By 
THE JOKE: I asked my North Korean friend how things were over there. He said he couldn't complain.
ABOUT THE JOKESTER: Once you've inspired a level of fan frenzy diagnosed as "McPheever," some irreverence can be refreshing. Fortunately, 31-year-old singer and actress Katharine McPhee gets plenty from her ten-year-old onscreen son, Riley B. Smith. Of her Scorpion costar, she says, "He gets a little bit smart-mouthed. He'll be like, 'Duh, Kat,'" but to make up for it, "he tells me I'm a really good fake mom." McPhee reprises her role as good fake mom—and emotional interpreter for a team of awkward, Homeland Security-hired geniuses—Paige Dineen in season 2 of the hit CBS drama this fall. Even while juggling her work on the show with recording her fourth (and best) album, Hysteria, which features collaborations with Sia and OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder, she's managed to keep it all from going to her head. "We're just making TV," she says. "We're not saving the world." Duh, Kat. But there's no need to be so humble.
See more of Katharine McPhee in these web exclusive photos and videos:
*Esquire cannot guarantee that this joke will be funny to everyone.
Published in the November 2015 issue.
