Summary

‘Am I Being Unreasonable’ Season 2 was more challenging to write under new pressure.

Lenny Rush and Daisy May Cooper’s chemistry shines in the second season, with deeper plotlines explored.

The show’s universal themes make it relatable, leading to its successful translation to US audiences on Hulu.

Created by the brilliant minds of best friends Daisy May Cooper and Selin Hizli, Am I Being Unreasonable’s first season back in 2022 was an enormous success and took an unexpecting viewing public off guard with its unique blend of devilish, observational comedy and binge-worthy mystery. Following such a triumph, including a fruitful foray across the pond in the US, a second outing was greenlit, one that is airing right now on Hulu. Packed full of even more twists and turns and boasting a superb supporting cast, the second season is truly unmissable.
In this one-on-one interview with Collider, co-creator, writer, and star Hizli chats about all things Season 2, including the relationship between Daisy and the rising star Lenny Rush (Doctor Who), the deeper-lying themes that provide the undercurrent for the series, and even a small hint on what to expect were the show to continue.
Writing ‘Am I Being Unreasonable’ Season 2 Was Much More Difficult

“To start writing the second series, there was definitely more pressure.”

COLLIDER: I really thought you set the bar so high with Season 1, and in Season 2, you absolutely smashed it.
SELIN HIZLI: Oh, thank you so much. It was one of those things where series one was amazing, and to have such an incredible response to it was just so wonderful that people enjoyed it so much. But when we were writing the first series, it was just kind of this sort of unknown thing, and we didn’t even know what it was; Half the time we were chopping and changing it, you know? So then, to start writing the second series, there was definitely more pressure. Good pressure — like a privilege to be in that position, but it was a completely different experience. We started writing it, and we got quite far through it, and then we were just like, “Oh, this isn’t working,” so we made a dramatic shift with it and then ended up somewhere we were really happy with.
In Season 2, you managed to retain that balance between outrageous comedy and dark mystery. Did that ever pose any specific challenges for you and Daisy [May Cooper]?
HIZLI: You’re so right. Finding that balance is the key to it, I think. Sometimes, I feel like you can get so involved in the dark thriller, or you can kind of get so carried away and have so much fun with the comedy that we kind of have to check ourselves and make sure that there is that balance there. One thing we were maybe a bit guilty of when we first started writing series two was that we were so focused on the twists and turns. It’s so rewarding to see people’s reactions to those twist elements, and people really came along on that ride with us, but I think ultimately what saved us was going back to our characters, and not just back to the characters that we written, but remembering this incredible cast that we’d been able to get together and who gave us incredible performances.
For example, when we were first writing the character of Ollie, Lenny [Rush] really brought so much more than we could have imagined to that role. One of the joys was going back to the characters and saying, “We know what Lenny can do now; we know what he’s capable of. Let’s write with that in mind.” Out of that, the twists and the turns grew organically themselves. Every actor in the show has just got such incredible comedy bones, and any time that we felt it was getting a bit heavy, we just knew that we had these amazing actors, and we could push them to do something silly and funny and balance it out. For Daisy and I, that is a reflection of life. I think it’s often in those real dark moments sometimes you find that hysterical, uncontrollable comedy. So it’s always important for us to check ourselves and inject that humor and reality into the kind of more drama kind of parts of the show.
There’s one scene in Episode 6 that, without giving away any spoilers, involves lip filler. I would say that is the perfect balance between outrageous and hilarious.
HIZLI: You cannot help but laugh even when you’re setting up the camera and you’re having a chat with him [Olisa Odele]. He is just so naturally funny. Writing series one was my first experience writing, so it was such a kind of wonderful revelation to realize, “Yeah, actors are so amazing, and they bring so much to everything.” It’s such an inspiration to us to see what else we can get these guys to do. He’s one of my all-time favorite characters, and that is one of my favorite parts of the show. No spoilers, but it’s a highlight.
Lenny Rush and Daisy May Cooper Are a Perfect Pairing

“He and Daisy have such incredible chemistry together.”

