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Imagine turning down a $100,000 payout to save a colleague’s job. That’s the dilemma faced by Tim Meadows’s character in the show DMV.
**Spoiler Alert: Details from the midseason premiere of DMV, available on Paramount+, are discussed below**
In the latest episode, Gregg, played by Meadows, finds himself at odds with the California DMV system after his complaints about an old, uncomfortable chair go largely ignored. Eventually, he’s presented with a settlement offer worth thousands, but it comes with a catch: he must drop his lawsuit, and Barb (portrayed by Molly Kearney), deemed a liability, will lose her job.
Throughout the episode, Gregg grapples with his options. In the end, he chooses to withdraw his lawsuit, but only if the HR department allows Barb to remain employed, arguing that while she may indeed be a liability, she is their liability. In a Zoom interview with DECIDER, Tim Meadows, known for his work on Saturday Night Live, explained that Gregg’s decision was rooted in their deep-rooted friendship.
“I was taken aback by his choice too,” Meadows remarked regarding Gregg’s surprising move. “But I think it shows his big heart. Barb holds a special place for him… They’ve shared the most history together. Giving up the money to save her job was a significant gesture for him.”
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+.
Paramount+ offers two subscription plans, Essential and Premium. The ad-supported Essential plan costs $8.99/month, while the ad-free Premium plan (which comes with Showtime titles and live CBS) costs $13.99/month.