Written By: Jayme Face
Katherine Bailess is a triple threat you’ve seen in a lot of shows over the years and we caught up with her about her latest project Hit the Floor on BET, new season premiered July 10th!
Photo Credit: Ross Ferguson
upfrontNY: Tell us about Hit the Floor and your character Kyle Hart.
Katherine Bailess: Well, Hit the Floor, if no one has seen it is about the professional basketball world in Los Angeles. It mainly revolves around the dancers. We call ourselves dancers, not cheerleaders. My character, Kyle Hart, basically I call her southern pride, sex on legs. She is a spitfire from Mississippi who comes to L.A. as a stripper turned dancer. She is the comedic relief of the show and you never know what’s going to come out of her mouth. She’s a ball of energy and people are so excited when she comes on-screen because I think people wish they can say what’s on their mind and she just goes ahead and says it. So, I wish I could do that in my life, but I’m a little timid sometimes.
upfrontNY: Why such a long hiatus?
Katherine Bailess: We had three seasons in a row and then obviously, we were waiting for either the no or the go and they were just like you can do whatever you want to do right now. It’s so funny because I have a little story. I went into this macaroon shop and this girl was like ‘Oh my gosh I love your show. I love you. I love your character.’ and I was like ‘Thank you so much for watching.’ she said ‘Is it coming back?’ and I’m positive and I‘m an optimist and I was like ‘No it’s not.’ This was literally a year ago. I kid you not a day after that was the day we found out – through all the trades – that we got picked up by BET. I about died I should have done that earlier. But yeah, I think VH1 didn’t know what they were going to do with it, but BET was like where is this show Hit the Floor? We love it. They got it, they took it and ran with it and we are so forever grateful. I love VH1 and BET is amazing and yeah of course when you first get that pick up you’re like is this for real? It doesn’t feel real until you are standing there for dance rehearsals, for my character, because I have to dance and act on the show.
upfrontNY: What can we expect from the new season?
Katherine Bailess: Everyone knows if they’ve been keeping up with our Instagram and Twitter and everything basically half of the cast is new because some of the cast couldn’t come back because of other jobs and priorities. It will be fresh, spicier, sexier; the dancing is on another level. I always thought every year is on another level, but this year it is definitely because we bring a more grounded vibe. It’s not so technical a little more street which is cool. And with the characters we’ve got new basketball players, reporters, we’ve got new dancers, Teyana Taylor and Kyndall will be joining. We’ve got some people coming back obviously, Logan Browning is coming back Dean Cain is coming back. I’m just really excited for the fans to see it. It’s definitely a different vibe versus the other seasons.
upfrontNY: Even though it is based around a fictional team, have you heard any feedback from dancers of professional sports?
Katherine Bailess: Oh yeah and it’s nothing, but positive. I’ve been to some Clipper games where the Clipper dancers- basically anybody that is going to copy you is a form of flattery- so one of their dances was basically our dance with these basketballs. I’ve never seen anything like it before with chairs and basketballs. I was like okay a lot of those professional basketball dancers or football cheerleaders they all follow us and I think it’s because we’re actually professional dancers playing girls like them. I think that it’s also because the dancing is so unique. We’re actually giving to the world like hey you can do this . It’s pretty cool.
upfrontNY: Can you also tell us about your recent Lifetime Movie Deadly Matrimony?
Katherine Bailess: It first aired on May 20thand it keeps airing. It’s one of those great Lifetime thrillers where the man is married to several different women and we all gang up and try to take him down. It was cool. It was really fun.
upfrontNY: Not only do you star in dramas and thrillers, but you have a popular comedic web series called Sh%t Southern Women Say; so what do southern women say?
Katherine Bailess: About six years ago –Sh%t Black People Say, Sh%t L.A. People Say, Sh%t White People Say, it was a big thing. My girlfriend said ‘Hey do you think we missed the boat?’ and I said ‘I don’t think so let’s just shoot it, put it on YouTube, and see what it does.’ We put it on YouTube on Halloween. It went viral within two weeks and had two million views. People were like ‘You went viral!’ and I said ‘What’s that?’ I was so confused, but yeah apparently, it became a hit and we just keep doing it. We’re shooting another one next weekend and it’s crazy because no one had ever really hit that genre and we did it. I don’t know how we keep coming up with new ones, but I go home a lot to Mississippi and to the south and someone will say something and I’ll write it down. You’ve always got to write stuff down because you think you’re going to remember it and you don’t so, I wrote it in my phone. I’ll bring it to my friend, she’s like ‘We haven’t used this one yet; this is genius!’ We’ll use that. So, if anyone out there wants to send us some southernisms, bless your heart. Please do!
upfrontNY: You are also a country music artist can you tell us more about that?
Katherine Bailess: Sure, I started writing/recording ten years ago. It’s me. I wrote everything with several producers and it’s poppy, its rocky. I have a song called “Missin’ Mississippi”. I actually shot the video in Mississippi with my friends and family and the mayor was in it. I’m going to do this right, but yeah I’ve actually had to put it away for a little bit because the show was time-consuming. Right now, it’s pretty crazy, but I am going to start getting back into my music. I just love performing. I had a band called the Kat Bailess Band and we performed at little venues in L.A. It was really fun. I was in Nashville a good bit writing and recording. So, hopefully after all this Hit the Floor stuff kind of dies down, but right now it’s super crazy and don’t have time for the music. You can check out some of my songs on Reverbnation.
upfrontNY: How is the country music scene in L.A. when you perform there?
Katherine Bailess: People actually do love it. It’s scarce though, it’s outside of L.A., but then again I put it out there on Facebook and through Instagram and stuff and people show up. It was super supportive, but you know I go to stagecoach every year, well for the past two years, in Palm Springs. I never knew that California was such a huge country fan, but apparently 105.1 is the number 1 country station in the country and I listen to it every day.
upfrontNY: Although a southerner, you went to college and spent some time in New York, what was something you miss about it?
Katherine Bailess: Everything! I don’t miss the cold though. I just don’t miss that cold weather. I’m not used to it. I’m from Mississippi so it got cold, but not that cold. But, I miss the energy. I’m going soon so I’m super excited!
upfrontNY: You are well known for your dancing and acting/ singing, but what might we be surprised to hear are your other interests?
Katherine Bailess: Hosting actually, yeah I was hosting for AfterbuzzTV for a couple years before I even got Hit the Floor. I was concentrating putting a lot of work into that. I was like whoa maybe I have knack I didn’t know about. So, hopefully one of these days I can host something. Personal wise I’m a big family person. I go back home a lot, spend time with my nieces and nephews because I don’t have any kids yet so I just adore them and I’m like a big kid myself. We have a good time. Everyone’s like you’re so good with kids Kat.
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