New York Baseball Wife Comes to Studio City

Joanna Garcia is engaged to New York Yankee outfielder Nick Swisher. She's far away from her man's home team in Hollywood, but she's close to us. Garcia is filming a new show at the CBS Radford lot in Studio City.

Better with You is a family relationship comedy. Garcia plays a woman content to live with her boyfriend unmarried, though she's always defending her "valid life choice" to her family. Suddenly, her sister (Jennifer Finnigan) is engaged to a man she just met. The Radford lot provides the soundstages for their standing sets.

"CBS Radford is such a magical lot," Garcia said at the Television Critics Association fall press tour. "It's a great lot. It doesn't feel like a studio. It's really warm and easy to get in and out of. It's just really nice."

The famous Stage 9 is now home to The Defenders, but before they moved in, Better with You shot their first episode in the legendary Seinfeld stages. Now they have moved to other stages, but Seinfeld still leaves its mark on the show.

"We actually shot our pilot on the Seinfeld stage so I felt the responsibility to do something good," Garcia said. "You know, it's funny. When a show comes in, it erects and it becomes a whole new world, a soundstage. And when it's gone, that guy is gone. So it's just really the balance. You feel the energy. It's a really special stage."

When not visiting New York or traveling to Yankees away games, Garcia lives over the hill. She considers the Radford lot a short commute for her. She's also happy to explore the Studio City area when she's on a break.

"There's Katsu-ya which is like the original Katsu-ya which, I mean, let's be honest. I've got to go easy on the crispy rice because I could take some serious crispy rice down. I'm always in Studio City," Garcia says. "It's right over the hill. I love it."

Garcia has worked at the Radford lot before. She played Reba McEntire's daughter on Reba, which also filmed there.

"When we were shooting the pilot, I ran into all of my old friends from Reba because they recycle crews a lot and cast. We all get around a lot so it's nice," Garcia said. "Hopefully there'll be some fun shows that people that I actually know are going to be on them. I'll find someone to talk to anywhere."

Exploring Ventura Boulevard keeps Garcia busy as it is. Planning a wedding can be overwhelming, so she's taking a hands-off approach.

"I've hired a very good wedding planner," she says. "I'm just like I want to show up and have fun. Everything else I know will work itself out."

She has picked a location, but that's one of the details she doesn't want to reveal to her fiancé, let alone the press.

She added, "I'm trying to save a few of those secrets for myself especially just to surprise my man."

Otherwise, being a working bride-to-be just gives her more to be happy about.

"I think it's just been really easy," she said. "Yeah, we're going for it but it's easy to balance balls in the air when you're happy."

On Better with You, Garcia will be revisiting the uncertainty of relationships and family pressures. Luckily for her in real life, that's all in the past.

"It was a sense of well being. It was that every day I wake up with a smile on my face. There's no issue," she said. "There's just happiness and a lot of love and I think there's something to be said for that. My parents have that and they've been married for 40 years."

Swisher and Garcia prove to be compatible.

"I think we come from very similar backgrounds, whether it be sports or entertainment. It's all very similar in a lot of ways so nothing's really shocked me. They work really hard though. That does surprise me," she explained.

On the show, Garcia stands by her character. Mia is making a different choice than Joanna and it's a very modern reality.

"I love Mia. I think that she's just sort of one of those people, she's a really good person at the heart of it and she just dives headfirst," Garcia said. "She follows her heart and I really respect that. I think there's a lot to be said for just going for it and following your heart. There's a lot of that in me too but I'm a little bit more neurotic than Mia."

Even Mia breaks down sometimes. You'll see her sob to her sister, perhaps wavering on her commitment to a non-marriage relationship.

"I think that that particular moment for Mia was sort of an example of how much she loves and respects and admires her big sister and she's always taking care of her," Garcia said.

"Mia isn't blind to the fact that in her current condition and getting married and all of those kinds of things, they're big life choices and she wants to be responsible with that. She's not careless but she also respects her sister so tremendously. When someone you admire asks for your opinion, it's always a little humbling."

In reality, even Garcia can fall into the trap of pressuring her friends and family, just out of genuine curiosity.

"For me, I never really put a lot of weight on marriage per se. I just wanted to be in a healthy relationship," she said. "We all have different stories but it is interesting what society and culture and I do it myself. When I see a girlfriend that's like in love, I'm like, 'When's the date?' But when you know you know. This will be an interesting examination of that notion."

Better with You premieres Sept. 22 on ABC.