The actress, singer and director talks going behind the camera again and why the new season is the craziest yet.

[SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers from the new season of "Younger." Only read if you've seen episode 4, titled "An Inside Glob."]

The old adage goes that Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but backward and in heels.

When Miriam Shor stepped behind the camera to direct her second episode of TV Land’s dramedy “Younger,” she did everything a director does while also acting in front of the camera and wearing her character Diana’s battle armor of chunky necklaces, spandex and, yes, a towering pair of heels.

“I think there was one day where I was in four scenes that I was also shooting, so there I was stomping back and forth in my heels and my ridiculous jewelry to check the monitor and then run back into the scene,” Shor said. “It was challenging, but so much fun.”

The publishing world-set show, now in its sixth season, shoots two episodes simultaneously, so another director was also buzzing around set as Shor directed her episode earlier this year and even caught sight of her balancing act in action.

“I was like, ‘you try this in heels with 75 pounds of jewelry and massive amounts of makeup,’” she said, laughing. “Basically, I’m saying you try doing this in drag.”

In its six seasons, “Younger” has become one of TV’s most durable and delightful comfort food series, expanding beyond its initial premise to embrace the talents of its ensemble.

Shor’s episode, in particular, employs the show’s signature blend of comedic hi-jinks underscored by resonant drama, serving up a hilarious dinner scene filled with secrets (and one consciously placed garlic clove) before dropping a bombshell that is poised to shake up the entire series.

The episode finds publishing execs Kelsey (Hilary Duff) and Liza (Sutton Foster), along with Shor’s marketing maven Diana, working to uncover the identity of a mysterious new competitor, only to learn the man behind Mercury Publishing is none other than Charles (Peter Hermann), their former boss and Liza’s boyfriend.

It puts the trio in dire straits as they are forced to confront a new professional foe in someone who shepherded their careers.

“Charles has always been their stalwart captain on some level and now he is someone who they will be in competition with,” Shor said. “That puts everyone in an incredibly awkward, precarious and new position and really launches the season forward and makes us all have to rethink our relationships with each other. It’s all so dramatic. This season is crazy.”

Finding some stability in the ensuing chaos has allowed the show to double down on what has always been its central message – women supporting women.

The season opened with Diana almost jumping ship as her younger counterpart Kelsey, along with younger-ish Liza, ascended past her on the corporate ladder. But just when it seems the claws would come out, the women settled their differences as everyone should – with a rousing rendition of Dolly Parton.

“Instead of setting up a cat fight, they set up a ‘9 to 5’ musical moment that bands them together rather than tearing them apart,” Shor said.

Seeing how well it worked for the women onscreen, Shor said she thinks the key to solving today's political strife might just lie in Dolly Parton’s songbook.

“Don’t you just wish we could solve all of our problems that way,” she said. “Leaders of the world, just get together and sing a little Dolly Parton and it will all work out. We might as well try it, nothing else seems to be working that well.”

As the show heads into the second half of season six, is “Younger” reaching the end of its story? Shor is adamant there’s more fun to be had.

“I think there are more chapters to this book,” she said. “I feel like the writers still have places to go and some of my favorite scenes to shoot have been this season. It shouldn’t be that way in season six, but we’ve got something really special on our show.”

Plus, can "Younger" really end before Diana finds out the show’s increasingly worst kept secret – that her mentee Liza has been lying about her age this whole time? When that time comes, Shor advises viewers to run for cover.

“You know, I’m not sure it’s going to go well if she does find out, because Diana doesn’t like being the last to know,” Shor said.

Reporter Hunter Ingram can be reached at Hunter.Ingram@StarNewsOnline.com.