[Editor’s note: The following contains some spoilers forLove LifeSeason 2.]
From show creatorSam Boyd, the HBO Max romantic comedy anthology seriesLove Lifefollows millennials on a journey through heartbreak and all the wrong ones, until they find their soulmate. After exploring Darby’s (Anna Kendrick) love life in Season 1, the story of Season 2 is centered around Marcus (William Jackson Harper), as he tries to figure out who he is now that his marriage is over and he wonders if Mia (Jessica Williams) could be the one, or whether they’ll ever even get on the same page.
During this 1-on-1 interview with Collider, Williams talked about why this project was a no-brainer, getting to have some freedom to find the character, having the opportunity to explore the flaws and the ugly parts of the Mia-Marcus relationship, what she loved about Mia as a character, her experience working with Harper (who was also an executive producer on the series), and how she feels about where Mia and Marcus ended up.
Collider: I went on such an emotional journey with Marcus and Mia, as they go through so many ups and downs.
JESSICA WILLIAMS: Yeah, it’s a journey.
When the opportunity to be a part of this came your way, what most appealed to you about the project? Did you like the fact that it’s an anthology, so you still get to tell a full story with them, much like you would in a film, and then it’ll likely move on to somebody else, if there’s another season?
WILLIAMS: Yeah, that’s a great question. You’re the first person to ask me that. It was really cool that it was an anthology and that we could do this contained season. There’s something really exciting about knowing that there’s a beginning, middle and end, and it takes off the pressure of being like, “Oh, God, what are we gonna do in the next season?” It was a complete story. When I signed on forLove Life, I met with the two out of three of the co-showrunners, Sam Boyd and Rachelle Williams, and they had this idea for Mia. They had these big picture placeholders for her character and her journey, and then they trusted me to fill in the blanks. I was really excited to be able to bring this fully formed character to the screen. I was also really excited to work with William Jackson Harper, who’s a beast. So, it was a no-brainer.
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What was that like to have so much freedom with the character and to be a part of the collaboration like that? When they look to you to fill in those blanks, is it scary or is it just really exciting?
WILLIAMS: It’s both. It was really exciting to create this character with them and have her tailor-made to me, but it was also intimidating. Once I settled down with the anxiety of, “Oh, God, how am I gonna create this?,” I just realized it was really about the moment and the moments in every scene that inform her and the choices that she makes. With that in mind, I tried to ensure that I could be as present as possible, in the scenes that I did, especially the scenes with Will, and the scenes with Kimberly Elise and Blair Underwood, who play my parents. I just tried to make sure that I was talking to them as Mia, or speaking with them as Mia, and then hopefully that informed the whole character. That’s what I was hoping.
And what great actors to have as your parents.
WILLIAMS: Oh, my God, they’re incredible.
One of the things that I love about this show is that, unlike with a romantic comedy film where the entire relationship has to play out in 90 minutes or two hours, you have time to show the ugly parts and the flaws and explore reasons why maybe these characters shouldn’t be together. What did you enjoy about really getting to explore the things that we don’t often get to see in a relationship in a movie?
WILLIAMS: The nice thing about TV is how you go on this really long journey and you can sit down and watch it for hours. That, to me, feels really cozy and comforting, knowing that I can return to something every week and enjoy it and sit with these characters. I really love that we got the opportunity to show the characters make choices we agree with and choices we don’t agree with, and medium choices. I thought it was really cool to be able to explore that nuance, especially with so many people of color in this season. I felt like it was nice to sit with them and see them make interesting choices.
What did you enjoy about Mia, from day one? Were there aspects of her that really endeared you to her, from the very beginning?
WILLIAMS: What I enjoyed about Mia, from day one, was her honesty and frankness. In the beginning of the season, she has this mysterious quality, but she is really frank. She has her own journey and guardedness, and I really enjoyed opening back up throughout the season. And I enjoyed her with Marcus, and her figuring it out and fumbling.
Were there qualities in her that you didn’t even realize were there initially?
WILLIAMS: Absolutely. There were some things I didn’t discover about her until I was doing scenes with Will, or I would get a new version of the script, or I was talking to Blair Underwood at a Red Lobster at 7am. There were moments where I was like, “That’s what she’s like? Oh, interesting.” I didn’t know until we were just in the moment. And the best part was that I was on a set that allowed for that to happen. I feel like I got some wiggle room and that just made it a perfect summer job.
Marcus and Mia connect early on, but at that time, he’s married and he’s not available for any kind of romantic relationship. What do you think her initial impression of him was?
