The stars of Conversations with Friends have weighed in on the ambiguous relationship between the show’s two lead characters, Frances and Bobbi, who are best friends and former lovers.
Adapted from Sally Rooney’s bestselling book of the same name, the BBC Three and Hulu adaptation focuses on a ‘ménage à quatre’ between a wealthy Dublin-based couple and two university students, Frances and Bobbi.
Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, Sasha Lane – who plays Bobbi in the series – teased that she thinks viewers’ opinions on the relationship will “shift”.
“I think their opinion will change. I think they’ll start off with an opinion in the first couple episodes of how they feel about all these different types of relationships and the messiness of it. And by the end of it, they might be like, ‘OK, well…’ I think it’ll just shift,” she said.
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Sex Education‘s Jemima Kirke – who plays Melissa – agreed with her co-star.
“I think that’s true. I think that the book might start out with clear rights and wrongs, goods and bads, and then at the end I think what we really find out is how little we know, how few answers we have and how blurry everything is, which is frustrating. I just know that from reading the book. I don’t know how it came across in the series.”
Joe Alwyn – who plays Melissa’s husband Nick – praised the “messiness” of the series, and expressed his hope that the TV adaptation would provoke discussion among its audience.
“I hope that the messiness of the whole series and the way that Sally doesn’t tie things up at the end, I hope people respond to it well. But I hope it provokes discussion as well, just like it did for the book.”
Additional reporting by Abby Robinson.
Join Conversations with Friends stars Alison Oliver and Joe Alwyn, alongside the show’s director Lenny Abrahamson, executive producer Emma Norton and producer Catherine Magee, for a special Q&A at this year’s BFI & Radio Times Television Festival – book your tickets here.
Conversations with Friends is released on Sunday 15th May 2022, appearing on BBC One, BBC Three and BBC iPlayer for UK viewers. Viewers based in the US can watch the 12-part series on Hulu.
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