Behind the Fury: Elizabeth Meriwether and the Cast of ‘Furious’ Reveal How They Built One Of Hulu’s Most Talked-About Shows

What happens when a boundary-pushing showrunner like Elizabeth Meriwether assembles a fearless ensemble cast and dares to blow up every television convention in sight? You get Furious — Hulu’s dangerous new crime series that has audiences gripping their remotes and critics scrambling for superlatives as they watch the lines between crime and justice become blurred.

In this panel discussion, creator and executive producer Elizabeth Meriwether sits down with her core cast Scoot McNairy (Danny), Emmy Rossum (Alice), Quincy Tyler Bernstine (Nora) and Steve Way (Alden) to unpack the bold creative choices, sharp writing, and collaborative magic driving one of television’s most compelling dramas.

From breaking story in the writers’ room to delivering raw, unforgettable performances on screen, this conversation is essential reading for anyone interested in the craft of television writing and storytelling.

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On being a star and EP on Furious

Emmy: I think Liz Meriwether is probably the perfect person to tell any story and the perfect partner. I don’t think there’s any story Liz can’t tell.

She’s not flinching, she’s brave, she’s funny; which lets us go to so much more dark places. She just gets into the guts of people. That’s why her work really resonates with me.

I was looking for a role that would feel as fulfilling, as deep, and possibly have the legs that Fiona Gallagher did on Shameless. That’s a high bar to find. I like messy characters that can be both tragic and comic that exist in the gray area.

I watched this movie Black Widow on the hunt to look at old movies and find old properties that were interesting. I was fascinated by the skeleton of this movie and specifically by the last half of this film which are these two women – an FBI agent and the serial killer who meet on this beach. There’s a scuba diving sequence. You’re not sure if they’re gonna kill each other or kiss.

I brought the idea to Hulu. They had just done The Dropout with Liz and I thought she’d be the perfect person to do Furious. We asked Liz if she’d watch the movie and she did. And a day later we were a duo.

Related: Furious on Hulu: Elizabeth Meriwether’s Crime Thriller Series Explained

On using Black Widow as the starting point of Furious

Emmy: I was interested in it because I felt like there was something to build off. Why would you gonna adopt a movie that has all the answers? I love that Black Widow makes a point of not explaining any of their psychology. Liz’s TV show can build off of that.

I have a rare investment in female protagonists. I can’t think of a lot of movies that allow the female characters to really sink their teeth into something funny and juicy, but give them equal screen time too.

Liz:  I wrote comedy. I would come home from a comedy writers room and turn on the darkest crime thriller to relax. I entered into it as a huge fan.

Black Widow is a genre piece. The last third of it is just two women who are lonely and need a friend. I thought there’s something so strange and wonderful about it. I was immediately excited about the idea of it and wanted to refresh everyone’s memories.

Elizabeth Meriwether. Photo by Frank Micelotta/ Disney

On brand departure from comedy to drama

Liz: I actually feel like Furious is very on point, because we have in my canon of characters, flawed, brilliant, endearing, and sometimes very disturbed female protagonists. In other words, like most male characters on TV.

On Liz bringing Emmy’s vision to the screen

Liz: I was so scared of this from the beginning until about… actually right now. I was terrified because it felt so different and I’d never run a drama room. I was lucky enough to have great writers that helped me through it.

But the thing that kept me going and relaxed me was that this is a story about these two women. Anytime I felt like we were going off in a different direction, we had to bring it back to the character story.

There were definitely challenges like putting the clues in the right place and then having to go back and rewrite whole sections because it was a learning process. Drama is a different muscle than comedy. Engaging what works in the room is different in a drama room. Having a plan or a sense of structure and all those mechanics of the writing process was important.

On Danny being such an empath

Scoot: Danny is such a wonderful caretaker and he cares so deeply for people, especially his special needs son. He struggles with being such an empath in a job that sees that as a liability.

I feel what Liz did has so many layers to it. I love taking societal norms and flipping them on their head. And it took me a while to learn that.

Danny for me, was always somebody who acted like he didn’t care about anything because he cared so much about everything. That was a facade that Liz puts it in the writing

On Danny and Alice’s unique relationship 

Scoot: They have such a connection and we start to discover that these people really care about each other. This relationship was so new for me because these two people love each other, but they know anything about each other .

They’re like husbands and wives who don’t know anything about each other. Danny and Alice have put each other’s lives on the line. They know all the bad things about each other, but they still love each other regardless of their flaws.

It’s not a brother and sister sibling relationship. It’s not a marriage. It’s something so much more than that

The beautiful thing that Liz does in the show is that they don’t know what their relationship is when they start off and you get to watch them try to figure it out or define it. It was more interesting than starting out knowing who who these people are.

On Quincy playing Nora

Quincy:  I’ve never seen a woman portrayed this way; someone navigating work and her own demons, and also the occasional nip on her little bottle in the car. We don’t want to overstate that drinking is her identity. It is something that she’s struggling with.

All the people I spoke with who do similar work to Nora talked about how important it is to be healthy, exercise, eat well, and spend time with family. In some cases, religion was important. I was struck that Nora has none of those tools in her toolbox. She has been driven to drink. So it was important for me to portray her as a highly functioning alcoholic.

It’s really easy to play wasted and it’s really easy to play sober. It’s the gray area that was a real challenge. Playing the nuance of being always a little bit drunk and always a little bit sober at the same time. These gray areas are Liz’s specialty.

On Steve playing Alden

Steve: Liz and I met on a panel. Everyone’s talking about what they’re working on. And I said, “I’m unemployed and I feel scared.” Two months later, I got an email from one of the people to offer me work. I thought it was fake.

Ramy Yousseff wrote the character of Steve to portray this empowered, bold side of me.

Alice Black (Emmy Rossum (Photo by Frank Micelotta/ Disney)

What Liz does so well is that she wrote Alden to give me the opposite. Alden is very reserved, he wants to stay at home with the woman that he loves. I think every disabled person knows that at some point.

My last scene with Danny, where I basically sent him to protect Catherine (Lola Pettigrew) who is my carer and love interest was hard. I had to bring myself to this place of fear, this fear of closing someone that you love deeply, someone that you’re so comfortable with. Someone who knows your body and your needs better than anyone else.

But I’m so grateful that I was able to portray this side of disability that I don’t think we’ve ever seen before.

On Catherine and Alice serving closure and justice 

Emmy: I was zoning out thinking of trauma for just a second. What level of catharsis is the story?

I started in this business when I was seven years old and I’ve been dodging predators – the biggest and the smallest since I was a child. So for me, the opportunity to make this show was a full-body experience.

Liz: I don’t know, but I heard from someone. Their teenage daughter spoke to them about a bad relationship that she was in after watching Furious and they got her out of that relationship. I thought I should I tell a joke now. I’m so uncomfortable with emotions.

It also helps that we’re all furious right now. That could also speak to why this show is allowing us to feel like we’re all hearing each other for the first time in a while.

by Staff Writer

From our in-house editorial team.