Summary

• Amy and Brooke delve into their dysfunctional family after their mother goes missing in Peacock's mystery series Apples Never Fall.
• Essie Randles landed her biggest role to date in the show and found it hard to believe she got her "dream job."
• The ensemble cast, including Alison Brie, Annette Bening and Sam Neill, naturally developed a strong bond on and off-screen as the Delaney family.

Alison Brie and Essie Randles are a dysfunctional pair of sisters in Apples Never Fall. Brie, well-known for her turns in the cult favorite Community and Netflix's GLOW, among many other titles, stars in the Peacock mystery show as Amy, the free-spirited descendant of the Delaney family whose aloof nature makes her something of an outcast. Randles, who finds her breakout role in the show, plays Brooke, the more reserved of the siblings who is in the midst of questioning her decision to marry her chef girlfriend, Gina.

Amy and Brooke find their comfortable lives further upended when their mother, Annette Bening's Joy, goes missing while shopping at a local farmer's market. As they investigate her disappearance, of which their father, Sam Neill's Stan, is the prime suspect, the sisters learn more about their dysfunctional family then they ever thought they'd have to. Alongside Brie, Randles, Bening and Neill, the ensemble Apples Never Fall cast includes A Friend of the Family's Jake Lacy, Georgia Flood, Conor Merrigan Turner, Jeanine Serralles and Dylan Turaisingham.

In anticipation of the show's arrival, Screen Rant interviewed Alison Brie and Essie Randles to discuss Apples Never Fall, the joy of building their sisterly dynamic, Randles landing her biggest role to date, and how the characters are different from those the actors are used to playing.

Randles Had One Thought When She Landed Her Role: "This Doesn't Happen"

Screen Rant: I am so excited to chat about this show with both of you. I'm four episodes in, and it's fantastic so far. Essie, I'd like to turn to you first. This is one of your first big projects. What was it like when you were approached for the show and when you landed the part?

Essie Randles: When I was approached with the show, I guess I auditioned, I did a self-tape, and I did multiple callbacks. And then, when I got the job, I was at work, and my shift had just started —

Alison Brie: Doing what?

Essie Randles: Doing ushering at a theater company, and I went into the locker room, and I took the call from my team, and they said that I got it. I actually fell to the ground and couldn't stop laughing for a while [chuckles], because it seemed so ridiculous to me, because I was like, "This doesn't happen. People don't just get their dream jobs." But I guess I was just extremely lucky.

Well, you're well-deserving of this role! Alison, I'd like to turn to you next, we so often see you play characters with a lot of control in their life, especially like Community, as Annie tries to have everything in control. But what was it like exploring your character in this show, this sort of spiritual, very chaotic type person?

Alison Brie: Thank you for that question. I feel like that's the perfect way to put it, and I was going to use the same term, chaotic, about Amy. It was so fun, it's honestly one of the big reasons why I wanted to work on this show, just to kind of flex a different muscle and get to play a different kind of character. Honestly, when they first sent it to me, and I read the outline of all the characters, I thought that they wanted me to play Brooke, because the character description so sounded like the roles that I've played before. And then when I realized it was Amy, I was like, "Oh my God, how exciting."

It was really fun, and it was a really different style of working for me, because Amy is so open and so emotionally honest. That was sort of the scariest part for me of sort of like, "Wow, what new sides of myself am I going to have to tap into emotionally for this role?" But I love a challenge. I think that's what's great about this job is getting to try different things each go around, and it's exciting to do things that scare you the most.

I really had the space, we were shooting in Australia, there was something nice about being really far from home, in a different strange land, to kind of try to explore different sides of myself and really have the space to dig into some stuff. So, it was a different way of working for me, and I really enjoyed it.

I can see how Brooke might have lined up with some of your past roles, but I'm glad that they approached you for Amy, because much like Essie here, you do a fantastic job with your part.

Essie Randles: That's so funny, because some friends of mine, when they read the book, thought that I was gonna play Amy.

Alison Brie: How funny! They called our agents on the paper and said, "Oh wait." [Laughs]

The Family Dynamic Came "Very Naturally" For The Show's Ensemble Cast

Well, the flip worked for both of you! One thing I love about the show is the dynamic between the siblings. It feels very authentic, it feels very wholesome in parts. What was it like developing that with one another, especially for you two, given you are the sisters in this show?

Alison Brie: I'd say that the bond between all the siblings came very naturally to all of us. We had a siblings group chain that we started, a group chat on WhatsApp that we started, before even meeting in person. Jake and I had met in passing before, so that helped this sort of natural connection. It was really immediate, so we didn't have to fake that chemistry and that comfortability with one another. And we did some character work as well. [Laughs]

Essie Randles: Of course, we did character work, but I think that that time that we got to spend together, us as the sisters, and then also the whole family and the siblings, that work was just as important in building that family dynamic on screen. Just finding a total lack of embarrassment around each other. We just tried things, and threw out new offers in different takes, and didn't feel like we had to keep anything hidden.

Alison Brie: Definitely, and also because we grew to really love each other. I felt like that was the base. As dysfunctional as the Delaney family can be, they do love one another, and that is an undercurrent to the family dynamic. I care about Essie so much, and really, honestly, had this feeling of wanting to protect you a lot of the time. I think that's something that Amy feels, as well. And it was so satisfying when we would get to shoot scenes where you saw the sisters bonding, because I was really feeling that already, I guess.

Essie Randles: Love you.

Alison Brie: Love you! [Chuckles]

I love that, it sounds like such a rewarding experience. Maybe you cast her as your sister in the Community movie if you get that chance!

Alison Brie: I love that! Annie has a sister? We're learning new things all the time!

About Apples Never Fall

Apples Never Fall is based on the New York Times bestselling novel by Liane Moriarty and centers on the seemingly picture-perfect Delaney family. Former tennis coaches Stan (Sam Neill) and Joy (Annette Bening) have sold their successful tennis academy and are ready to start what should be the golden years of their lives. While they look forward to spending time with their four adult children (Alison Brie, Jake Lacy, Conor Merrigan-Turner, Essie Randles), everything changes when a wounded young woman knocks on Joy and Stan's door, bringing the excitement they've been missing. But when Joy suddenly disappears, her children are forced to re-examine their parents' so-called perfect marriage as their family’s darkest secrets begin to surface.

Check out our other Apples Never Fall interviews below:

• Melanie Marnich
• Sam Neill
• Jake Lacy & Conor Merrigan Turner
• Georgia Flood

Apples Never Fall begins streaming on Peacock on March 14.

Source: Screen Rant Plus