Staying In

Life imitates art, but in the case of No Ordinary Family‘s Autumn Reeser, who plays lab tech/confidant Katie, art imitates life. When the actress discovered she was pregnant, the producers of the ABC series decided to write the pregnancy into the show, which was more than OK with Reeser.

“It’s much preferred to hiding behind bowls of apples and other such things,” she says. “Especially at the point that I’m at right now. I’m seventh months pregnant. It’s pretty difficult to hide. It’s fun. I’m really happy that they wrote it in.”

But that’s where the similarities stop. While Reeser is planning for the arrival of her first child and already compiling her DVD watch list for when the baby is keeping her up during hiatus, the socially awkward, comics-loving Katie is not ready for her bun in the oven. The impending arrival opens the door for “some exciting things.”

“Katie as a mother is going to be a very interesting subject matter to explore because, I think, she’s completely unprepared. I mean so unprepared,” laughs Reeser, who teases that Katie will start sporting a baby bump before the end of the season.

Complicating matters even further is the fact that Katie’s boyfriend Joshua is super-powered, which leads to many questions: Will the baby have superpowers of its own? Is this a normal pregnancy or is there a super bent to it? Reeser will only say, “I think you’ll have to watch to find that out. That’s going to be one of Katie’s main questions too.”

If it seems too early for a baby, Reeser explains that Katie and Joshua’s romance is “a very intense relationship in a lot of ways. A lot of things happen very quickly for them.” Including marriage? This Tuesday’s episode is titled “No Ordinary Proposal.” “That’s a good one,” gushes Reeser, adding, “Joshua and Katie undergo a lot of relationship ups and downs this season. They’re definitely not in a normal relationship by any means by virtue of the fact that Joshua has superpowers and Katie was a virgin.”

Also not normal? The fact that Joshua erased Katie’s memories to protect his secret (he’s killed people for Dr. King and was spying on the Powells). “It’s not building a relationship on the best foundation, is it?” she says. “That’s going to be something we may see addressed.”

When babies come into the picture, so do grandparents. And with Katie so unprepared for motherhood, she’ll definitely need all the help and guidance she can get. So can we expect to learn more about Katie’s family? “We actually had a storyline earlier this season involving Katie’s mom that we ended up not doing,” reveals Reeser. “If we do a season 2, I could see them bringing that storyline into season 2 instead.”

But first, the show, which has been struggling in the ratings, needs to get renewed. The cast and crew are currently working on the season finale with no idea if they’ll be back in the fall. “It’s certainly something I’ve encountered before,” says the actress, who starred in the last two ratings-challenged seasons of The O.C. “I feel like the show got better and better throughout this season. We have a great group of actors and a great group of writers. I think there’s a lot more to be explored next season.”

While “everyone’s in the dark” about a season 2 renewal, the writers aren’t holding back. The first season “ends on a really fantastic cliffhanger,” teases Reeser. “I’ll just say the last episode is so good. So good. … It sets up a really exciting season 2.”