“Sometimes I think I’m making a mistake, and letting go of this alchemy with Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini,” says showrunner Liz Feldman about bringing the dark buddy comedy to an early end.
INs the body picks up Dead to Me, Netflix’s dark buddy comedy about two women bonding over their grief and crimes, so loves the TV Academy. After making a soft Emmy entry in 2019, the second season scored four nominations – including best comedy series and twin lead actress named for stars Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini.
The show, which recently announced that its third season will be the last, will be filming its final episodes whenever filming is possible. Meanwhile, creator and showrunner Liz Feldman runs a room remotely and watches a lot of other television – something she says makes her feel better now than ever before.
How are you?
I’m fine, thank you. I just got out of my Zoom [writers] Room. My “zroom”, as I call it. It’s a … average amount of fun. It’s not nearly as fun to be in the same room as all those smart people. It’s a dystopian version of what we’re used to, but it’s still effective. We will still be able to break the season.
How do you find the moments of silence? I find them much heavier in video chat.
The quiet moments are certainly louder. As human beings, when we are all together, you can still feel everyone’s energy, even when it’s quiet. When you stop at Zoom, it just feels like everyone is holding their breath in a really weird way.
Does everyone get their own dry wipe board of all the storylines you left in season two? It was quite a finale.
We keep a very comprehensive document of what we call our “danglers,” that is, all the threads we have left hanging. We’re all envious of all that stuff, and it’s definitely where we start from. It’s a lot to work with.
Talk to me a little bit about the decision to end season three.
I always had the realization that I wanted this show to run relatively short. I understand the landscape at Netflix. It is very rare for them to have a show that goes on for five, six or seven seasons. It can happen, but it is of course the exception. Halfway through shooting season two, there came an idea that made me feel very true to the show – and I realized that it could be a really great way to end it. It kind of launches from the end of season two and that cliffhanger. Much of it is intuitive. I follow my gut with these things. Also, I was inspired by [Fleabag creator] Phoebe Waller-Bridge. She just decided that two seasons of her wonderful show was enough. I think it’s an incredibly self-contained way to handle success. Sometimes I think I’m a mistake, I let go of this incredible alchemy we have with Christina and Linda, but it just feels good to me that this is how we should close the story.
When you packed season one, did you know you’re bringing James Marsden back – whose character you apparently very clearly murdered?
When we packed season one, I thought, “Oh, what a shame. He’s such a darling.” I loved working with him. The fact that he wanted to come back was so flattering, and as soon as he told me that, the wheels started turning. They are all so well together. So, I was sitting with one of my best friends, Kelly Hutchinson, who is a writer on the show, we just looked at each other and said, “Twins?” It was not part of the plan. It was from his desire to return and our collective love for him. When you have a good thing, you try to keep it going, and sometimes it takes a twin to do it.
Have you talked about what a return to production can look like?
This season we have a writing space of 20 weeks, so there is no way to go into production until that is over anyway. That buys us some time to see how it goes and what the landscape looks like for other productions. Hopefully we learn from the successes and failures of other shows. There can not even try to be back in production until, the earliest December.
How have you distracted yourself from current circumstances, outside of work?
Like everyone else I have watched a lot of tv. It has given me a great sense of purpose as a person who makes television. Almost for the first time, I realize how important it is. (Laitset.) It never seems like an important job. I have been guilty of it all my life. I come from a family of doctors, and I’m a comedy writer. I never felt that was super important. There is something about entertainment that is escapist, but there is value in this escape. As a collective, we are currently under a lot of stress – probably even more than we currently understand. And I think any time you can take to loosen up the world and tap into another reality – or just be able to laugh or cry, to me, that has been really therapeutic. And that can vary from I with you destroy to the reality competition Alone, those are both things I see. I, for one, envy baseball is back. I think my wife and I have seen every Dodgers game. I try to take walks and be a human being, but mostly it’s just TV.
Interview edited for length and clarity.
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And the opportunities are …
After being nominated only lead Christina Applegate for season one, Dead for MeThe fortune improved bot in season two. Applegate shares a nomination for Best Actress with Linda Cardellini, the series received a shoutout for casting, and it found its way into the main battle despite a somewhat more divisive sophomore run. The fact that Dead for Me has not written or directed nominations – or much of any presence in races of creative arts – ensures an emerging battle to win a best comedy. But, stacking it against the other seven series, his path to a surprise victory is hardly the most daunting. – MO
This story first appeared in a stand-alone August issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
