s hard because I love them as actresses, and working with Jonna [Walsh] and Daniella [Monet],” Bilodeau says. “They’re amazing to work with, so it’s hard for me to pick sides with that in my head as well.”
Fans can also rest assured that Angela, played by Mimi Gianopulos, will not be wreaking any more havoc this season. But Bilodeau wouldn’t mind working with her again, as he says Gianopulos is “the exact opposite of Angela,” making her a joy to work with.
As for Danny and Riley (known to fans as Diley), Bilodeau says fans shouldn’t worry. “I mean, it’s Danny and Riley,” says Bilodeau. “It’s always looking up for those two.” He laughed and assured us that the writers know what the fans want and that “they won’t disappoint every single Baby Daddy fan.”
But, before it starts looking up again, Riley will put Danny on trial…for breaking her heart. Bonnie (Melissa Peterman) will don the role of Danny’s legal representation, ensuring plenty of shenanigans. Bilodeau added that the summer premiere is one of Chelsea Kane’s (Riley) best performances on the show to date.
The “Baby Daddy” summer premiere airs on Wednesday, June 1 at 8:30 p.m. EDT on Freeform.