Prescribing the Best Medicine with Philly’s own Ellen Boscov

Moving on up

Since leaving Philadelphia, Boscov's career trajectory has had a steady upward motion. She starred in Jason Reitman's Saturday Night Live (SNL) tribute film Saturday Night as Andy Kaufman's mother, did an episode of HBOMax's true crime drama Does Murder Sleep, guested on a WHYY Kids' program in 2023, and starred in an MTV-commissioned short film for Jewish American heritage month in 2022. Her favorite moment of Saturday Night was acting opposite Nicholas Braun who played Andy Kauffman. They frequently improvised off camera as a bickering mother and son. Of the moment she states fondly, "I was like Cinderella at the ball."

I'm not surprised at Boscov's success. She easily created grounded yet emotionally vulnerable characters when we performed in Time Bandits together. Perhaps that is due to her undergraduate training at North Carolina School of the Arts and her California-based improv experience. However, Philadelphia served as a catalyst. She was discovered during a sketch team audition for Paul Triggiani, co-creator of Big Howl Productions, at Philly Improv Theater (PHIT). Samantha Russell was there casting for a film and asked Boscov to audition for the comedic horror film Sleep. Walk. Kill. which eventually made it to Apple TV. Paul Triggiani, who taught sketch at PHIT and co-created the WHYY Kids' program Albie's Elevator with Kevin Kelly, later asked Boscov to guest on the "Lost Hat" episode. Later, Big Howl Productions tapped her again for a comedic music video "Who? What? When? Why? & Werewolves?-Hard Feelings". Her latest film Ethel & Ernie has been selected for the Hollywood International Diversity Film Festival.

Currently, she is a tri-state citizen of New York, Philadelphia, and California. Now, she is more permanently located in Brooklyn, and circulates between Philly and LA. Regardless, she speaks fondly of Philadelphia, stating "It's a good place. I love the history there."

The perfect prescription

When I lived in upper state New York, I loved the BBC small town comedy Doc Martin. The characters’ televised idiosyncrasies reflected what I experienced in real time. Considering Boscov’s talent for playing quirky characters, it’s unsurprising they cast her for the pilot episode of the American reboot, Best Medicine. “The interesting thing was I was just cast for one episode, and then they called me back for more.“ Although she returned to improv for the communal connection, she similarly loves Best Medicine’s incredibly warm and welcoming environment. “I really enjoy that show, because it's when I talked about wanting community, the show is about community being family, and so I relate to that.”

I remember Boscov’s considerate nature and positive outlook in the Philly improv community. I love when nice people are rewarded. It sounds like Boscov found a positive place to land at Port Wenn, the fictitious Maine location of Best Medicine. She talks fondly of showrunner Liz Tuccillo’s collaborative capabilities. “I noticed she took a line suggestion from another actor who was just there for the day, and I was like, wow!” She also talks positively of the ongoing team spirit of the main cast. “I was really impressed by that team spirit … the lead actors in that show are [who] everyone's hugging and high-fiving. Josh Charles gave me a little pep talk once when he heard I had an audition, and I was a little starstruck when I started acting with [Annie Potts], because I was her fan for 40 years. I had to get myself together before the camera started rolling, because I was a deer in headlights at first.”

Insight for Philly performers

While I love when nice people are recognized, I love even more when they’re placed in positive spaces. Best Medicine has an incredibly stacked, established cast and writing team, so it is great to hear about such a nourishing environment.

It can be difficult to keep auditioning, and some people believe they won’t catch traction in the Philly area. I asked Boscov if she could provide suggestions for regional performers. On her own success, Boscov admitted she is “determined” and “I love acting.” But, she started small. “I put my resume and photo on Backstage [and Actors Access] and started putting a reel together. You can start with student work. Audition for everything. Start at the bottom and keep working up. It's hard sometimes to start again, but you can, it's okay, give yourself permission.”

As expected, her final words were incredibly encouraging to the fledgling performer: “you can still live your dreams ... you can still climb a ladder.” So, Philly performers, take heart, be kind, be persistent, nourish your craft, and hopefully you will get your dream roles.

Featured image: Ellen Boscov is making it in Hollywood but is Philly-made first. (Photo by SubUrban Photography.)

Image description: Headshot of Boscov, a woman with salt and pepper hair, wears a dark blue sweater with large white buttons.