Speaker 1: I'm really happy to be moderating this for your consideration
Speaker 1: panel with some of the extraordinary people involved in The
Speaker 1: Handmaid's Tale. I'm a ginormous fan of the show, and
Speaker 1: so this is a real thrill for me, and I
Speaker 1: thought we'd start this conversation sort of where the end
Speaker 1: of season four ends up, where uh, you know, Fred
Speaker 1: and Serena asked June for forgiveness and and Bruce, did
Speaker 1: you imagine this turn of events when you were thinking
Speaker 1: about the show, you know, and watching the evolution of
Speaker 1: the storyline and these characters. Did did you kind of
Speaker 1: predict that this would happen or how did how did
Speaker 1: that work for you? Uh? Well, I think you know,
Speaker 1: the show is based on how June feels genuinely versus
Speaker 1: how she's allowed to express herself. Um. So we know
Speaker 1: how she feels about these people. Um. And we know
Speaker 1: if ever, given freedom to express herself, how she would
Speaker 1: express herself. UM. So I think there's an inevitability about it. Um,
Speaker 1: whether it's expressed or unexpressed. What this show is about
Speaker 1: is her bringing these people to terms with what they've done.
Speaker 1: Whether she gets the chance to do it or not
Speaker 1: is the question. But that building up that argument in
Speaker 1: your head saying this is why they're wrong and I'm right,
Speaker 1: and is what the show is about. So I think
Speaker 1: that whether or not we get their characterized or story wise,
Speaker 1: it was always the clash that was, you know, the
Speaker 1: clash of worldviews that the build show has been built
Speaker 1: and Joe, where you were surprised that your character had
Speaker 1: this redemptive arc um and and how did you feel
Speaker 1: when you saw how how the commander evolved? Well, I um,
Speaker 1: I love the idea that he goes through the journey
Speaker 1: um and ends in a place of redemption seemingly um
Speaker 1: and how paradoxical that he might get to that place
Speaker 1: of clarity, even if it's momentarily, and have it snatched
Speaker 1: away somewhat in the finale. But it was it was
Speaker 1: lovely for him to come face to face and I
Speaker 1: so enjoyed that scene with Lizzie where he he apologizes,
Speaker 1: you know, and there are parts of that apology which
Speaker 1: are genuine, and that's parts of Fred old Fred, but
Speaker 1: there's still parts of the sort of predator inside all
Speaker 1: of that apology as well, and sort of reclaiming the
Speaker 1: narrative in his own predatory fashion. But it was lovely
Speaker 1: to go on that journey, and the season is really
Speaker 1: about that but relinquishing and reflecting. Um, but can can
Speaker 1: this character really change his spots? I don't know, But
Speaker 1: but he came close, which was really lovely to be
Speaker 1: invited down that road. What about for you, Yvonne, did
Speaker 1: you envision sort of what that moment would be like
Speaker 1: for serena kind of? Although I don't just because she's,
Speaker 1: you know, having this moment with June, I don't necessarily
Speaker 1: believe that she has come full circle, you know. I
Speaker 1: think she's just so like she just goes from moment
Speaker 1: to moment kind of figuring out what's going to be
Speaker 1: the most ideal situation for me right now. And her
Speaker 1: ideal situation is that she doesn't want to have the
Speaker 1: stress and the regrets or any kind of remorse of
Speaker 1: what she's been doing with June this whole time, I
Speaker 1: feel like, and so what's convenient for her is to
Speaker 1: apologize and beg for forgiveness. And although I do think
Speaker 1: there is like a huge element of truth in it,
Speaker 1: I don't know that it comes from that genuine place
Speaker 1: of I genuinely feel horrible for what I did. I
Speaker 1: think it's more I just need you to forgive me
Speaker 1: so I can have a comfortable pregnancy, you know what
Speaker 1: I mean. So it's it's self serving. Yeah, I kind
Speaker 1: of feel that way. I don't know i'd be interested
Speaker 1: to hear um with some versus rand about that, but
Speaker 1: that that's that's how I felt. Bruce, do you want
Speaker 1: to chime in? Uh? Well, I think, um, people don't
Speaker 1: change very much or very easily. And I think people
Speaker 1: change quickly and easily on television. But what I says
Speaker 1: is exactly right, you know. Uh, it's in the moment.
Speaker 1: We make lots of decisions that we say lots of things,
Speaker 1: but as humans, we don't change that quickly. And and
Speaker 1: I think the show is frustrating in the same way
Speaker 1: that people in our lives are frustrating that they don't
Speaker 1: change quickly enough um, and that more people don't get
Speaker 1: out of North Korea. But those things are complicated parts
Speaker 1: of the real world. And as much as we'd like
Speaker 1: Lawrence and and you know the characters that that seem
Speaker 1: to be on an edge, Lawrence, Lydia and On or everybody,
Speaker 1: I guess Joe, you want them to pick the good
Speaker 1: side and get toss away the bad side, But there
Speaker 1: is no such thing, and it doesn't happen, and they
Speaker 1: are who they are. And and you know, I don't
Speaker 1: know very many people who have, you know, truly had
Speaker 1: the kind of regret in their life for the things
Speaker 1: that these people have done. I don't know that there's
Speaker 1: enough regret muster so and and Lizzie, I think, I
Speaker 1: don't know. There was a scene I wish I had
Speaker 1: written down what you said about what had been taken
Speaker 1: away and the power of men and sort of systemic
Speaker 1: issues with gender and sexism. I don't know that really
Speaker 1: resonated with me. Did that? Are you in the middle
Speaker 1: of sometimes saying your lines and thinking, yes, I I
Speaker 1: feel what June feels about the state of the world. Yeah,
Speaker 1: all the time, all the time, whether or even just
Speaker 1: um you know, sometimes globally, but also sometimes just on
Speaker 1: a on a personal level. You know, she's such a
Speaker 1: personal character to me, Um, and I've put so much
Speaker 1: of myself into her. And at this point, it is
Speaker 1: a great thing that happens when you're on a show
Speaker 1: for a while, which is the relationship between you and
Speaker 1: the writers and the showrunner becomes very fluid, and you know,
Speaker 1: at first you're doing what they're writing, and then they're
Speaker 1: sort of writing to what you're doing, and it kind
Speaker 1: of goes back and forth in this in this wonderful way.
Speaker 1: Um all the time, all the time, And sometimes other
Speaker 1: characters too, will say things that I, uh, that really
Speaker 1: really resonate with me. Um, you know, Lawrence, often when
Speaker 1: you're speaking about June, it resonates with me. I learned
Speaker 1: a lot about June from the other characters, whether I'm
Speaker 1: in the scene or not. Madeline, let me ask you
Speaker 1: about Janine, because, um, she has quite an adventure in
Speaker 1: this this season, and we learn a lot more about
Speaker 1: her backstory, which I really appreciated and enjoyed, and I'm
Speaker 1: curious if you did as well, and how it impacted
Speaker 1: the way you aid her from that moment on, because
Speaker 1: I who knew. Yeah, I mean, I tried for so
Speaker 1: long for the first three seasons really to not make
Speaker 1: any real decisions about who I thought Janine was, just
Speaker 1: because I knew that eventually we would find out, and
Speaker 1: I wanted to be able to just like soak up
Speaker 1: anything that Bruce or you know, j C who who
Speaker 1: had written the episode. I wanted to just kind of
Speaker 1: fully embrace that. And Uh, I was really glad and
Speaker 1: very very proud to be able to tell this kind
Speaker 1: of story, the storyline for Janine, our relationship, the relationship
Speaker 1: between June and Janine and just everything. It just colored
Speaker 1: so many things for me, Um to get this backstory
Speaker 1: and that, you know, the confrontation between June and Janine,
Speaker 1: everything just kind of became a little brighter to me.
