Thatâs fascinating.
Munn: My life was happy, even though I didnât know about [that kind of wealth] at all. I think itâs just a really interesting world and a character to play of somebody who now has had a taste of this. And her whole life is being threatened because sheâs in the middle of a divorce, and it could all go away in a heartbeat. If she hadnât known about this life, in this world, it wouldnât matter. But now that she does, it seems unfathomable for her to be happy anywhere else.
I still walk around LA wondering what people do to live in some of these houses, which arenât even mansions, but cost over $2 million or $3 million. Iâm working my butt off and feel like Iâm barely affording rent on my one-bedroom apartment.
Munn: Sometimes I walk down the shopping areas in around Beverly Hills or on Little Santa Monica and see a big store with a name. It has one candle in it. And Iâm like, âHow do you guys afford the rent on this business? What are you selling in there?â But thereâs always somebody who will come around and buy a $50,000 candle.
Itâs so true. And itâs wild. Meanwhile, Amanda, your character, Mel, comes from a different world. How did you relate to the story, and what should we think of Melâs estranged relationship with Coop (Jon Hamm)?
Amanda Peet: Jonathan Tropper wrote about these exes who still have unfinished business, and I think thatâs really fun. Even though theyâre happily shtupping other people, they still canât unstick. I also like books and movies and TV shows that get into that idea of, âDo I really know you? Youâre my spouse. I sleep next to you.â Or, âYouâre my best friend and I know everything about you and I see you every day, but do I really know who you are?â I think thatâs always really suspenseful. And I think itâs really fun that Mel and Coop still want to fuck each other and they have this ongoing romantic saga from college. And yet thereâs a lot of rage.
Munn: What I love about the two of you is that you as Mel broke his heart into pieces. You shattered his heart and he wants no one else in the world but you. And thatâs a really sad thing to watch, especially if youâre this girl.
There are some very heavy themes in this show, but itâs also a bit of a soapy drama.
Munn: These are people who have incredible wealth and are crumbling in front of your eyes. They are destroying their own lives. It is incredible to watch people with so much just systematically lose it all.
Peet: Olivia just articulated it really well. Like I said, itâs really suspenseful to watch someone who has a double life. I think that thatâs such a delicious conceit. And Jon Hammâs character isnât really the only one. Even Oliviaâs character [is trying to] keep up with the Joneses. All these rich people who are teetering on and on the brink of losing it allâ¦like a Jane Austen novel, with these status-obsessed society people.
Your Friends & Neighbors streams on Apple TV+ beginning April 11.