Female friendship, motherhood, and some pretty thick secrets weave themselves into the inventive tapestry of Am I Being Unreasonable? The wickedly offbeat comedic thriller hybrid debuted in the UK last fall and nabbed four BAFTA TV nominations, including one for Scripted Comedy and another for Female Performance in a Comedy Program for its star Daisy May Cooper (This Country). The good news is that Hulu and Disney have acquired the U.S. rights to all six episodes.

The show, which drops April 11, brings along Cooper’s creative partner, Selin Hizli (Mum) for the fun and dark turns. The pair have managed to write a trippy genre-bending romp here. With executive producer Jack Thorne (His Dark Materials, Help, National Treasure) behind the scenes, expect some grit along the way, too.
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In the series, we’re introduced to Nic (Cooper) as she grieves an unbearable loss she can’t really share with anybody — all while she’s trapped in a depressing marriage. Son Ollie (a delightful Lenny Rush from Apple Tree House) adds levity, but when Jen (Selin Hizli) arrives in town, life suddenly takes a lighter turn. However, it’s through Jen’s kindred soul and, perhaps the safety she feels with her new friend, that Nic’s dark secret begins to bubble up. Oh my.

Daisy May Cooper and Selin Hizli share more about their hope for the series in an exclusive clip and the interview that follows with MovieWeb below.

Two Gals Trying to Manage Life

Viewers may appreciate the great cast in Am I Being Unreasonable? Comedy BAFTA award winner Jessica Hynes (There She Goes), Dustin Demri-Burns (Cardinal Burns, The Great), Amanda Wilkin (The Split), David Fynn (Game of Thrones), Juliet Cowan (Back to Life), Ruben Catt (Ted’s Top Ten), and Karla Crome (Under the Dome), all shine in the series. Cooper, who garnered attention with her other series, This Country, admits that she really hopes American audiences embrace the series.

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“We originally wanted to improvise because we thought that would be really fun. Like, have a structure that resembled Curb Your Enthusiasm. And that’s a true story — that thing that happened with the train [in the beginning of the series] happened to a friend of mine who was dragged by a train,” explained Cooper of the twisted events that begin this outing. “But, as we wrote it, it just became insane. It sort of wrote itself.”

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Mostly, Cooper thought she and Hizli could impress the audience and keep them invested with the character, and the relationship with Nic and Jen (Crome), and how their friendship became symbiotic, that, “we could take them on a real fun ride.”

“Daisy May is known for her comedy and her show, but particularly with what she went through her brother Charlie [from This Country], this show would be showing a completely different side of her,” noted Selin Hizli. “We wanted to build a world where we could show something totally new and different. Keep it exciting and engaging, but really truthful. Even though the characters might be put in these extreme situations, the reaction would always very truthful, and very relatable for people.”

On Working Together

As the show’s six episodes unfold, Cooper’s Nic must come to terms with a past grief that she’s buried, and circumstances in real-time that are weighing her down, mainly her marriage. To the main stars’ credit, they’ve perfected the art of blending comedy and drama. The show lands well and should keep viewers intrigued. But that sort of creative magic cannot be concocted. Clearly, Copper and Hizli work well with each other — on and off-screen.

“It was a bit of a gamble,” Copper shared. “We never worked together before. Obviously, we’ve known each other for a long time. So, I’d describe this as creating a kind of safe space. Ideas would get thrown out and in, and some would get taken up, and we’d run with it. So, it was ‘safe’ to work together. I don’t have that relationship with anyone else.”

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They also credit costar Lenny Rush, who plays Nic’s son, Ollie, in the series. “He’s just so naturally gifted, and just completely effortless in what he does,” Hizli gushed. “The biggest thing that was important to us is that the chemistry passed. We were all allowed to have ownership of characters and improvisation was always encouraged. So, Lenny, and everyone else really, just took to that and brought so much of themselves to this to make those characters stand out.”

We’ve experienced a curious mix of both humor and depth in many series lately. From Tiny Beautiful Things to Up Here, it’s hard to deny gets the inescapable PTSD permeating life in the 2020s. Between political unrest and social strife, more and more, we, as a species, have much more to manage internally. Ultimately, Cooper and Hizli realized that. They wanted viewers to feel encouraged to live life to the fullest, but to also take time for self-reflection and, perhaps, “healing.”

“I hope people see that you can’t sort of pigeonhole anybody,” admitted Cooper. “The real essence of this show was to be as truthful as we can about these characters. It’s not just black and white. Not everyone’s a protagonist. Sometimes we’re all gray, and we’re all just stumbling around trying to do the best we can with our own faults, and our own fuckups.

“Here, Nic’s marriage is breaking down, and she wants to have some control in life,” continued Cooper. “But life, and people, can throw complete curveballs at you. And that’s when you see the cracks. That’s when you see what’s going on behind the masks we wear.”

Am I Being Unreasonable? streams on Hulu April 11.