Speaker 1: Um about Janine, She's always been like a big part
Speaker 1: of my life and of my heart, and she just
Speaker 1: like she's just a tattooed in there now really, especially
Speaker 1: after this Um doing that episode and episode five as well.
Speaker 1: It's interesting, Bruce, how you the writers and you and
Speaker 1: everyone who's putting this together, how you figure out when
Speaker 1: you tell a backstory of a character. I know, I
Speaker 1: really enjoyed hearing more about Serena and what she was
Speaker 1: like before Gill Lead became Gile Lead. And how do
Speaker 1: you determine who's past or whose history you're going to mind?
Speaker 1: And and and why I think we'd mind everybody's if
Speaker 1: we had the time. I mean, you know, they're all extraordinary,
Speaker 1: extraordinary actors, and we're curious about their backstories. Um, And
Speaker 1: I think that Maddie as much as she was trying
Speaker 1: not to decide. As Lizzie was saying, Maddie was telling
Speaker 1: us that all the writers what Janine's backstory was over
Speaker 1: the last three years slowly, um so she was making decisions.
Speaker 1: But you know, I think all the back stories and
Speaker 1: from the response from the audience are super appealing and satisfying.
Speaker 1: I just wanted to say this year, in particular, under COVID,
Speaker 1: Maddie talks about that that episode like it's a normal episode.
Speaker 1: That episode was incredibly difficult under COVID, and the nine
Speaker 1: scenes we had of her in the past ended up
Speaker 1: being three scenes and everything changed all the time, and
Speaker 1: she was an absolute professional and also managed to get
Speaker 1: as much out of the story as we would have
Speaker 1: gotten in the longer version in the shorter version. And
Speaker 1: that's a testament to her and Christina the director and
Speaker 1: everybody else. Uh it was. It's a remarkable performance under
Speaker 1: under normal circumstances. It's a mark this year. It's breathtaking
Speaker 1: what she was able to do. So in awe of that,
Speaker 1: you're like, truth, my turn, hunt Well, and I want
Speaker 1: to talk to you about aunt Lydia because there's a
Speaker 1: little crack in Gilead for finally, for her, can you
Speaker 1: talk about the evolution of her character? And uh, sort
Speaker 1: of the the reason behind her increased humanity in this season,
Speaker 1: if you could call it that, Well, love is love,
Speaker 1: isn't it? And she loves Janine and she loves June.
Speaker 1: And as much as she likes to put it in
Speaker 1: any other fashion she possibly can, the truth of the
Speaker 1: matter is relationships are profoundly important to her. So I
Speaker 1: think if love creeps its way in walls will begin
Speaker 1: to crumble, whether she would like them to or not.
Speaker 1: And what to me was astonishing about the season for Lydia,
Speaker 1: and I this to the writers, and I give this
Speaker 1: to the other actors and to Elizabeth directing, is that
Speaker 1: things that utterly surprised me, that took me totally off
Speaker 1: card in the way they appeared in the scene, which
Speaker 1: is to say from Lydia, which I didn't have my
Speaker 1: hand on, because season four you can take your hand
Speaker 1: off because by now you know her, she knows you,
Speaker 1: and on the good day she's going to talk to
Speaker 1: you and say, don't worry about it, I've got it.
Speaker 1: And that's what happened season four for me and working
Speaker 1: with Elizabeth who knows her well, and I know her
Speaker 1: well and I love her and she loves me. Sorry
Speaker 1: to turn this into it so proper, but the point
Speaker 1: I'm making something happens there and that's trust and then
Speaker 1: you know, okay, let's drop the barriers and get it done.
Speaker 1: That's what thrilled me is to let her, let her
Speaker 1: come up on her own and see where she goes.
Speaker 1: So that just knocked me out, very grateful for Wow, Lizzy,
Speaker 1: would you like to comment on that? Sorry, good, no pressure,
Speaker 1: goll none of all. No. I mean, I had this
Speaker 1: incredible gift with directing, which was working with these actors,
Speaker 1: and it truly is a kind of extraordinary when you
Speaker 1: work with people for three years and a certain amount
Speaker 1: of episodes and then you put on a different hat
Speaker 1: and all of a sudden, it was just I had
Speaker 1: an entirely new appreciation for how incredibly gifted they all
Speaker 1: are and the trust that they that they gave me
Speaker 1: as a director, especially on my first time out in
Speaker 1: episode three. I'll never forget um the support they gave me.
Speaker 1: I'll never forget. And to tow End's point, you know,
Speaker 1: I've seen not just what you see in the episode
Speaker 1: on on Hulu. But I've seen all of the takes
Speaker 1: that they do before that, I've seen all the other
Speaker 1: things they've tried. I've seen all of the things that
Speaker 1: worked and didn't work, and we've had all these conversations.
Speaker 1: So I did feel like there was an element of
Speaker 1: knowing them as not just their characters but as actors
Speaker 1: that was helpful to us in our in our kind
Speaker 1: of new relationship. Bradley, do you feel I mean, I'm
Speaker 1: curious about You've done a lot of different shows, and
Speaker 1: is there something unique about this project for you and
Speaker 1: about this group of people? And um, I don't know
Speaker 1: how uh serendipitous. Everything seems to have been with a
Speaker 1: lot of hard work of course behind the scenes. But
Speaker 1: I wonder if you could describe for me the specialness
Speaker 1: of this this for you, Well, I feel like an
Speaker 1: obnoxiously lucky actor who's had some wonderful experiences, But there
Speaker 1: is absolutely something unique to me about you know, it's
Speaker 1: always alchemy and the feeling on the set. Uh, it's
Speaker 1: it's it's a weirdly uh loving, gentle, humorous uh set uh.
Speaker 1: And I think that tone is set by Lizzie, who,
Speaker 1: while she does Sophie's choice the series is maybe the
Speaker 1: least pretentious actor I've ever worked with. There is you know,
Speaker 1: we're aware, unfortunately that we're we're doing a show, um
Speaker 1: about a worst case scenario, about something that is all
Speaker 1: too familiar to us. Now. I keep this is another
Speaker 1: one of those moments, um, where I think as a
Speaker 1: country and all across the world, we're being reminded that uh, misogyny, racism, sexism, fascism.
Speaker 1: They're always in the next room doing push ups and UM.
Speaker 1: To be able to be part of a show that
Speaker 1: is uh, that is saying something on top of it
Speaker 1: being this kind of extraordinary for me, a very lucky
Speaker 1: person creative uh experience. There there is uh I know
Speaker 1: doing stuff with with Lizzie, which is an extraordinary thing, uh,
Speaker 1: given the fact that I met her when when she
Speaker 1: was seventeen. Um, there's on this show the takes that work.
Speaker 1: Uh you you and I felt this with Anne too.
Speaker 1: It's like you get surprised, you're you're you're surprised by
Speaker 1: what's happening, and it's a it's a function of the writing.