WILLIAMS: Her initial impression was that she was definitely interested and he was cute. They had a bit of banter. They could talk and joke and laugh, and there was just some sort of crackling, electric thing happening between them. And then, even though she’s in a relationship as well when they meet, and she has her series of relationships over the course of the season that you don’t necessarily get to see, they just keep wrong timing things. Sometimes with Marcus, it’s just a fear of intimacy, which is why certain times they just didn’t work and don’t work. There’s this will they or won’t they because they’re two imperfect people trying to figure their shit out, until it lines up at the same time.
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Did you know, from the very beginning, what the final outcome would be? Did that change at all?
WILLIAMS: Yeah, from the beginning, I did know what their final outcome would be, but I didn’t know how we were gonna get there. I don’t think anybody really knew how we’d get there, so it was fun to see at the twists and turns in the dynamic. For the epilogue, the final episode, we didn’t know how we were gonna get there either. It was really cool to shoot things in order and see the way these two grow and change. So, by the end of the season, I was so sad when they said, “That’s a wrap on Jessica.” I felt like I had gone on this journey, over eight to 10 years with Mia, so it was bittersweet to say goodbye to her.
There are times when both of these characters are unlikeable and there were times that I just wanted to shake them.
WILLIAMS: Absolutely.
Was that something that you were okay with? As an actor, do you attempt to justify your character’s behavior, even if you don’t personally agree with it? How did you approach that side of her?
WILLIAMS: Absolutely. Especially approaching acting, it’s not really up to me to judge her, it’s my job to embody her. Most times, whether they’re good or bad, or whether we agree with them or not, people always have a justification for everything that they do. There’s always a reason. I knew a lot about her and was sympathetic towards her. I’d be like, “Damn, now we’re gonna do this.” There would be times when Mia was mean to Marcus and they’d cut and I’d be like, “Will, dude, I’m so sorry.” And he would be like, “Damn, you really ripped into me.” Sometimes that’s tough, but it’s not my job to judge her and her choices.
What was it like to go through this whole experience with William Jackson Harper? Did you guys have a lot of conversations about your characters and their relationship, or were there less conversation conversations or was it more just instinctual, on the day?
WILLIAMS: I spoke to Will a few times before we started, but once production started, Will is in almost every scene and was also an executive producer, so there wasn’t a lot of time to dig into that, until the day when we were just in the scene. But the lead actor is the team captain and they help set the tone of the set, and I felt like he was a great team captain. He’s a giving actor, a thoughtful actor, a smart actor, and a really talented actor, so I felt like I was in good hands and that we were both shaping these characters together. And then, we liked working together. It was just a dream and a joy to work with him, and I’d already been a fan.
What’s it like to then add three showrunners and different directors? How was it to process all of that, creatively?
WILLIAMS: It was good, actually. I learned a lot. With TV, it’s a bunch of directors. It’s a lot of hands and moving parts and executive producers and notes. I learned that it’s my job to be the through line, as far as Mia concerned. It’s my job to protect Mia’s space and make sure that the choices I’m making are true to her. I learned that it’s important for me to have her in mind and to really stick to my guns because that’s my job. I learned that this season and I felt like I was really entrusted with doing that. No matter what, everything’s shifting and moving. Sometimes someone suggests, “Why doesn’t Mia say this or do this?” And you’re like, “Well, I don’t know if she’d say that. I don’t think she’d say that.” It’s about being open to collaboration, but also standing my ground and trusting what I know about her. I learned a lot about my own autonomy and what I could do, as a professional working human, to make sure that I have my own space, even when all of this stuff is moving around me.
How do you feel about where their relationship ends up and where we leave off with them? Do you have hope for them to figure things out? If we were to catch back up with them five or 10 years down the road, do you feel like you might know where they’d be at, in their lives?
WILLIAMS: Yeah, totally, I do. What I love about the last episode is that they’re the same people that they’ve been, throughout the whole season. They’ve learned lessons and they’ve grown, but these are two imperfect people. I feel like we’re watching them make a choice, with all their stuff and all their shit and all their baggage and bickering, to stay together and to work on it. I don’t think that Mia is gonna get on this plane with Marcus and not have intimacy issues or dad issues or mom issues ever again. I think she’s still that person, but she’s working on it and he’s working on it. I think they’re just continuing to work on it. It shows that marriage and long-term relationships are work and they’re an active choice. I feel really good about them, taking off into the sun. I feel really positively towards them. It was so nice to send them off with love and light. That was like how I felt. That was the last scene that we shot and it was just really nice to send them off that way.
