[This story contains spoilers for the Season 1 finale on Apple TV+ High Desert .]
Patricia Arquette’s Apple TV+ Comedy High Desert The season 1 finale was a real hit.
This crime-themed series – focusing on Peggy’s (Patricia Arquette) life as a recovering drug addict A chaotic life, trying to find a new path as a private eye – ends its story. The eight-episode season ended violently. Peggy and Master Bob ( Rupert Friend) find themselves kidnapped for a missing painting, but inside O Gage (Michael Masini) and Nick Gage (Camien Giovinazzo) kill each other for no apparent reason. Plus, Danny ( Matt Dillon ) manages to keep Heather (Julia Rick) from Special) anger.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Arquette discusses ending suspense, Perry Gee is waiting for the body cannon to explode, the star’s conversations with her real-life sister that transform Bernadette Peters’ role as Peggy’s late mother, her hopes for a second season, and society’s response to addiction The problem requires changes.
Provided by Apple Inc. 2021
We got some fatalities in the last episode. Heather’s father and the police, and then we see Donna’s death. Plus, we don’t know what’s going to happen to Peggy in that human cannon. Does it seem inevitable that the series is heading towards such a heavy moment?
a littlenoon The quality happens from the last episode, where a lot of crazy things are sure to happen. This is high risk. Even at the end of Peggy, what will happen to her? Of course, Peggy ends up in a life-or-death situation. That’s part of what scares her siblings, her ability to put herself out there. One of the reasons she got into [The Cannon] was that another part of her was codependent when she had to be in charge, she made a commitment to Owen (Eric Peterson) and everyone relied on her, even if she was The last person we should really rely on. But she’s there, and there’s a part of her, and a part of every addict: Do they want to stay here, or do they want to go?
One of the highlights of the finale was seeing Peggy and Diane (Kristen Taylor ) talking about their mom. Did it feel like a breakthrough or cathartic moment for Peggy?
I think so. I think she really wants her sister to love her and respect her. There was a time when she was the caretaker of the family, but the choices she made were 16 Years old. Diane is constantly torn between trying to see Peggy’s goodness and protecting herself from Peggy’s flaws. I think she does want to heal her sister, and she wants to heal herself, but she really doesn’t know how.
The idea came from the moment we lost our mom, and my sister Alexis [Arquette] and I were having lunch one day. I looked over and said, “Oh my gosh, look at that lady. She looks just like mom.” From this three-quarter angle, she did, and this woman is having her friend Have lunch and enjoy her life. We both stared at her for a long time. My mom died on , “She she couldn’t have lunch with her friends and do all that stuff.” It was a weird moment for me to see some version of my mom. I discussed that with the writers and then the idea of Bernadette being another character, and they came up with this amazing character Ginger. (laughs.)
When you lose your mom, if you have a good mom, it’s is a huge loss. So Peggy, her mom is the only one who really doesn’t think she’s at fault. Her mom loves her, thinks she’s great, and is very loose with her. Peggy loves helping other people’s selves and caring for other people’s selves, and she has to do that with her mom. Her siblings break free from her because she’s taking care of their mom and they don’t have to. But when her mom died, she lost that utility in their eyes, she lost some of her own personal goals, and she lost the people she felt truly loved her. She knows Danny loves her as much as he can, but he’s always going to make some poor choices that put them all in dire situations.
Isn’t it fun to be part of the thrill and keep the audience guessing?
Yes. We really wanted to make this shocking, crazy, wild ride – Mr. Toad’s wild ride. A crazy adventure, not safe. It’s really weird being an actor because you create this world and you fall in love with these characters and it’s like, “Oh, are you going to do a second season? Where are they going? And you don’t know, and you just In this nebulous place. It’s almost like taking your whole body or exoskeleton off, hanging it on a hook, and putting it in the freezer. You’re just waiting in this no man’s land to see if you can put it down again Go back.
Apparently the whole industry is bogged down in a writers strike. But has the possibility of a second season been discussed?
I don’t know. I guess it will depend on how well the show works and how people react. I just love Peggy, I love the world, and I think it’s something new that we don’t even see on TV.
Throughout the season, we see that Peggy remains a chaotic character, and she’s still lost in LSD towards the end. Does this unpredictability always seem to be a part of Peggy?
I’m not sure, but my hunch is that this will always be something she struggles with. She will All kinds of excuses like, “Oh, this is my spiritual path,” or “It’s not drugs—I’m doing it for something else,” or “Oh, it’s not drugs. ” Because that’s what drugs are. They’re totally delusional. If you have this addiction, it’s always going to whisper why this or that is ok. It’s a really hard thing to do.
We don’t think of addiction as a health crisis that millions of Americans are struggling with—whether it’s alcohol or drug addiction—but it is. As we begin to more I don’t think we’ll make much progress until it’s treated as a disease from a therapeutic perspective. Peggy Love Tristan and Isolde , they died, and one of them jumped into a tree, which was a tragedy. In a way, she also thought her life was a tragedy, but a great work of art.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
High Desert’s Season 1 is currently streaming on Apple TV+.