Speaker 1: I also love what what Anne was saying, combined with
Speaker 1: with what what Bruce is saying in a lesser show,
Speaker 1: people have epiphanies and become heroes. Uh, that's an insult
Speaker 1: to what a character like June is up against. And
Speaker 1: what Anne just said I think is really true is
Speaker 1: that I start feeling this this, this this kind of love, uh,
Speaker 1: you know, for for for aunt Lydia, who I begin
Speaker 1: to feel to understand absolutely for June in a way
Speaker 1: that mirrors what I feel. Um about working with Lizzie
Speaker 1: again after all these years. Um. Some reporters said, you know,
Speaker 1: what does Lawrence feel about her? And I'm like, he
Speaker 1: loves her, he doesn't know, but she's leading him. He
Speaker 1: doesn't even know it. Um, But I realized I feel
Speaker 1: about June. H Lawrence feels about June the way I
Speaker 1: feel about Lizzie. It's it's like it's it's the way
Speaker 1: I feel about my grown up children. It's like, oh
Speaker 1: my god, I can't believe what you became. And and
Speaker 1: you know you're I watched that episode. I was. I
Speaker 1: texted Lizzie. I said, okay, so you can direct to
Speaker 1: like what's next the fucking cello? I mean, it was,
Speaker 1: it was, it was incredible. So that but there's something
Speaker 1: about this show that I love that Anne was talking about,
Speaker 1: which is uh, somewhere in the solution to these intractable problems,
Speaker 1: humanity and love in the darkest of circumstances can shine through.
Speaker 1: We'll be right back, McKenna. I mean, first of all,
Speaker 1: high here you are with this extraordinary group of actors,
Speaker 1: and um, how old are you McKenna? Um, I'll be
Speaker 1: fifteen in June? Holy cow? Okay, So what can you
Speaker 1: describe what it was like for you? First of all,
Speaker 1: your character is so fascinating to me, but just the
Speaker 1: very idea of coming into this group of professionals as
Speaker 1: of almost fifteen year old, right, can you can you
Speaker 1: share with us, uh, just what this experience has been
Speaker 1: like for you? Well, I am new here. It's it's interesting.
Speaker 1: I haven't really had a chance to talk to most
Speaker 1: of the people here yet, so it's it's definitely a
Speaker 1: little bit scary because in preparing for the role, I've
Speaker 1: I've bench watched Handmaids and there's not one bad actor
Speaker 1: on the show. So I did not want to be
Speaker 1: the person to break that perfect track record. It's just
Speaker 1: it's really been a great experience to be able to
Speaker 1: be part of a show that speaks out about so
Speaker 1: many topics and something that reaches such a wide audience,
Speaker 1: especially getting able being able to work with Ms Lizzie
Speaker 1: as a director. That was an incredible experience. She's I
Speaker 1: can I put it into wards. It was absolutely magnificent.
Speaker 1: But it's been something that I really hope that I
Speaker 1: get to come back to and it's I've loved it.
Speaker 1: And when you when you when you set it, you
Speaker 1: know your character is interesting because she's braddy and brave
Speaker 1: at the same time. And um, I how did you
Speaker 1: wrap your head around kind of showing the many sides
Speaker 1: of her? Well, like you said, she is really fascinating,
Speaker 1: And I think it's less um bratty. It's just more
Speaker 1: of this. It's figuring out how to mix uh, how
Speaker 1: mature and like she is the mistress of this household,
Speaker 1: but at the end of the day, she is still
Speaker 1: unabused young lady. It's it's trying to figure out how
Speaker 1: to mix together her immaturity and her being the brave
Speaker 1: young gillyandsa briber that she is, um it and prepare.
Speaker 1: I did watch a lot of um interviews with young
Speaker 1: women who had been abused or had gone through situations
Speaker 1: like Um, she did, so I I wanted to make
Speaker 1: sure that I accurately betrayed her because there is no
Speaker 1: one way to play um Mrs Keith to play her abuse,
Speaker 1: and I just wanted to make sure that I definitely
Speaker 1: did it right, so to say at fifteen, I'm pretty
Speaker 1: blown away by you right now, and Bruce, you need
Speaker 1: to keep her around. And I think regardless, you have
Speaker 1: an incredible future ahead of you. Maybe you could like
Speaker 1: anchor a newscast. I don't know, but you're acting was
Speaker 1: phenomenal and you were obviously wise beyond your years. Max.
Speaker 1: I haven't forgotten about you, Kai Max. You know, I
Speaker 1: think probably with with your character, that again must have
Speaker 1: been a real challenge because you had to incorporate almost
Speaker 1: two different people, um in in your role, staying in
Speaker 1: Giliad and yet wanting the best for June and also
Speaker 1: having this streak of humanity. Um well, I love doing
Speaker 1: the season. I think we we all did. Um. There
Speaker 1: was so much more to explore with all these characters.
Speaker 1: And Nick can be very opaque, right, Um he's so
Speaker 1: spy on a spy on spy and at the same
Speaker 1: time I see him through rose tinted lenses and have
Speaker 1: always been quietly hoping that his moral compasses in the
Speaker 1: right place, and I was very relieved this year. The
Speaker 1: True North seems to be heading in the right direction.
Speaker 1: And just to echo what everyone's been saying, I think,
Speaker 1: you know, getting to work with Lizzie as a filmmaker
Speaker 1: pushed all of us, you know, I think it's the
Speaker 1: best work I've done on the show, with a lot
Speaker 1: of people's best work's done on the show. She she
Speaker 1: had a way of sort of extracting something from us
Speaker 1: that was really exciting and it was a joy to
Speaker 1: do it. Joe, I, I want to have you talk
Speaker 1: a little bit about playing someone and maybe Van you
Speaker 1: could chine in on someone who was just so awful
Speaker 1: and so evil. And I'm sure are we talking about
Speaker 1: the same character. I'm not sure, And I don't know.
Speaker 1: Does that start to kind of permeate your your psyche
Speaker 1: a little bit? And um, you know, just compared to
Speaker 1: many of your other roles that you've you know, you're
Speaker 1: such a distinguished actor. What has been like too to
Speaker 1: play someone, um, someone like this who completely has lost
Speaker 1: his humanity along the way. Well, I feel sometimes I've
Speaker 1: been cast this sort of dashing, um leading guy, and
Speaker 1: I feel in some ways I feel like, um, a
Speaker 1: character actor trapped in a leading man's body. And so
Speaker 1: this this character allows me to sort of get into
Speaker 1: an area I wouldn't normally be cast in. UM. So
Speaker 1: i've I've relished that, UM, but I don't. I haven't
Speaker 1: relished as people might relish playing nasty people. I haven't
Speaker 1: relished actually that part of his psyche because it's something
Speaker 1: that I'm reminded of when I come offset, I read
Speaker 1: an article, I hear something has happened along the lines
Speaker 1: that Fred Waterford might do. And so I just feel
Speaker 1: like in the world of Outward and Bruce and Dystopia, UM,
Speaker 1: I don't feel and I've ever really escaped it, and
Speaker 1: especially as I have two young daughters and an amazing wife,
Speaker 1: and the show has definitely refocused and recalibrated my appreciation
Speaker 1: of the psyche of women and how important they are
Speaker 1: in my life, and so playing someone like Fred, you know,
Speaker 1: I feel, I feel there's a big part of me
Speaker 1: feels kind of a shame that this is what I
Speaker 1: might have to show my daughters one day because it
Speaker 1: is their dad, but he's and it's not their dad,
Speaker 1: but but there are themes that are so pervasive, sadly
Speaker 1: within our society and continue to be so. And so
Speaker 1: I found I found that actually playing it and stepping
Speaker 1: back into the real world and sort of seeing Fred
Speaker 1: on the front pages of a news article or something
Speaker 1: in some way, shape or form in some industry and
Speaker 1: some business elsewhere, that there's sort of the awfulness of patriarchy,
Speaker 1: the awfulness of the pathetic nous of of um, of
Speaker 1: patriarchy really at its words, the michot misogyny and and um.
