[Editor’s note: The following contains some spoilers for Platonic.]From a co-creator Nicholas Stoller And Francesca DelbancoApple TV+ original series Platonic following Silvia (Rose Byrne), a married mother of three who decides to contact her former best friend Will (Seth Rogen), whom he lost touch with after an altercation ensued when he shared his honest opinion with her about the woman he married. Now divorced and trying to find himself again, the two rekindle their friendship and share some good times together, but things don’t go as smoothly as they had hoped.
ROSE BYRNE: I think he really cared and wanted to connect. But before he knows it, it becomes more about his personal crisis, rather than just reconnecting with a friend. They bring out the best and the worst in each other. I feel like he doesn’t really know what he wants, and I think he’s driven by something he doesn’t understand. Throughout the show, he starts figuring things out. Why is he acting so much? Why is he so destructive? Only when Charlie shot back and said “What are you doing? You make me feel insecure.” He had to cool off, but first, he got off track a little bit, which was fun.
Seth, what do you think Will gets from Sylvia that he doesn’t get anywhere else in his life?
SETH ROGEN: I think he put himself in a position in life where he didn’t really have anyone who liked him very much, or he liked him very much. He doesn’t maintain his relationships well, and he finds himself in a place where he is working with people he is estranged from, because of his own personality flaws. In reconnecting with Sylvia, it was someone she assumed was like, “Oh, she’ll forgive me for anything,” to a degree. I think he saw that he was going through something too, and there was a co-dependency there.
There are times when Will and Sylvia can be a little mean to each other.
BYRENE: Yes.
Do you have a measure for when you might take it too far? Do you just trust your gut with something like that, so that it never gets to a point where they can’t recover from it?
BYRNE: It’s exciting because we’ve done that Neighbor a movie where we’re a married couple, and there’s a lot less affection in the show. We can be meaner to each other, and that’s interesting. I remember feeling a little sad, when Seth was mean to me.
ROGEN: We both did.
BYRNE: And then, we’d apologize in between takes, or something corny like that.
Two of my favorite dynamics on this show, besides you guys being together, are actually between Sylvia and Katie (Carla Gallo) and between Will and Andy (Tre Hale). That dynamic is a joy to watch. I love the friendship and honesty they have with each other. Do the scenes and relationships also feel very fun and easy to play?
BYRNE: They did. Carla Gallo plays Katie, and she’s a good friend of mine, in real life, and an old friend of Seth, and Nick Stoller and Francesca. [Delbanco]. So, I’m glad he did because it made the scene really, really funny. It’s easy to come up with natural, comedic connection and dialogue that feels effortless. It’s hard for supporting characters to get that kind of chemistry. Dan Tre, who played Andy, was terrific. It was just the third thing he did, or something.
ROGEN: Yes. He is completely naturalistic. I think it reflects the dynamic that I have with people, where I work with people and become friends and get along really well, and I end up driving them crazy.
Rose, how did it feel to shoot a scene in a convenience store where your character is high on drugs and rolling on the floor? I love every minute of it. Are there moments where you get carried away?
BYRENE: Oh, yeah. I was about to do it, in a possibly unhealthy way and I was quickly told I had gone too far and was holding it in. There’s a great snippet of the folks at Ketamine that I can look at. This is a very strange thing it does to a person’s body. It’s this very specific physique that people have, so I obsessively watch it and try to do it.
ROGEN: There are lots of YouTube videos of people at the convenience store on Ketamine.
BYRNE: I have a lot of inspiration. That’s so ridiculous.
Seth, is the dance of Ugly coyote something that is usually part of your expertise, or do you have to learn it?
ROGEN: I did study it. I really thought, at first, it was something of Cocktails.
BYRNE: Oh, yes, that’s true. I forgot it. It’s so hard.
ROGEN: I was like, “I could never do this, and I don’t think anyone learned anything from this movie. Cocktails.” God bless Tom Cruise and Bryan Brown.
BYRNE: And Elisabeth Shue.
ROGEN: I don’t think so Cocktails is a film that is truly made for the younger generation. Not to say Ugly coyote sure, but I feel like my character will know the dance Ugly coyote. It seems more to be had.
Do you feel that there are more of these characters? Would you like to return to them for another season and more episodes? Have you talked about it at all?
BYRENE: Of course. If there’s a good idea, I’m open to it. I love working with Seth and Nick and Francesca. This is certainly a lot of fun. It’s only a matter of time and if an idea comes up that’s fun, good, and worth exploring.
Since he’s not here to defend himself, what do you most relate to about Nick Stoller and his work and, and why would you want to work with him?
BYRNE: He’s an old friend of Seth’s.
ROGEN: Yes. I’ve known him since I was 18 years old. We share an office on the show Not announced. We are both writers on it. And I remember when he started dating Francesca. We were also good friends back then. I was at her bachelorette and wedding parties, and she was at mine. We come in the same neighborhood, but everyone creates their own style, besides. She always has a style that looks very funny, but is emotional and very characterful. He has always really loved studying relationship dynamics. He’s someone I’ve worked with since I was a teenager, so it’s a very relaxed thing, at this point.
Platonic available to stream on Apple TV+.