Amanda Peet ‘Completely Let Loose’ in That <i>Your Friends & Neighbors</i> Fight Scene

Spoilers below.

The AppleTV+ hit Your Friends and Neighbors centers on Jon Hamm’s adrift Coop (Andrew Cooper), a hedge fund manager who loses his wife and his job in quick succession, and secretly begins robbing his wealthy neighbors in their New York suburb to keep up appearances. But it’s Amanda Peet’s Mel—Coop’s ex-wife who cheated on him with his best friend Nick (Mark Tallman)—who quietly steals the show as a depressed but upbeat therapist trying desperately to stay sane as life as she knows it falls apart.

Mel’s life seems great on the surface: She’s having great sex with her hot former-NBA star boyfriend, her career as a therapist is thriving, and she’s (somewhat) successfully co-parenting two teenagers with Coop. But underneath it all, she is slowly unraveling. Throughout the season, Mel acts out in both small and large ways: She keys a random car in a parking lot, steals a bottle of jam from the store, and languishes at her own birthday party before anxiously running away when thrust into the spotlight.

In episode 8, “When Did We Become These People,” Mel’s life begins to nosedive. She gets into a physical altercation with her only real Westmont Village friend Sam (Olivia Munn) after discovering that Sam and Coop have been sleeping together. The video of the fight—which publicly reveals that Mel and Coop also recently slept together—goes viral and she loses her job, and a heartbroken Nick requests some space from her. As if things couldn’t get any worse, Coop is convicted of murdering Sam’s ex-husband Paul (Jordan Gelber) and is arrested in front of their entire community at his funeral.

“The rug was slowly getting pulled [from under her]. Then, it really got yanked,” Peet tells ELLE over a video call, confirming that Mel is hitting rock bottom in season 1’s penultimate episode. Ahead, Peet discusses Mel’s state of mind, the realness of her friendships, and how she thinks she’ll react to the truth about Coop.

[Showrunner and creator] Jonathan Tropper meant for both Mel and Coop to have a little bit of a maverick streak, but in both of them, it’s really misfired. Mel keying the car and the little adolescent attempts at shoplifting are her way of sublimating the personal dissatisfaction and suburban ennui that she has. I think she’s lonely and living in an empty American Dream dynamic.

Yes, but when you’re depressed, you feel unseen by everyone. So I think she does feel simpatico with Sam, but I also think she’s kind of untethered.

For the fight that we had [in season 1, episode 3], we had a stunt coordinator choreograph it because we wanted to be super careful. We had one for the fight in the coffee shop as well, but it was much more like two surgical strikes, so it wasn’t as complicated. Emotionally, the first fight scene is supposed to be quite playful, and I found it really helpful not to think about all the backstory and real things that were going on, because Mel doesn’t really know what’s going on. Tropper wanted me to completely let loose.

In real life too, I’ve known a lot of men and women who get off on putting down other people. I see it a lot with my teen daughters—the triangulating and gossiping. I think it can be quite addictive. It’s a really petty version of groupthink and I think that’s what some friendships survive on, like a Pac-Man. Then other friendships are really true connections with someone, a meeting of the souls. Gossip might be something you dip into, but it’s not what the friendship is propped up on. Mel probably only has that with Coop.

In real life, my mom became single in her 50s, and for a long time it was really hard. We're used to seeing that trope of the middle-aged divorcee who's on the couch with girlfriends every Saturday night or alone, drinking Chardonnay, and fantasizing about dating. Tropper wasn't really interested in that. From the get-go, he wanted to upend that. Mel is with this former NBA player, having great sex, and doing just fine. I really appreciate that, because I, too, thought it was kind of unusual.

It really reminds me of [John] Cheever, where there’s an algorithm for your life. You’re told that if you follow these steps, you can have the American Dream. Then as soon as you take those things away, it’s a house of cards and you realize there was no there there. It’s all just smoke and mirrors. I think she’s at that point where she’s realizing that maybe nothing was quite as real as she thought it was.

This is also a very American thing, to believe in your own exceptionalism. You have this conviction that come what may, you and your children will be an exception. They will get in where others don't get in. You will not get caught in the ethically dubious shit you're involved in. I think the show is saying none of us are above that.

Before I signed on, Trooper told me that he wanted their love story to be the heart of the show. This was emblazoned in my mind, so every time I'm with Jon Hamm, I try to remember, you love this man. You love this man. It's not hard when you're looking at the face of Jon Hamm. They both have this dark streak and I think no matter what, that attraction is still there. I don't know what's going to happen, but I think that flirtation is still there, no matter what.

What’s that expression, game [recognizes] game? I think whether she believes he was involved in a murder or not, she can’t help herself. She’s attracted to him and everything that he is. Whatever her reaction is, deep inside she’ll give him a pass no matter what.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.