Speaker 1: So it's been difficult, yeah, and I can't wait to
Speaker 1: shake off that itchy beard because he's that's a synonymous
Speaker 1: with Fred and so um. Yeah, it is weird and
Speaker 1: tough and um and ugly and the tentacles of the
Speaker 1: man are pervasive. But it sounds like it's changed your
Speaker 1: not not changed your personal behavior. I think that's a
Speaker 1: little extreme, but it's made to recognize things that have
Speaker 1: resulted in a deeper, more meaningful, and more enlightened relationship
Speaker 1: with the women in your life. Absolutely, I mean it's
Speaker 1: pulped me um and and it's it's the narrative has
Speaker 1: kept me suspended in a way where I'm deeply reflective. UM. Yeah,
Speaker 1: daily and Evan. I you know, Serena is so fascinating
Speaker 1: to me because she does seem to um vacilate. I mean,
Speaker 1: not not a ton, but you do see these glimmers
Speaker 1: of hope. And I'm always thinking, Uh, you know, Serena,
Speaker 1: You've got it in you. And I'm curious what it
Speaker 1: what it's been like for you to play someone who's
Speaker 1: so complicated and misguided and honestly so lost at certain
Speaker 1: moments in her life. Yeah, I think UM I somewhat
Speaker 1: echo what Joe was saying that it I think at
Speaker 1: first it was really confronting UM to play someone so
Speaker 1: awful and and I think especially as an actress, as
Speaker 1: a as a female, UM, I don't know that you
Speaker 1: ever really expect to play UM the role of the rapist,
Speaker 1: and not that I'm I am the actual physical rapist. Certainly,
Speaker 1: you know the characters is there and perpetuating the situation obviously,
Speaker 1: So it is that part of it is really kind
Speaker 1: of confronting, and and I think for the first season
Speaker 1: it was very it took a little while to sort
Speaker 1: of get used to UM, you know, like screaming at
Speaker 1: Lizzie and scenes or UM just being awful in general
Speaker 1: in scenes. But but now that I'm used to it, um,
Speaker 1: I just love getting into it. I mean, this is
Speaker 1: a role, uh that is one of my most favorite
Speaker 1: things that I've ever done. It is so intricate and complex,
Speaker 1: and I'm so grateful to be the person that gets
Speaker 1: to play Serena. It is just it is just an
Speaker 1: endless amount of possibilities on set and when we get
Speaker 1: to play these characters, and I know everyone feels the
Speaker 1: same way with the words that we get to speak
Speaker 1: and the writing and um, and the and the actors
Speaker 1: and all of all of the people we get to
Speaker 1: work with. The possibilities are just endless, and it's just
Speaker 1: so great to be able to sink my teeth into
Speaker 1: this role that I mean can really only be described
Speaker 1: as epically juicy, you know, as a performer, as an actor.
Speaker 1: And there's something fascinating about exploring female misogyny too, isn't there? Yeah,
Speaker 1: and and and people don't want to talk about, but
Speaker 1: it very much exists in the culture one thousand percent
Speaker 1: and what we've been conditioned to as as women, Um,
Speaker 1: you know, even in day life, even as a mother,
Speaker 1: in my postal life, I experienced sort of social misogynistic
Speaker 1: conditioning that that I've noticed in women that they don't
Speaker 1: necessarily know that they're they're doing, but they're doing it.
Speaker 1: And yeah, it's it's really fascinating to explore. You know,
Speaker 1: everyone was waiting, including myself, with bated breath for this season,
Speaker 1: and I'm curious to Warren about the challenges that were
Speaker 1: posed by the pandemic when it came to actually bringing
Speaker 1: this to Fruition. Well, there are a lot of challenges. Um.
Speaker 1: First and foremost, we needed to create a safe environment
Speaker 1: for this cast and our crew. Otherwise we knew they'd leave,
Speaker 1: they wouldn't stay and work if the environment wasn't safe.
Speaker 1: So six months of planning, hundreds of zooms, medical consultants
Speaker 1: that we're taking us through all of the precautions. We
Speaker 1: needed to follow a forty page protocol document that we
Speaker 1: needed to execute millions of dollars um and um, and
Speaker 1: I think uniquely year four of Handmade's Tale, we were
Speaker 1: nomadic in our storytelling, so we couldn't go to one stage,
Speaker 1: create a bubble and just say that's it, that's how
Speaker 1: we're going to function, because literally it's a road show.
Speaker 1: This year, there is no home base. We're out there,
Speaker 1: um telling this story, and so that was particularly demanding.
Speaker 1: When it's all said and done, UM, year four over
Speaker 1: twenty seven thousand COVID tests, eleven positives and none of
Speaker 1: those were connected. Those were all individual. So what Bruce
Speaker 1: and I like to say is last year, where was
Speaker 1: the safest place on the planet if you were working
Speaker 1: on the handmade style? Bruce, did you have to alter
Speaker 1: any of the storylines given sort of the restrictions that
Speaker 1: you were dealing with in the protocols that you had
Speaker 1: to follow? Oh? Absolutely, I think we Um, there was
Speaker 1: just the practical aspect. The first practical aspect was creating
Speaker 1: a safe environment, and that really required us to make
Speaker 1: some choices right at the beginning. I mean, it's a
Speaker 1: question of how many people you have, how many people
Speaker 1: you are, you know, the normal amount of people a
Speaker 1: camera versus reduced number. But uh, you know, all of
Speaker 1: these people on this panel went to herculean efforts to
Speaker 1: just to get there. Um. You know, for Sam to
Speaker 1: work one day, it's two weeks of quarantine on either side. Um,
Speaker 1: So he gave us a month to work for four
Speaker 1: hours and everybody did so. Yes, the story changed, and
Speaker 1: these guys took on a lot more they had. They
Speaker 1: had to fill in scenes that we didn't exist emotionally
Speaker 1: because we were we didn't have Zallye Ashton to film
Speaker 1: the scenes we needed with Samira to lead up to
Speaker 1: the other scenes because the math just didn't work out.
Speaker 1: She couldn't come, So we rewrote a lot um and
Speaker 1: these all of these people were so flexible and found
Speaker 1: ways to make the story points work even when we
Speaker 1: you know, really didn't have the location or humans beings
Speaker 1: around that we could use in the set. They really
Speaker 1: made it come alive. So it was a remarkable year
Speaker 1: in terms of flexibility. But me being flexible is easy.
Speaker 1: These guys being flexible is much much much harder. So
Speaker 1: they were amazing. Elizabeth, I wanted to ask you, um
Speaker 1: and of course everyone here who had to get in
Speaker 1: front of the camera, how um I mean, you all
Speaker 1: render such extraordinary performances, each and every one of you,
Speaker 1: But to be able to do it and to summon
Speaker 1: the emotion uh without in a less than linear way,
Speaker 1: given the kinds of things that you had to do
Speaker 1: to accommodate, how difficult was that for you all to
Speaker 1: kind of have to do things herky jerky uh and
Speaker 1: accommodate sort of all the restrictions that came with this pandemic. UM.
