‘They end up in a good place… Maybe’: Zosia Mamet teases that ‘Laid’ is not the kind of love story you’re expecting

Zosia Mamet, the celebrated comedy actress and Stephanie Hsu’s co-star in Peacock’s upcoming black rom-com series Laid, promised plenty of goodness for the female friendship at the heart of its story.

The show’s peculiar premise sees Hsu’s Ruby and Mamet’s AJ attempt to figure out why the former’s exes have suddenly begun to drop dead one after the other. It adapts the Australian series of the same name that premiered in 2011 and whose rights to an American version NBC has held on to since.

According to the creators of Laid (U.S.), Nahnatchka Khan and Sally Bradford McKenna, the idea was to modernize the Australian original’s view on romance to fit both the American context and the post-pandemic world of the 2020s. What ultimately happened was that the romantic relationships on the show took a back seat to its real dramatic core — the friendship between Ruby and AJ. And, maybe, that’s exactly what dating in your 30s in this chaotic point in time is like — you lean on your best friend and eventually learn that that relationship is purer and more fulfilling than anything you may find elsewhere.

Of course, as with any great love story, it has its up and downs. Ruby screws up epic style at one point and is forced to come to terms with her errors, finding some much-needed maturity in the process. We Got This Covered asked the duo what to expect for Ruby and AJ’s friendship after that misstep.

“I think, like any good journey, any good arc of a relationship, when you’re telling a story, it kind of has to start out in a good place, and then maybe go down,” Mamet explained. The point of that crisis, she says, is to get the audience to root for the characters and the pairings’ happy ending.

Much like Ruby, AJ is also desperately in need of some perspective, especially when it comes to her love life, which is essentially defined by her relationship with Andre Hyland’s Zack, a filterless gamer/streamer who isn’t exactly inspiring life-changing romance.

“I think that they’re both faced, individually, with questioning some of their life choices,” the Girls actress continued, adding “And the way that they approach their relationship in general, with each other, but also their relationship to the world and, maybe, to their romantic partners.”

For all of these reasons, Ruby and AJ’s friendship is the through line of Laid. Although the series is frantic and disorderly by design, dividing its attention on multiple simultaneously moving pieces, it finds its most grounded moments when Hsu and Mamet get a scene to themselves. Their ability to riff off one another while maintaining a good level of sincerity saves the show from drowning in the wackiness of its plot.

Thankfully, it sounds Ruby and AJ might just make it through the storm, and come out stronger on the other side. Mamet tells us that “They’re moving through some muddy stuff and, then, I think, they both grow, in positive ways. And they… How do I tease it without spoiling it? I don’t know… They end up in a good place.”

At this point, the Vermont-native’s partner in crime had to intervene, to keep some suspense alive, cutting her commentary with a lilting “Maybe!” To which Mamet added, “Tune in to find out!” When we asked whether this journey could carry onto a second season of Laid, the Oscar-nominee teased, “Maybe! That one’s like maybe,” implying a much realer uncertainty than the one threatening Ruby and AJ’s storybook ending. “That one’s actually ‘maybe,'” Mamet capped off.

All episodes of Laid will premiere on Peacock on Thursday, Dec. 19. A must-watch for fans of either actress and a wild ride that understands, at every step, just how important female friendships are in surviving the mad world of today.