Niki Cruz
Showrunner Melanie Marnich is one of the creative voices behind some of the most intriguing shows in the golden age of television. Marnich, who wrote for The OA, The Affair, The C Word, and more, is drawn to shows that have a moral complexity at its center, as well as plot-driven storylines that beg the viewer’s attention.
Her latest offering is Peacock’s Apples Never Fall, an adaptation of Liane Moriarty’s best-selling mystery. The show centers on the Delaneys, a family so consumed by their competitive streaks and keeping up with appearances in their affluent community that they’re ultimately completely blindsided by the disappearance of their matriarch, Joy (Annette Bening).
One of the best things about Peacock’s Apples Never Fall is Marnich and the writers’ ability to keep the audience guessing and question every family member’s intentions with each episode. Every episode focuses on an individual character’s perspective and puts them at the center of the mystery, whether it’s how grief shows up differently for them or how deep their involvement is in Joy’s disappearance. There’s a moment in every episode where one could make the case that each character didn’t really know Joy, be it the Delaney children or Joy’s emotionally detached husband Stan (Sam Neill). Pair that with the undeniable chemistry of the cast that makes up the family unit, and you have an addictive binge-worthy whodunit that keeps audiences hooked.
Awards Radar spoke to Melanie Marnich about what drives her to create complex mysteries for television, working with the cast of Apples Never Fall, and so much more.
Niki Cruz: I’m a huge fan of your past work, such as The OA and The Affair. I was drawn to the storytelling and multiple perspectives in The Affair. With Apples Never Fall, we have that again to a certain extent.
Melanie Marnich: Yeah, with this and The Affair, there are multiple points of view and multiple timelines, and they both ask, what is the truth?
NC: I imagine that kind of storytelling drives you to create — the heavy ensembles and those rich storylines.
MM: I have always liked shows and projects that carry moral complexity. It’s not good guys vs bad guys. It asks us to confront some deep questions and push our boundaries a bit. I think when you shift between points of view, you get under the skin of the various characters, and you see what motivated a decision, conflict, or betrayal, and it kind of is a way to humanize characters and the story.
NC: With this source material from Liane Moriarty, she has such a specific voice. Her books are page-turners, and she really does a great job of inspecting the inner lives of her characters. The writing of this show really mirrors that quality.
MM: Thank you so much for saying that because that was really the job of the series. Liane is a storytelling genius, but then the question became, how do you translate that energy of a novel and the nuance and inner lives of characters? How do you externally dramatize that for the screen? It’s a big question, a big challenge, and a really fun one. I think it’s challenging but hugely rewarding when you get to do it.
NC: I don’t think many people realize that there’s not an area the showrunner doesn’t touch. They’re with the writers, producing, writing, collaborating with different departments, and dealing with potential studio notes. How do you balance all of that?
MM: By being maybe a workaholic [Laughs]. First of all, I feel really fortunate to do what I do. I love this job. So, I get quite energized by it. I like a job that uses all parts of my brain and my creativity. It’s like going to school all the time every day. I always felt supported, and still, you’re right; you’re making every decision, whether completely re-breaking an episode, casting, or choosing the coffee cups for a breakfast scene.
NC: The tone is always important, especially in a show like this, where you must hook people in fast. How did you develop that?
MM: I’m going to link that question to your previous question. One of the biggest things a showrunner has to do is be the steward of the tone of something. The tone of this show is tricky, and that was one of the great challenges. What was fun was walking that fine line between something horrible that might have happened to Joy Delaney and in the next scene, we’re having fun with Joy Delaney and the kids. It was about balancing the love, the warmth, and the potential horror and blending all of that in some sort of stew, which made it a delicate yet intriguing tone that vacillated between harrowing drama and something that, I hope, was really fun.
Early on, I knew that the show had to be funny, but because of the mystery at the heart of it, it should never have jokes, because that would be so disrespectful to the core mystery. Yet, we have to laugh, these people do have to be funny. The siblings are going to drive each other crazy.
NC: The thing that surprised me most about the show was those comedic moments within those quirky character traits that made up the Delaney siblings. It brought out the familiarity. I feel like I know Amy (Alison Brie). I feel like I’ve talked to someone like Amy at a dinner party somewhere. You’re right; they’re all going to drive each other crazy because they’re siblings. They all have different perspectives on their childhood and relationships with one another. Untying all of that in one show, especially a show that has only a few episodes to do that in, makes it all the more fascinating.
MM: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. The actors for the Delaney kids started a sibling text chain, when they were all first cast. I think it really went a long way. First of all, they adored each other, but they became this family, had a sibling dynamic, and were just delightful. The scenes start to feel even richer; there are ad-libs in there that there’s no way I could write. It made it feel authentic and fun. It’s great to see Annette and Sam’s kids. It became visually real.
NC: You mentioned Annette and Sam, and these are veteran actors who really know how to build up tension in this marriage that you feel like you’re witnessing decades of strife. I imagine that’s kind of a dream to have.
MM: Yeah, they were just stunning. They were such generous artists and pros. These people prepared like crazy, hit the ground running, and brought such depth to everything. They were great to work with. We shot in Australia and moved there together, and maybe part of that also contributed to the incredible vibe between them.
NC: How did you chart the two timelines in the writer’s room?
MM: Gosh, with great difficulty. The now and then of it is the trick of it, right? We would break for each episode, “the now” and “the then.” We did a global thing first. We did a big document to start that had everything woven together. Then, when we got into the episode work, we did tend to break it into “the now” and “the then” and then weaved it together.
It wasn’t just about having two timelines; it was about making sure they affected the viewer in a certain way by virtue of where and when we juxtapose them. It was about really crafting when we slide from one timeframe to the other, what that did emotionally if you’re at the height of somebody’s happiness, to go to the depths of their despair.
NC: It certainly did feel like a roller coaster, and I think it’s what makes it—and I hate this word— but binge-worthy.
MM: Thank you! I don’t mind the binge-y words. It was written to be binge-worthy. Audiences are busy. They have a lot of things asking for their time and attention and I take my responsibility as a creator and writer seriously. I want to entertain you. I want to bring you along this ride and make it really fun for you. There was something about the mystery of this that felt like it needed to move fast. If you had a week to chew on it, it might lose its urgency. You’re being catapulted along emotionally.
NC: What about the response from viewers? What have you heard?
MM: The response has been absolutely incredible and way beyond what I could have hoped. People responded to the binge-worthy energy of it, but also to the emotional journey of it, I think, particularly with Joy. The Joy monologue in episode 7 went extremely viral. The monologue where she talks about marriage. There was somebody on TikTok. It was women saying yes, this is it. This is what it feels like. That was really rewarding. So I think there are the people who watch it and love the fun of it and then people who are quite affected by what Joy lays bare about motherhood and marriage.
NC: What’s next for you? It might be a loaded question with the way the industry is in such a weird place now post-strikes.
MM: It’s crazy, right? I’m having all these conversations with writer friends who are capsizing, and I’m just coming out of the Apples bubble where I’m just emerging into this world. I have two projects set up at two different studios that we’re going to hopefully find homes for. They’re equally morally complex and really fun but also passion projects. If I can get those set up, I will be a happy writer.
Catch Apples Never Fall on Peacock!
[This interview was edited for length and clarity]
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