Speaker 1: I think I kind of echo what Bruce said in
Speaker 1: UM that it's my job. I mean, it's our job
Speaker 1: to figure out how to tell a story UM in
Speaker 1: the way that production is asking us to tell it. UM.
Speaker 1: And we did, have, of course, more challenges and more
Speaker 1: restrictions and more things to to think about. But once
Speaker 1: we established, I think, as as a production and as producers,
Speaker 1: that we were going to be an safe environment, we
Speaker 1: were able to communicate that to everybody, to the cast
Speaker 1: and crew, and it honestly felt like we came together
Speaker 1: in a closer and stronger and more collaborative way than ever.
Speaker 1: I think the time apart the time at home, the
Speaker 1: time not working and not acting and not getting to
Speaker 1: do what we love for six months, I know, I know,
Speaker 1: at least I can speak for myself, it made me
Speaker 1: miss it and it made me appreciate it all the
Speaker 1: much more and appreciate the familial aspects as well of
Speaker 1: just being on a set. And I think we as
Speaker 1: actors actually all kind of became closer friends this year. Uh.
Speaker 1: You know, I got to work with actors that I
Speaker 1: don't usually get to work with and spend time with them,
Speaker 1: and and I think we just, you know, the crew
Speaker 1: just kind of banded around us, and everyone wanted to
Speaker 1: be there, and everyone was so grateful to be able
Speaker 1: to be back at work and back at work on
Speaker 1: something that we're so proud of. UM. So, I guess
Speaker 1: it didn't feel as much of um as a challenger
Speaker 1: or something negative. It felt like a very positive experience. Lizzie,
Speaker 1: what about finally getting out of Gillyad? Of course June
Speaker 1: does against her wishes, but as a viewer, I was
Speaker 1: grateful because I don't think I would have been able
Speaker 1: to handle that if you hadn't finally been able to escape,
Speaker 1: but it did. It was so interesting how you all
Speaker 1: were able to I think deal with June's trauma, and
Speaker 1: trauma is such an important, I think theme of this season. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think it was. It was really important to us.
Speaker 1: I'm glad you are talking about it because it was
Speaker 1: really important to us to hold on to that pretty tightly. Um.
Speaker 1: You know, I think there's a version that a show
Speaker 1: could do that would be very different from from what
Speaker 1: we did, and in uh, particularly seven eight nine and ten.
Speaker 1: And it was really really important for me too to
Speaker 1: be able to accurately portray what that experience would be
Speaker 1: like for her coming out of what she comes out
Speaker 1: of that, She's not going to have a perfect relationship
Speaker 1: with her husband, with her friends, you know, with people
Speaker 1: who are trying to help her. It's not going to
Speaker 1: be easy and um, and she's never going to be
Speaker 1: the same. And and that story was told beautifully in
Speaker 1: the writing as well. You know, we always just you know,
Speaker 1: we end up following these beautiful maps. Um. But it
Speaker 1: was it was very very important to us and and
Speaker 1: for me personally, it was the back half of the
Speaker 1: season was was so cool because I got to work
Speaker 1: with these actors that are that are all here, uh
Speaker 1: you know, I got to work with sam I got
Speaker 1: to I got to reunite with with Luke and and
Speaker 1: have all of this incredible material that we had. I
Speaker 1: had scenes with Samara and Alexis and Amanda, and it
Speaker 1: was like it was it was like I had all
Speaker 1: this new material to play to speak to your point
Speaker 1: about is there more story to tell? I had all
Speaker 1: this new this new stuff. I had all these new scenes,
Speaker 1: these new relationships to explore. Um, it was fantastic and
Speaker 1: O T I think that, you know, I think that
Speaker 1: people watching really really felt for you, because I think
Speaker 1: that trauma affects not only the person who's endured trauma,
Speaker 1: but of course the people around that individual, and the
Speaker 1: feeling of helplessness and confusion and having your partner lose
Speaker 1: a piece of herself. Talk to us about some of
Speaker 1: the challenges a plane Luke this season, you know, and
Speaker 1: all the anticipation and then all the expectations that aren't met. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean, to be honest, it wasn't really that challenging
Speaker 1: to the extent to which and the writing is so good,
Speaker 1: it's so there, and of course Lizzie is always just
Speaker 1: so genius that you just kind of like stand opposite
Speaker 1: her and like trying to reflect back some on what
Speaker 1: you're getting. So so so like on an artistic level,
Speaker 1: that's just like the fun of it, you know, but
Speaker 1: I think from a character level, you know, Luke for
Speaker 1: three years has had this pentop need to be connected
Speaker 1: to his daughter, connected to his wife, and has been separated.
Speaker 1: Like I say, it happens to a lot of refugee
Speaker 1: people that separated from their families, and so it's really
Speaker 1: challenging for him to get this reunion but yet they're
Speaker 1: not yet still connected and for him to try and
Speaker 1: bridge that gap and and the ways that they fail.
Speaker 1: I think it was really well written, and so yeah,
Speaker 1: it was. It was exciting to do as an actor,
Speaker 1: but I guess tough for Paul. Look, I'm a little
Speaker 1: freaked out to hear you speak ot. I'm not gonna why.
Speaker 1: I love it. Every time I'm like, oh, yeah, that's right.
Speaker 1: And in Pruce when when you you know, I do.
Speaker 1: I wish that we had some of the writers because
Speaker 1: the writing is I mean, every aspect of the show
Speaker 1: is phenomenal, the cinematography, the the acting, of course, but
Speaker 1: the writing. And did you consult people who are experts
Speaker 1: on trauma and on kind of what this experience might
Speaker 1: be like or did the writer's room to talk to
Speaker 1: some of those folks. Absolutely, I mean we rely on
Speaker 1: experts a lot, so uh. We certainly brought a ton
Speaker 1: of people in from the u n They've been very helpful.
Speaker 1: The u n h c R has been helpful, the
Speaker 1: Criminal Court, International Criminal Court has been helpful. But yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean I think that the whole point of the show,
Speaker 1: the whole point of this if is if you're going
Speaker 1: to show trauma, you want to show a specific experience
Speaker 1: of trauma and recovery from trauma, not a generalized one.
