Pop-Culturalist.com

What if the search for love revealed an unsettling truth—that the problem might actually be you? Laid takes this bold premise and delivers a darkly comedic twist on the rom-com. The series follows Ruby (Stephanie Hsu), who discovers her ex-lovers are dying in bizarre ways. To break the curse and move forward, she must confront her past by revisiting her “sex timeline.” With sharp humor and fearless originality, Laid redefines love, relationships, and self-reflection.

At the heart of the show’s brilliance is the creative partnership between Nahnatchka Khan and Sally Bradford. As co-showrunners, the duo brings their writing and vision to life, crafting a story that balances hilarity with heartfelt moments. In our interview, they share how they created a collaborative environment for their cast—including Stephanie Hsu, Zosia Mamet, and Michael Angarano—to bring depth and authenticity to their characters, elevating the show beyond expectations.

The pair also teases what’s in store for audiences, including a lineup of exciting guest stars like Finneas O’Connell, John Early, Kate Berlant, and Chloe Fineman, whose performances seamlessly enhance the show’s offbeat tone.

PC: Nahnatchka, credit to both you and everyone involved because the writing is so sharp and witty. There are moments of levity and heartfelt reflection. You have an ensemble that’s incredibly skilled in both comedy and drama. As one of the co-showrunners and directors, how did you create a space on set for your actors to bring their interpretations to these characters and improvise in a way that felt most authentic to them?
Nahnatchka: That’s such an important aspect, especially when you’re fortunate enough to work with talented performers like Stephanie, Zosia [Mamet], Michael [Angarano], and everyone else involved. The idea of not allowing them to improvise and bring their own perspectives to these characters seems crazy to us. Going in, we felt very strongly about the scripts we had developed in the writers’ room. But we were also confident enough in the storytelling to let everyone do what they do best and bring pieces of themselves to their roles. That’s what truly makes characters feel authentic and real—when the performers inhabit them in ways we as writers might not fully envision. We don’t see Ruby the way Stephanie sees Ruby. We don’t see AJ the way Zosia sees her. They embody those characters in such a unique and specific way. Allowing space for that interpretation elevates everything.

PC: Sally, this is a reimagining of a popular Australian series. For audiences who may already be familiar with it or are discovering it through your work, how did you strike a balance between honoring the source material and putting your own creative stamp on it?
Sally: We loved the premise the moment we heard it. It was one of those ideas where we immediately thought, “We have to do this.” Our goal was to preserve what we loved most about the original—the premise itself and the rom-com element—while also leaning more into those aspects and the death component. We were drawn to everything about it, so we amplified the elements we connected with the most and developed it from there.

PC: At the heart of this series is a female friendship that often proves stronger than any romantic relationship. The two of you have been friends for such a long time. How did you push each other creatively? Were there elements of your co-showrunner that you wanted to infuse into Ruby or AJ?
Sally: It’s funny, we’re not actually friends. [laughs]

Nahnatchka: We’re in two separate rooms right now. This is all magic. [laughs] We’re planning to get friendship bracelets made on Day 1 of shooting.

Sally: We still can.

Nahnatchka: We didn’t, but we still can. [laughs] Sally is one of the best writers out there, period, and she never says yes to anything. So when she said, “Yes, I want to do this,” I thought, “Oh my God, this must be amazing if Sally wants to do it.” It was so fun. We were completely aligned on what we wanted the show to be and how we wanted to push the characters. The writing staff was made up of people we’ve worked with before, so there was already a strong sense of familiarity and trust.

Sally: It all felt surprisingly easy, almost to the point where we wondered, “Are we doing something wrong?” The writers were so good, and the episodes came together quickly. It was such a collaborative process. Nahnatchka has so many strengths. If I have a weakness, she steps in seamlessly. The dynamic comedy that emerged was something we hadn’t entirely anticipated. We knew friendship was central in the Australian version and would be in ours too. But as we broke the season down, we realized more and more that the friendship really became the core of the show. It revealed itself as the beating heart of the story.

PC: You’ll have to make those friendship bracelets in Season 2! Natch, without giving away any spoilers, Ruby revisiting her past relationships opens the door for some really fun guest stars. While I know you can’t reveal too much, what were you ideally looking for in casting those roles?
Nahnatchka: For those roles, we wanted choices that felt really unexpected but also fun. For example, having Finneas [O’Connell] in Episode 1 was perfect. People watching are like, “Wait, is that Finneas?” Everyone knows him as a musician and producer, but he’s also a fantastic actor. That hit exactly the tone we wanted—playful, surprising, and purposeful. We’ve got so many amazing guests this season, like John Early, Kate Berlant, and Chloe Fineman. John Early, by the way, is playing himself! He’s the one celebrity on Ruby’s “sex timeline” that she hooked up with during COVID. That’s really what we were going for—guests we admire and are fans of, but who also fit seamlessly into this world and enhance it in unexpected ways.

Laid premieres on December 19th on Peacock.