On Wednesday evening, the cast and crew of Max’s will arrive Love death gathered in West Hollywood to celebrate the series premiere.
Based on a true story from Max and Lionsgate Television, it revolves around real-life 1980s housewife Candy Montgomery (played by Elizabeth Olsen) who was framed for the ruthless murder of her friend Betty Gore (Lily Rabe). If the story rings a bell, it’s probably because a show is based on the same events – Hulu’s Sweetsstarring Jessica Biel and Melanie Lynskey — premiered last year.
“It was a big surprise because we were two months into filming Love death when we found out they were telling the same story,” director and executive producer Lesli Linka Glatter explains of the coincidence. “We had taken out an option on the rights to the Texas monthly articles and the non-fiction book, so we were surprised. But it’s public domain material, so there’s nothing we can do about that.”
She continued, “We trusted the way we told the story, which is much more about the characters than just a true crime drama. I am much more interested in why this happened than just how.”
As for whether Olsen ever interacted with fellow actress Biel, who plays Candy in the Hulu version of the story, Olsen notes that the two actresses didn’t discuss the roles during their respective film trials. “We started filming our show before they did,” Olsen explained, “so the only time I ever talked to her about it was a few weeks ago.”
However, Jesse Plemons, who plays Betty’s husband and Candy’s lover Allan Gore, said he wasn’t too shocked by the two shows’ converging. “It seems like that happens quite regularly,” the actor said. “But it felt like — especially if we were all together and it was coming — it felt like there was an alternate parallel universe where we existed in a different way.”
Elizabeth Olsen and Jesse Plemons
Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
From several consecutive Marvel projects, Olsen steps into the complex role of Candy, a housewife who craves risky thrills amid her quiet suburban life. “For episode one, my reaction was, ‘Can I get episode two?'” Olsen said of reading the script. “And when I read them both, I was very interested in figuring out how to play a woman who tries to live a life based on aspirations and the desire for external validation. How firmly do you hold on to that, and what happens if it threatens to be taken away.”
When it came to casting, Glatter said Olsen immediately came to mind. “She has incredible accessibility,” said Glatter. “She makes you go into her eyes and feel something about the human condition. She is so generous in spirit, both as an actor and as a human being.
Olsen’s castmates echoed the sentiment and praised their co-star. “Lizzie is such a great collaborator,” Rabe gushed. “She’s a great scene partner, she’s a great person. I think we had a lot of the same feelings about the relationship. We didn’t want to miss any of the nuance or complexity because there are so many twists and turns along the way.”
Plemons added: “She’s a great actor and has done a great job since she started, but this seemed like a bit of a different character to her. Every time you work with someone this good, your job gets a lot easier.”
Love death‘s first three episodes are now streaming on Max.