Speaker 1: And what these guys have done Samira, Alexis, Amanda and
Speaker 1: O T. They've shown you what it's like to recover
Speaker 1: from trauma in Gilead adam Gilead into Toronto. They've all
Speaker 1: had very very different experiences. And so we've built this
Speaker 1: skeleton of possible routes and then you dropped June into
Speaker 1: it and she has her own specific experience. And I
Speaker 1: think what we're trying to say is there is no
Speaker 1: trauma throws a bomb into your life and it explodes
Speaker 1: and it changes everything, and there's no road map that
Speaker 1: everybody is following. And on our show, we have this
Speaker 1: extraordinary collection of actors and we've seen them all go
Speaker 1: through it and the messages. Everybody's journey through this is
Speaker 1: absolutely different, and some are health some seem healthier from
Speaker 1: the outside, and some seemless healthy from the outside. But
Speaker 1: everybody has an individual journey through trauma. And and not
Speaker 1: only does Luke and does O T. S character Luke
Speaker 1: have to kind of navigate that but Alexis you do
Speaker 1: as well, not only personally, but in terms of your
Speaker 1: relationship with June. And and of course you know the
Speaker 1: Moura and Emily are both i think kind of conflicted
Speaker 1: about their relationship with June, and I'm curious to Alexis, how,
Speaker 1: how why that was so important to show this interplay
Speaker 1: to be problematic in many ways, and and for your
Speaker 1: character to show how how June had been damaged as
Speaker 1: well and the impact it had on her friendships, not
Speaker 1: simply her marriage. Yeah. I think in the scene where
Speaker 1: Moira and Um Emily talk about June's rescuing all the
Speaker 1: children and how it left you know, so much to
Speaker 1: figure out, and how they both individually had a little
Speaker 1: bit of anger toward her, it's not really what you
Speaker 1: expect them to reveal in that moment. They're essentially trying
Speaker 1: to fill out her UM see her plan through what
Speaker 1: kind of do the next step of what she of
Speaker 1: what she did um placing all the children in homes.
Speaker 1: But it shows that, you know, it's a very complicated
Speaker 1: UM experience, Even like supporting one another through their recovery
Speaker 1: from trauma, it's so multilayered and different for each person.
Speaker 1: So as those women interact and try to support each other,
Speaker 1: all kinds of emotions come up and it's really messy
Speaker 1: and um and as Moira says, even though you know
Speaker 1: she feels angry towards June, she loves her, you know,
Speaker 1: and she she supports her and she wants to see
Speaker 1: her back. And then and then they do get her back,
Speaker 1: and um, and that's everything because it brings up everything
Speaker 1: and all these women, um that to have her back,
Speaker 1: because um, each one has triggered in a different way,
Speaker 1: and it just brings the story to this incredible culmination.
Speaker 1: And in fact, these reunion scenes are so so moving
Speaker 1: and gratifying for someone who's been watching this from the
Speaker 1: very beginning. You know, you're so invested in these characters
Speaker 1: and you're so hoping that they will have these reunions.
Speaker 1: And Samir, was it, uh? You know, it's just pack
Speaker 1: such an emotional punch And what was that for you
Speaker 1: to to come back to the character of June, someone
Speaker 1: that you haven't seen for so long? And did you
Speaker 1: all have to get back into an acting groove? Uh?
Speaker 1: Because as as Lizzie just said, you all really didn't
Speaker 1: do much work together for for quite a while between seasons.
Speaker 1: It was interesting to me, I think this season to
Speaker 1: see the parallels between relationship and Samira and Lizzie's relationship. Uh, June,
Speaker 1: I mean like June is so I was so Samia
Speaker 1: was excited to read that this was going to happen.
Speaker 1: And I was so excited, number one, to as even
Speaker 1: as a fan, even to think about fans watching the
Speaker 1: show to finally see this, this thing that we have
Speaker 1: been waiting for for so long. But also I Samara
Speaker 1: was so excited to be back on screen with Lizzie.
Speaker 1: I not wait. I remember those very that very first
Speaker 1: season and then those very first episode had with Lizzie
Speaker 1: and how electric it felt for me and how fulfilled
Speaker 1: I felt as an actor to be on screen with
Speaker 1: someone like Lizzie and like the things that she brings
Speaker 1: out I feel like in me as an actor. Um,
Speaker 1: it's really really really exciting to be on screen and
Speaker 1: to have that that sort of sort of feels like
Speaker 1: I feel like Lizzie has said this before, like a
Speaker 1: tennis match almost that um that I feel like I'm
Speaker 1: just trying to give her the ball back as strong
Speaker 1: as she gives it to me. But yeah, I just
Speaker 1: I'm I'm very, very very happy that we finally got
Speaker 1: It's so satisfying, Um, to finally touch her, to not
Speaker 1: talk about June so much, but to actually have her
Speaker 1: in front of me was indescribable. Damn. I'm just curious
Speaker 1: that you know, here you you you you become a
Speaker 1: part of the show that is so established, and you're
Speaker 1: this brand new character is kind of a psychological mediator
Speaker 1: taking it all in. You're you're a bit of an enigma.
Speaker 1: I think throughout you've become less so I think as
Speaker 1: the season goes on. But what was it like just
Speaker 1: jumping into this group and and being part of what
Speaker 1: I'm sure felt like a family and what just what
Speaker 1: was it like for you to be a part of
Speaker 1: this show? Well, my first job is, you know, as
Speaker 1: a new cog, is to not break the machine because
Speaker 1: it's so well oiled. And you know, these actors in
Speaker 1: the writing, Um, you know, it was such an honor
Speaker 1: this year to be outside of just being with the
Speaker 1: Waterford's all the time, who are have some problems, um,
Speaker 1: you see, and you know it's such it I Um,
Speaker 1: I enjoy watching these actors in every facet as a
Speaker 1: fan and to work with them you know, you just
Speaker 1: you know, if I'm going to be I was telling
Speaker 1: Warren and Amanda, if I'm gonna be quarantined anywhere. Um,
Speaker 1: it's good to be quarantined and to come out of
Speaker 1: it with a show like a handmade's Tale and feel like, well,
Speaker 1: that was time well spent. You know. Always, if I'm
Speaker 1: going to be away from my family, I'm glad it's
Speaker 1: with people as talented as this. So talk a little
Speaker 1: bit about the requirements for playing Mark. He had to
Speaker 1: kind of not reveal very much of himself and you
Speaker 1: have a very you guys are all actors, so I
Speaker 1: don't really have eaten the terminology for this, but a
Speaker 1: very lying It's called okay, come on now, internalized or
Speaker 1: internal character and um. And I'm just curious about what
Speaker 1: it was like playing this character who you can tell
Speaker 1: Serena is getting under his skin a little bit, but
Speaker 1: you can't really read him totally, at least in many
Speaker 1: of the episodes. Yeah, I think one of the mysteries
Speaker 1: watching the show is, you know, trying to figure out
Speaker 1: where he stands. And I think where he stands is
Speaker 1: he's just trying to do what's best for um, for America.
Speaker 1: For what's left of America, and so unfortunately that makes
Speaker 1: him extremely diplomatic, so you can't really quite tell what
Speaker 1: he's He's hard to read. Yeah, he's hard to read. Um.
Speaker 1: But you know, if anybody can break somebody down, it's uh,
Speaker 1: it's it's Junas. So thankfully we get by the end
Speaker 1: of the season there's someone who's going to get under
Speaker 1: his skin. I think you swear for the first time,
Speaker 1: don't you swear? That's right, Mark swear from the very
Speaker 1: first time, that's right. Yeah, he gets very aggressive and Amanda,
Speaker 1: of course Rita. You we learn more about Rita. Um.
Speaker 1: I think she reveals herself throughout the series, but I
Speaker 1: think we see Rita in a whole new light in
Speaker 1: this season and her struggles and her her having to
Speaker 1: straddle these two worlds. She's a woman of few words,
Speaker 1: as we've seen, and this is really the first season
Speaker 1: where she because there's a substantial amount of dialogue for her.
Speaker 1: And I've always leaned on her physicality to convey emotion,
Speaker 1: to convey where I where she is in any scene,
Speaker 1: and it was really important bringing that physicality still to Gilead.