Image via BBC

The guest stars in Season 2 are incredible. Chelsea Peretti is such a wonderful addition, as is the inclusion of Kurtan and Kerry Mucklowe from Daisy’s breakout series, ‘This Country.’ How did you decide to include such a niche cameo in Season 2?
HIZLI: Who doesn’t love a universe crossover? I’ve always been a huge fan of Daisy, she’s the love of my life. This Country is a perfect show, and when we were writing series one, I know Daisy wanted to do something completely different. So this was such a great way of kind of honoring that show and those amazing characters. We still film in that part of the world, and that was lots of fun for everyone involved.
Lenny Rush is such a talented young actor. His first season was a major breakthrough, and in Season 2, it seems like you were intent on giving him more mature content to deal with, such as he and his mother’s relationship seeming more fraught. What was the thinking behind this?
HIZLI: Knowing what he was capable of and that being such a gift in and of itself, we might not have been able to push that character to those areas had it not been Lenny. While he will always give you complete comedy gold, he’s got such a beautiful vulnerability to his performance, and it’s so real, and it’s so honest. He and Daisy have such incredible chemistry together, which is rare to find in actors who haven’t had years and years of experience. Daisy would be the first to admit she’s like the biggest kid, and I think she’s able to tap into something that Lenny can just connect to, and in turn, he brings that out even more in her. But when Daisy and I were first writing the show, it was during Covid, and Daisy was one of my few friends who also had children during lockdown. We really bonded over that experience, and the show is about being a mom. It’s about parenting, and it’s about worrying that you’re mucking it up all the time and worrying that you’re being judged for it, and about the scars you can leave on your children in the long term. Their relationship, Lenny’s incredible talent and ability — all of those things we were able to bring them all together to push that storyline. With any second series, you want to kind of keep pushing and elevating but also going deeper, and Daisy and I are forever grateful that we have someone like Lenny that we’re able to do that with. Who knows where it will go next?
Who does know where it will go next?
HIZLI: Not me! [Laughs]
Will Boundaries Get Pushed Again in ‘Am I Being Unreasonable’ Season 3?

“We want these characters to earn their storylines.”

Image via Hulu

As someone at the helm, do you have any feeling in your heart, not your head, as to what might come next?
HIZLI: It’s so interesting because I think another thing that we are always mindful of is that we love reading audience feedback, and we love to know what people think of these characters, and we love reading like people’s theories. A highlight for us and a real full circle moment was when, after series one, there was a Mumsnet message board forum set up about Am I Being Unreasonable, which was a bit meta for us. These characters mean so much to us as well, and I think that we never want to do what is obvious, and we never want to cheat anyone. We want these characters to earn their storylines and earn where they might end up. It’s just so enjoyable to have the opportunity to think about that even more. Our cast are so amazing, and there are so many incredible discoveries in series two as to what everyone’s capable of. For example, Karla Crome as Lucy pushes things even more; I think Amanda Wilkin gives an incredible performance as Suzie in this series. So, we want to see where it will go, but nothing concrete quite yet.
The show has translated so well in the US on Hulu. The series seems so grounded in British comedy, and, given the trend of many British comedies failing to make the jump across the pond, what do you think it is that is so universally enjoyable about this sort of story?
HIZLI: Where the show grew from was this big, universal experience we were all having which had never happened before, where everyone across the world was kind of in the same position. There are these big themes in it about friendship and motherhood and, especially with Jen’s storyline, asking, ‘What is a conventional family?’ and ‘What does it mean to be living an unconventional life on the borders?’ One thing that I’ve learned from Daisy in terms of writing and being at the helm of something is to write what you know. We always said with this show that we wanted to write something we would want to watch. So much of it is full of these kinds of Britishisms with the setting and the references we make, but I think it gives the show an authenticity, which is something that we strive for. Daisy and I have been friends since I was 18, and we’ve got all that lived experience together. I’ve just been watching a lot of shows from the US, and I think that the more true something feels, the more I enjoy it, because it is just like a window into another world. Hopefully, you’ve got these themes that you can relate to on some level, and you’re learning that it’s not all high tea with the Queen or King, and it’s not all Downton Abbey. It hopefully gives a little glimpse into what it’s like across the pond.

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The show is so good at asking us if we are being unreasonable in our own lives.
HIZLI: Daisy and I always say that we need to see the cracks. Personally, I’m constantly surrounded by chaos, and I think that is a really relatable human experience. There’s the temptation for all of us to put on a front of ‘everything’s fine, we’ve got it all covered.’ For me, when I feel the best connection to a friend or a character in a book or a film, it’s when you can see between those cracks, and you go, “Oh yeah, you’re you’re feeling that as well, and you’re struggling just as much as I am.” That was what we were really keen to show as well.
Am I Being Unreasonable Season 2 is available to stream on Hulu.