00:00I want to start with Toni. I've been describing your character as unsettlingly comforting,
00:06which I feel like is an oxymoron, but it's exactly how I would describe her. How did
00:10you first read this character? And then how did that really channel through you when you brought
00:16her to the screen? Wow. I found her really intimidating, to be honest. I mean, I think
00:24that's a really good description. She is so complicated and there are so many elements of
00:29her that just butt up against each other. And depending on her, she's quite controlled,
00:35but there is a bit of an ever-changing mood. And as things start to kind of elevate,
00:39her veneer starts to crack a little and more and more is revealed. But what a fascinating human.
00:47Mae, you know, I feel so many inspirations watching this show. Tonally, script-wise,
00:52I saw so much come through for you. I'm wondering, when you first started to put pen to paper,
00:57what really was the premise that kept circling in your mind? Were there any major shows, projects,
01:02inspirations that really were like, that feel? I've got to have it.
01:07That's a great question. I think the heart of it in its germination was that friendship between Abby
01:14and Lila. And just remembering my teens and how intense those friendships were and beautiful and
01:22thinking you could put teenage girls in a life and death situation and they would still get the
01:29giggles. Like there's a kind of hysteria that I really miss and a sense of the absurdity of the
01:34world and the hypocrisy of the adults around you. So that was the essence. Were there any other
01:39inspirations? I personally kept feeling a very David Lynch, you know, that kind of inspiration going
01:47through. Who wouldn't write? Yeah. I feel like all I ever want, I mean, is for things to stay with
01:54people. And when I watch things, I want images and characters to really stay with me. And I mean,
02:00there are moments from Twin Peaks that will be with me my whole life, you know, that are really
02:05dreamlike and kind of tap into some universal subconscious. So of course, that's the dream.
02:11But also Rosemary's Baby and Get Out and Stand By Me is my favorite movie of all time. And the
02:18performances of those kids, you know, the pacing, these long two shots where they're walking and
02:25their timing's incredible. And then seeing them break down and there's a scene where Gordy Lachance
02:31says, my dad hates me, breaks down. It's like, yeah. And it's like, if you're going to write about
02:38young people, you want to really feel it like that. So that was an inspiration.
02:43Tony and Sarah, how much did you guys know coming into this when you first got the scripts? How much
02:48did you guys have coming in? And then how did your perception of your character change
02:53as you started to learn more information? I think I got three scripts initially to read.
02:58Is that it? Yeah. Well, before I signed on and then I kind of begged for more. Yeah. But it did hook
03:06me in. It's entirely fascinating. I guess the story, every character and the entire town evolves
03:13in such a way that is so exposing and so disturbing that, yeah, it helps. It really, as it opens up,
03:23helps you kind of identify more and more with the truth of each character.
03:26Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I think when May sent the scripts to me, May also kind of sent a note
03:33along with it being like, okay, so I know she seems like this, but she's not like this.
03:41And you were like, I like that you play characters like that. And I think that was like,
03:47oh, damn. You got my number. I do like that. And so I was, yeah, I was really just kind of like,
03:57you know, she really, I just love women who on the surface seem to present to the world one way
04:03and then are just really not that. Yeah. And like particularly Laura in those first few episodes
04:10is kind of a, you're kind of seeing her through Alex's fantasy of, you know, fiction. Yes. And
04:17there's kind of just this damsel in distress moment, you know, but then I, so I wanted to let Sarah
04:23know that that's not where that character goes and that there's a real power struggle and, yeah.
04:30And May is super charismatic. So when they send you a note like that, you're kind of like,
04:34oh, I have to do this.
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