Speaker 1: I did a lot of research on Syrian refugees and uh,
Speaker 1: particularly Syrian refugees who have come to Canada, who have
Speaker 1: fled horrific conditions but still desperately miss a lot of
Speaker 1: things about home and still want to dress similarly to home,
Speaker 1: who want to bring food and senses and smells from home,
Speaker 1: And so I was really trying to weave that in
Speaker 1: to this season as well. Still, class Cans had bowed
Speaker 1: forward just her general physicality, simply because just because she
Speaker 1: was moved from Giliad doesn't mean that Gilead has been
Speaker 1: moved from her. And only uh we see a scene
Speaker 1: with Rita eating sushi purposefully did I shared to sort
Speaker 1: of change her physicality because I do think that um,
Speaker 1: a lot of people who have fled circumstances, who have
Speaker 1: fled the horrific conditions, still carry it with them for
Speaker 1: quite some time. And I felt it important to pay
Speaker 1: homage the writing to the vision of the story, but
Speaker 1: also to audience members who may have had similar situations
Speaker 1: or or or experiences to uh sort of uh try
Speaker 1: to nod to them and tell their truth as much
Speaker 1: as I could. I wanted to ask Lizzie about directing,
Speaker 1: because um, this season you direct how many episodes three, three,
Speaker 1: and and I'm curious about I've always been fascinated about
Speaker 1: an actor who is able to direct herself himself themselves,
Speaker 1: And I'm wondering about that, challenges of that and what
Speaker 1: you learned in the process. Um, you know, I mean,
Speaker 1: I've always been an actor who's very aware of the visuals.
Speaker 1: I've always been actors likes to be very aware of
Speaker 1: what's happening on set. I didn't realize this until I
Speaker 1: started directing that I I've actually been kind of more
Speaker 1: of a director than I thought for a long time. UM.
Speaker 1: I like to know about the other characters. I like
Speaker 1: to know what they're thinking. I like to know what
Speaker 1: the actor's thought processes have been. I like to, you know,
Speaker 1: know about the costumes and the sets. So I've always
Speaker 1: kind of been like that. Um. The biggest challenge for
Speaker 1: me was, I suppose not having that sounding board of
Speaker 1: a director to to bounce off of. UM. But I
Speaker 1: did have so many incredible, beautiful, talented sounding boards, um,
Speaker 1: you know, with with with Bruce, and with with our
Speaker 1: writers and my deep piece Stuart Biddlecomb and production design
Speaker 1: Elizabeth Williams, and then all of these actors. Uh, you know,
Speaker 1: I didn't. I never felt alone or or unsupported at all. UM,
Speaker 1: and all the actors that aren't here in in this panel, UM,
Speaker 1: so I it wasn't as much of UM, it wasn't. I.
Speaker 1: It was difficult. It was the hardest thing I've ever done,
Speaker 1: for sure, but it wasn't again like a negative challenge.
Speaker 1: It was a very positive challenge, and I felt very supported.
Speaker 1: It's just not a one man job. I mean, they're
Speaker 1: you know, it's just something you you you just don't
Speaker 1: do alone. And whether you're an actor or a producer
Speaker 1: or whatever you do on this in this industry and
Speaker 1: this in filmmaking, it's just it's not a it's not
Speaker 1: a one man band. So UM, it was hard in
Speaker 1: a lot of hours and a lot of thinking and
Speaker 1: a lot of you know, all of that, a lot
Speaker 1: of work. But at the same time it was also
Speaker 1: the probably the most fulfilling thing I've ever done. And
Speaker 1: I mean, look at these guys. I mean the chance
Speaker 1: to get to to talk to them as a director
Speaker 1: and to um offer them a thought and then send
Speaker 1: them and sit at the monitor and see what they
Speaker 1: do with that thought is the most extraordinary thing I've
Speaker 1: ever seen. I had a whole new appreciation for for
Speaker 1: what they do. UM, even though I'm an actor, so
Speaker 1: it was it was incredibly fulfilling. I'm just going to
Speaker 1: go around and ask what for you, as both actors
Speaker 1: and people who watch this show. If you do watch yourselves,
Speaker 1: I don't know, some people are weird like that. But
Speaker 1: what you what is it that you think makes it
Speaker 1: work so well? And Alexis I'll start with you, UM
Speaker 1: big fan by the way, yes, thank you. UM. What
Speaker 1: I mean so many things. I think everybody really brings
Speaker 1: their best, UM, so many intelligent, creative and hard working
Speaker 1: UM professionals. Every every cog in the wheel is firing
Speaker 1: a full blast when they when they come to set
Speaker 1: or when they prepare to shoot this. So I think,
Speaker 1: I mean that's it's the team that Bruce and Warren
Speaker 1: and Lezzie have assembled. And UM, the creative tone that
Speaker 1: you talked about, the beautiful filters and all the colors.
Speaker 1: I mean, that was a vision right from the start,
Speaker 1: UM that they all established with Read Morano, UM our
Speaker 1: director of the first three episodes, and and they've carried
Speaker 1: that through so beautifully. These amazing shots. I mean, yeah,
Speaker 1: I love the visuals that that also I love them
Speaker 1: so much. And then the incredible, incredible writing. Of course, um,
Speaker 1: that's our our map. As what we said, Amanda, what
Speaker 1: would you say when you think about the success of
Speaker 1: the show. I, Uh, it's it's it's the thing that
Speaker 1: I've been the most proud to be a part of. Uh.
Speaker 1: Not not just because of my my love for the
Speaker 1: book and and because I I I'm a huge fan
Speaker 1: of the show, because just to experience being a part
Speaker 1: of a team, and I mean across the board of service, costumes,
Speaker 1: writing through uh everyone wants to up their game every season.
Speaker 1: And I don't know if it's something that's been contagious.
Speaker 1: I don't know if it starts from the top down
Speaker 1: with Lizzy wo and Bruce that I find. That's the
Speaker 1: one singular experience I've had where everyone is competing with
Speaker 1: themselves to be better every season, and usually by season
Speaker 1: four has can sort of rest on their laurels and
Speaker 1: board or sort of phone it in. But it's something
Speaker 1: Oti does this a lot. In a scene. He always
Speaker 1: asked the director like five questions all of the time.
Speaker 1: It's lovely, but it's always wanting to be better and
Speaker 1: keep asking questions, and it's so inspiring as an actor
Speaker 1: that everyone is pushing themselves and then for myself, I
Speaker 1: feel in order to be able to run with these people,
Speaker 1: I'll i'll also have to push myself. So it's affected
Speaker 1: my work outside of the show, which I love and appreciate.
Speaker 1: How like you, Lauren well I, our storytelling journey shows
Speaker 1: us where the strength of this series is um And
Speaker 1: as you started this discussion earlier, Katie, it's a journey
Speaker 1: that's not done UM and so I think we as
Speaker 1: artists and the audience are absolutely attached to that journey.
Speaker 1: And then the way we execute that is with exquisite,
Speaker 1: exquisite beauty, UM covering harsh ugliness, and that's fascinating to
Speaker 1: peel back the beauty of our images to understand how
Speaker 1: how flawed this world of Gilead is. And of course
Speaker 1: you know in the world that we live in, particularly
Speaker 1: over the last four years and it's not over, we
Speaker 1: know that it mirrors UM the real world through the
Speaker 1: themes that that Bruce's is putting on the pages for
Speaker 1: these characters in their journey, and so I think that
Speaker 1: really really resonates Um visually and uh An emotionally. I
Speaker 1: have to say I don't get quite the pit of
Speaker 1: my stomach I did before November. Uh that I used
Speaker 1: to watching a sleeping better Katie. We all we all
Speaker 1: sleep better at night. No really, I was always like
Speaker 1: and I don't quite feel that level of intensity any more.
