00:00Amanda, Mel, your character, is going through a lot this season.
00:06Divorce, menopause, her daughter doesn't talk to her.
00:10So how emotionally challenging was playing her this time?
00:16Well, it's always nice to play something that you're going through in your own real life.
00:20So I was actually just sending my daughter off to college, my oldest daughter, right before we were shooting.
00:29And so some of the scenes were, it was uncanny.
00:34And yeah, I'm going through menopause.
00:36So there's something very cathartic about being able to go off the rails about that.
00:46And obviously exhibit behavior that I wouldn't be able to exhibit at home or I would be divorced to in
00:53real life.
00:55Yeah, and I was just really excited to have a storyline whose trajectory was based on being in menopause.
01:06Jonathan, where did this, the idea for the series came from?
01:11And what was the funniest character to write?
01:16The idea for the series came, I lived for about 15 years in a Westchester community that was similar to
01:21this.
01:22Maybe not quite as wealthy, but adjacent to wealthier communities.
01:27But, you know, I spent a lot of time looking at these people and, you know, feeling a little apart
01:33from them.
01:34Because I was a novelist and they were all finance people and they were making a lot of money in
01:38those days.
01:38And then there were moments where they lost a lot of money.
01:40And so I think that's where the show came from.
01:44And what was the second part of the question?
01:46The most fun characters.
01:48Oh, I really enjoy.
01:51I mean, I like them all in different ways.
01:52But for me, the more neurotic ones are the fun ones.
01:55So I think the combination of Barney and Mel, the two most neurotic characters, because I feel like those are
02:02expressions of my own neuroses.
02:04So when you watch Barney freaking out or you watch Mel losing it, that's very much, it comes from deep
02:10inside me.
02:12Amanda, how is working with Johan and the rest of the cast?
02:16How is the dynamic on set?
02:19Honestly, it's a delight.
02:21I mean, I think that most of us are, you know, in middle age.
02:30And I think, you know, the business hasn't been easy in the last little while.
02:38And the world is not exactly, you know, there's a lot of anxiety.
02:45And it's really, really, we're just really lucky.
02:52And we just, everybody gets along.
02:55And John is really, really fun and funny and playful.
03:02And, you know, it's, he's the greatest scene partner ever.
03:08Jonathan, there are a lot of TV shows out there.
03:12A lot.
03:13Don't remind us.
03:14In your opinion, what makes this series fresh and different?
03:20I think it's, it's, it's just, it occupies sort of its own space.
03:26It's, it's satirical, but it's not quite a satire.
03:29It's a drama, but it's also a comedy.
03:31It's a comedy, but it's also a drama.
03:33It's a fake world that's very close to the real world.
03:37And it has real characters in it, in slightly absurdist situations.
03:42So I think there's just a, there's a tone and a blend to this show that, that I think sets
03:48it apart from others.
03:50And makes it feel unique.
03:53Amanda, what have you learned from Mel, from your character?
04:00Don't get behind the wheel of a car when you're raging.
04:03Don't get behind the wheel of a car when you're raging.
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