How did Firefly Lane come your way?
It was one of those graceful moments where it kind of landed in my lap. It was exactly what I was looking for at that time and exactly the kind of story I wanted to tell.
Were you a fan of the novel by Kristin Hannah?
When I read the pilot script, I was like, “This is such a familiar story.” I had read it before, but I read a lot, so I kind of lose track. I then went, “Well, why have I not read all of Kristin’s work?” I went out and bought everything and now have read every book she’s ever written. I’m a huge fan! She sent me an advance copy of her next novel and to me that is the pinnacle of success. Like I’ve made it. An author just sent me an advance copy of it for the novel!
I’m struck by the tagline for the show, “the greatest love story of all can be between friends.” Did that sentiment resonate with you?
It deeply resonates with me. I think we forgot how significant and important our non-romantic loves are. This particular friendship to me is so powerful. I think it’s a story that needs to be told and if nothing else remind us all, “Oh yeah, I have those relationships in my life.” I sometimes forget about their significance and how I move through this world better because of those people. And I had been thinking, do I have that? I realized that I actually do have that relationship and, it’s unusual, but it’s with my mother. I mean, she still bosses me around and tells me what to do, but we have kind of gracefully moved into a respectful adult relationship where she’s my person. We do all our grocery shopping together. We get our nails done together. I see her two or three times a week. We do family dinners all the time. I speak to her twice a day in the morning with coffee, and then in the evening with a cocktail. Like, she’s my person.
I feel like so much of your TV work is rooted in making audiences cry, which sounds like a bad thing but it’s actually super good. What’s it like to have that kind of impact on audiences?
I never thought about it that way. I love a good cry, and I love a story that can elicit empathy and compassion and connection. It just makes you feel less alone because we all have our own stories and heartbreaks.
The story tracks your character over decades, with lots of fashion to match. What’s your favorite?
I think my favorite decade was definitely the eighties. Like there’s this vintage jumpsuit, the bigger shoulder pads I was really digging and having a lot of fun with.
Why was it important for your character to be a brunette?
I get to be a bit of a stickler about the book and being true to the book. We definitely took some liberties with the story, but what was most important to me was that part be consistent with the book. Tully was a brunette and Kate was a blonde. So I just had to be a brunette. I love changing my hair. I love the opportunity to change my hair color and kind of be a different person. That’s what I also love about my job is not just storytelling, but getting to slip into somebody else’s skin. I always kind of approach my work from that place, what’s the look, who is this person, what’s their look? So that did help me.
You wrapped production just before the coronavirus pandemic hit. Were you concerned at all about what that could mean for the show? And how have you been holding up during the pandemic?
Initially, I thought, “Oh my gosh, let’s get this out now because we have a captive audience, literally.” But post-production is never that quick, and especially with the pandemic, it’s slowed way down because everything changed about how they could do it. As far as how it’s going for us here, we’re really fortunate. We’re already in a very isolated place when I’m home [in Utah]. I tend to stay home. So it’s not a ton terribly different for us, aside from the remote learning.
