The Girlfriend star Robin Wright gives her verdict on shocking ending – and reveals how it was decided
Wright offers her insight to RadioTimes.com, having served as director and exec producer on the six-part thriller.
The Girlfriend star Robin Wright has weighed in on the shock end of the Prime Video thriller, revealing that its climactic chapter was still being finalised when cameras started rolling.
Based on the novel by Michelle Frances, the series follows the bitter feud between wealthy art dealer Laura (Wright) and her son's working-class girlfriend, Cherry (Olivia Cooke).
Their relationship gets off on the wrong foot and never fully recovers, with both women resorting to ever more extreme tactics in order to wrestle control of their hapless prize, Daniel (Laurie Davidson).
Speaking to RadioTimes.com, Wright explained that the eventful sixth episode was "being manifested while we were shooting episode one" and that finishing it off "was a bit of a scramble".
Of particular challenge was finding a good level of tension as Laura and Cherry make their final stand at the former's opulent London home; a place that only one of them would emerge from alive.
As director as well as star, Wright recalled "trying to find the waves" in the tension of the final sequence.
"Where do we dip in the wave, and where do we come up, and where do we have this sigh of relief? [Like,] 'Oh, thank God that didn't happen' – we were constantly trying to find those things," she explained.
"But we all really worked together. And on the day in the middle of shooting, the kids – as I called Olivia and Laurie – they would improvise. Or Olivia and I [would] play with it and maybe some magic would come out of it.
"It's so much fun to work that way, I think," added Wright.
The former House of Cards and Wonder Woman star said that she thought viewers would be "surprised" by how The Girlfriend ends, as the show will have had viewers going "back and forth" on "whose team you're on" over its twisty six episodes.
On the improv and duelling perspectives in the show, co-star Cooke shared: "It's seeing what you can dial up and dial down, and what's believable in terms of the story, but also in terms of these characters.
"You don't want the character and their motives to completely change in the other person's perspective. It still needs to feel like Cherry, and it still needs to feel like Laura, and so finding those [differences] – really, a lot of the times on the day – but also pushing it to the extreme, was like a fine line that we had to walk."
The Girlfriend is available to stream on Prime Video.
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Authors
Abby Robinson is the Drama Editor for Radio Times, covering TV drama and comedy titles. She previously worked at Digital Spy as a TV writer, and as a content writer at Mumsnet. She possesses a postgraduate diploma and a degree in English Studies.
David Craig is the Senior Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest and greatest scripted drama and comedy across television and streaming. Previously, he worked at Starburst Magazine, presented The Winter King Podcast for ITVX and studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield.