Speaker 1: So I'm happy for that. But I think in many ways, uh,
Speaker 1: the intersection of real life and vision and the rancor
Speaker 1: that was happening in this country did create the perfect
Speaker 1: I think backdrop for this story, which would have been
Speaker 1: compelling on its own, but I think it just it
Speaker 1: heightened everything you felt watching this story and fold Samira,
Speaker 1: how about you when you think about, like, damn, this
Speaker 1: is a good show and this is why Hey, what
Speaker 1: do you think? Um, I'm not you know, I guess
Speaker 1: I can speak to what I respond to. And um,
Speaker 1: there's something about the camera being so close on an
Speaker 1: actor's face show that really almost I feel like I'm
Speaker 1: peering into some of these people's souls. Um, things that
Speaker 1: Lizzie or Amanda or Alexis subtle things with their eyes,
Speaker 1: a twitch of the upper lip, things like that. Have
Speaker 1: you see? I feel like deeper into their story and
Speaker 1: what is going on with that character that I think
Speaker 1: that I think You're right, Like, sometimes I watch you
Speaker 1: all and it's so subtle, and yet it tells me
Speaker 1: so much about what you're feeling. And I guess that's
Speaker 1: the sign of of truly great acting. So Sam, let's
Speaker 1: go to you. Well, I think Katie, you're hitting on something.
Speaker 1: It's the specificity of the show that is so moral less.
Speaker 1: And I was struck. Here we are ten episodes into
Speaker 1: this fourth season and I had I was having a
Speaker 1: conversation with our costume designer, and I that conversation carried
Speaker 1: over to Joe and the conversation was about not only
Speaker 1: what we're doing in the scenes, but how does what
Speaker 1: how does what we're the story we're telling with Joe's
Speaker 1: are how is that to be received by our audience?
Speaker 1: Are we telling the right message? And that the actors
Speaker 1: and the costume designers and the writers of course, that
Speaker 1: we're all still tuned into that after four seasons. Um,
Speaker 1: you know, that's the thing I'm I'm most impressed and
Speaker 1: moved by on our show is that we're still trying
Speaker 1: to figure out how do we do good? I mean,
Speaker 1: is what we're doing the right thing? So it's sort
Speaker 1: of like the integrity of the story really important to you.
Speaker 1: Ot how about you? Is there anything left? I'm well,
Speaker 1: do you know what for me is like I feel
Speaker 1: like what what Bruce has managed to do and the
Speaker 1: writing team is just great something where I like, on
Speaker 1: an interpersonal level, a lot of people relate to the trauma,
Speaker 1: the relationships, unequal relationships between one and one's boss and
Speaker 1: one and one's partner, one one's um personal who assault
Speaker 1: to you. But then on a on a larger level,
Speaker 1: secding what warm was saying that you know, the themes
Speaker 1: of what's going on in the world and and patriarchy, inequality,
Speaker 1: and you know, regimes which are based on populism and fear.
Speaker 1: I think I think a lot of the audience see
Speaker 1: what's going on in their lives, both in their own
Speaker 1: homes were also out in the world. And I think
Speaker 1: that's what great art does. You know, reflects back to
Speaker 1: your experience. Bruce, I think the right is great. I
Speaker 1: knew you were going to that. Um. I think uh,
Speaker 1: for me, the best thing, especially this season is to
Speaker 1: see to see what a lot of what we do
Speaker 1: is to try to create space for these people to
Speaker 1: do their jobs, to do their jobs without worrying about
Speaker 1: so they're not worrying about. Is someone thinking about the
Speaker 1: story they're not worried about as someone making sure that
Speaker 1: we're not, you know, making a horrible moral choice, all
Speaker 1: those kind of things. And so this season, by creating
Speaker 1: a bubble, hopefully allowed them to not be in a
Speaker 1: COVID world, to exist that way and expands to the
Speaker 1: whole cast and crews. As these guys were saying, I
Speaker 1: think we're a collection of storytellers. And the more we
Speaker 1: are that, and the more everybody is encouraged to do that,
Speaker 1: better off we are. Um. But when I watched the show,
Speaker 1: I I like that it's made with ker and respect
Speaker 1: that you know, it's made carefully and respects the abilities
Speaker 1: of all the people involved and tries to bring those
Speaker 1: abilities to the floor. So that that's what I like
Speaker 1: about it is is that you can tell that the
Speaker 1: craft service people care when you watch the episode. Let's
Speaker 1: end with you, Lizzie, I told I told Lizzie before
Speaker 1: we started that there's been a lot of Elizabeth Moss
Speaker 1: in our home because my husband had never seen mad Men,
Speaker 1: so we've been watching all of mad Men and all
Speaker 1: of Handmade's tales, so we I feel very comfortable, you know,
Speaker 1: looking at you right now, you're in our bedroom every night.
Speaker 1: So but when you think about what makes what makes
Speaker 1: this series work so beautifully, and you've been so fortunate
Speaker 1: to be a part of it, what comes to mind
Speaker 1: for you? Um, it's kind of what Aman it was.
Speaker 1: And Bruce was saying, I feel like, you know what,
Speaker 1: what you see when you end up seeing in the
Speaker 1: episodes looks you know, polished, and we've made decisions and
Speaker 1: it's specific, and and that's it. You see that hour
Speaker 1: of television, and I think what what people obviously don't
Speaker 1: see and shouldn't see are the nine million emails and
Speaker 1: calls and late night calls and early morning calls, conversations
Speaker 1: and all of the work that goes into creating these episodes.
Speaker 1: And everyone cares so much, every department, every actor, every
Speaker 1: person cares so much. And we've all been in this
Speaker 1: business long enough to know that it's not always like that.
Speaker 1: And some people can just come to work and clock
Speaker 1: in and clock out, and that's also fine, but um,
Speaker 1: we somehow have assembled a group of people who that's
Speaker 1: not fine. And everyone gives so much of themselves to
Speaker 1: their role, whether it's an acting role or another role
Speaker 1: on the show, and I I personally think you can
Speaker 1: feel that, and I think you can you can see it.
Speaker 1: I definitely can. And I just want to say congratulations
Speaker 1: for another extraordinary season of The Handmaid's Tale, and I
Speaker 1: can't wait to see what comes next, even though I'm
Speaker 1: a little nervous. But thank you all so much, and
Speaker 1: and thanks for spending this time with me. Next Question
Speaker 1: with Katie Kurik is a production of I Heart Media
Speaker 1: and Katie Kurk Media. The executive producers are me, Katie Curic,
Speaker 1: and Courtney Litz. The supervising producer is Lauren Hansen. Associate
Speaker 1: producers Derek Clements, Adriana Fasio, and Emily Pinto. The show
Speaker 1: is edited and mixed by Derrick Clements. For more information
Speaker 1: about today's episode, or to sign up for my morning newsletter,
Speaker 1: wake Up Call, go to Katie correct dot com. You
Speaker 1: can also find me at Katie Curic on Instagram and
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Speaker 1: Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast,
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. H