LOS ANGELES _ If Emma Stone is ever homeless, she can live in Amber Stevens West's attic.
The discussion of unusual houseguests is connected to West's new CBS comedy, "Happy Together." She and Damon Wayans Jr. play Jake and Claire, a 30-something happily married couple who begin to feel old when they open up their home to a Justin Bieber-esque performer, Cooper James (Felix Mallard). What seemed like a comfortable life for the couple turns in a nonstop effort to keep up with the young musician who is hiding out in their attic to get away from the press and fans.
West's initial thought about a houseguest is she would not want anyone staying with her.
"I don't want anyone in my house because I am such a hostess that anyone outside my immediate family, I would feel like I would have to entertain them all the time. So I would never be at ease," West says. After picking a non-singer in Stone, West adds, "In a hypothetical way let's say Rihanna. I think she has a fabulous, fun lifestyle and I would love to see what she does all the time."
The idea of hiding a popular musical performer in a person's home sounds more like a game of "would you rather..." than something that could happen in real life. But the plot of "Happy Together" is based on an actual event that happened to the show's executive producer, Ben Winston.
A few years ago, Winston was making a film with One Direction and had directed a few of their music videos. Winston was asked by Harry Styles if it would OK to move into his attic so he could have some quiet. The plan was for Styles to spend a couple of weeks, but the weeks turned into 18 months.
The difference between the real world houseguest and the one in the new CBS comedy is Winston's life remained uneventful. Instead of round-the-clock partying, Styles and the Winston family would do a few chores and live a quiet life.
"The truth of it is Harry became a huge part of our family," Winston says. "We never wanted him to move out. He had been living with the other boys from the band. They'd all bought houses. It was that stage where they finished living with each other in each other's flats and apartments. He had bought a house. The house wasn't going through for a couple of weeks. Then that two weeks came and went, and the house still hadn't gone through. Then he wanted to renovate it.
"He very much became part of our family and we were sad when he moved out. In fact, when I moved to L.A. three and a half years ago, I didn't know how long I would be here because I wasn't sure if the show I was making at the time would be successful or not. So rather than renting my own house, I lived in his L.A. house, so he returned the favor a few years later."
Once the executives at CBS bought into the idea, the cast and crew faced one big hurdle. West, who had just wrapped up working on "The Carmichael Show," was pregnant during filming of "Happy Together." That called for some creative ways to hide what West jokingly calls her "moving tumor."
On the show, there is no baby, but a very famous person who comes into their lives to send their relationship into a whirl. West loves that Jake and Claire truly love each other and get along.
"They are very silly and weird together and enjoy all the same things and have a lot of fun memories to share because they've been together since college," West says. "I think that there's a lot of people out there who can relate to that. They met their partner when they were young and still enjoy each other's company and then have a lot of fun together."
Wayans agrees with his TV wife. He was attracted to the show because many of the programs he has observed have featured couples on the verge of divorce but still trying to raise their children together.
"I feel like it's good to turn on the TV and see people that are happy with each other, and then you bring another person who is even happier than we are, and it just makes us happy together," Wayans says.
