The first season of AMC’s new hit wonder, Lucky Hank, has been loaded with surprises. Hank (Bob Odenkirk) and Lily’s (Mireille Enos) marriage is in flux. Hank can’t seem to face the mounting pressures with his role as English department chairman and with the faculty at the university. And wannabe faculty Meg (Sara Amini) has been on a destructive spiral, first slipping far too close to seducing Hank, then triggered after Hank’s big lie, and later, going full throttle seductress with his son-in-law, Russell (Daniel Doheny).

That’s plenty to keep viewers tuning into this refreshing new series about a beleaguered English department professor (Odenkirk) at an underfunded college, whose midlife crisis begins generating major ripples effects in his own life and others around him.

Ahead of the season finale of Lucky Hank, based on Richard Russo’s 1997 novel, airs Sunday, May 7. Sara Amini talked to MovieWeb about her role, the series, and how the show strikes a universal chord. Read on.

Making a Relatable Show

MovieWeb: What a gem of a series. Bob Odenkirk, who also serves as executive producer, can do no wrong. All the actors, yourself included, just shine. Why is this the perfect time for a show like this to come out?

Sara Amini: Fantastic question. I think what we’re seeing a lot on TV these days, and I’ll speak for myself, is very stressful television […] in the sense that there are people who are dying every episode or getting attacked, or there’s a huge thriller mystery that somebody has to solve over the course of the season. I’m watching these episodes, and I’ve got anxiety, I’m stressed out. What I love so much about our show, is that it feels fresh. While all these other shows have great life-and-death stakes to them, the stakes in our show are about the human condition. which are equally as important stakes.

MW: So true.

Amini: We’re talking about marriage and growing apart and feeling stuck in a town and feeling stuck in your career. Then there’s dealing with the lack of father figures. You might have character dealing with a mom who’s an alcoholic. There’s family dynamics. These sorts of things are so fundamentally relatable. The way that the show unfolds is so raw and real. I think that’s why it’s it has struck a chord with people, because every character on the show is someone that you know. The human stakes are just as valuable to explore in television.

Related: The Best Bob Odenkirk Movies and TV Shows

MW: Agreed. What were your thoughts when you first read the script, especially your character Meg, whose actions are pivotal this season?

Amini: It was the richness of the writing. I thought it was so human. All these characters are funny and flawed. They’ve got real questions and challenges. It’s that sort of humanity that really drew me to this from the beginning. As far as Meg goes, she’s such a complicated character. There’s a lot of layers, a lot of nuances to her.

Amini: [Meg] works at a bar part-time, and she’s got an alcoholic mother, and I always thought that was so fascinating. She’s really driven and brilliant in her professional life. Then in her personal life, we watch her make reckless decisions. You can be kind of self-destructive. All those oppositions were so compelling for me. I just connected with her very quickly. I was excited as a viewer to go, “Wow, well, how is this going to unfold?” And I was thrilled to be a part of it.

Working Alongside Bob Odenkirk and an Exceptional Cast

AMC

MW: Bob Odenkirk really is exceptional here. As is Mireille Enos. Can you share more about working alongside this great cast?

Amini: Most of my scenes are actually with Bob. Meg’s character doesn’t have tenure. She’s not really a part of the faculty in the same way that they’ve got that sort of this workplace comedy dynamic going on. Most of my scenes are just me as Meg with Hank. Bob and I found a rapport very quickly, and that served us well for our characters. I respect him. We both come from the same writing background. I’m also a writer and I also got my start writing sketch comedy. So, we had that in common. That was a great foundation for us. And you just learn from him because he’s someone who works so hard. I mean, he, he doesn’t quit. He’s always like, “Oh, what if we try this?”

MW: Dedicated.

Amini: Yes. He has that sort of spontaneity and fluidity to explore a story, especially in something like this, which is the first season and, you know, we’re figuring it out as we’re shooting it. We’re figuring out the tone, and what kind of story we want to tell. Having Bob be the leader of that and really take charge, and give all of us freedom to also speak up for our characters and pitch.

Amini: I mean, I was pitching them jokes, saying, “I don’t think Meg would actually do this, maybe we should try this instead.” He was open to all of that. And I think for someone at his level, he could have very easily walked off that set and been like, “Whatever I say goes!” But he’s so the opposite of that. He’s so collaborative. I hope we get to do 10 seasons, just so I can keep working with Bob Odenkirk.

Related: Bob Odenkirk and the Best of His Comedy Writing Career

MW: We’ve seen a lot this season so far. What are your thoughts as everything wraps up?

Amini: We watch Hank be the sort of curmudgeon in his life and, and I think he doesn’t quite realize all the good he has. He’s got a great wife, a great family, a good position at this college. It shows a lot about gratitude, just appreciating the things you have and not being so hell-bent on the things that you don’t have. You know, he doesn’t have a relationship with his father, but he’s got a relationship with his mother. He’s got a relationship with his wife. He’s got colleagues who, on the surface, there may be a lot of friction and headaches, but they care about each other. I would hope that audiences look at their own lives and find joy and gratitude in the small things that make up life.

The season finale of Lucky Hank airs Sunday, May 7 on AMC. All episodes are available to stream on AMC+.