Melissa Fumero is playing a role unlike any she’s ever played before. The actress, known for her comedic performances in shows like “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” is one of the key players of “Grosse Pointe Garden Society,” a series that she describes as the type of show where you "park yourself in front of the TV" and “get ready to go on a ride.”
Fumero plays Birdie, one of the lead characters of the series
“Grosse Pointe Garden Society” is a fun blend of drama and comedy, following four members of a gardening club in a wealthy Detroit suburb as they’re unexpectedly by a murderous secret. The series stars Fumero, AnnaSophia Robb, Aja Naomi King, and Ben Rappaport as the members of this club, exploring their lives, friendships, romances, and stories as the timeline travels back and forth to tease and unravel intriguing threads. The show is the rare murder mystery that’s packed with well-defined characters. It concludes this Friday, with all episodes available to stream on Peacock.
Fumero plays Birdie, a socialite and romance novelist who crashes the protagonists’ lives, filling them with complications. She’s a loud and brash woman, with many nooks and crannies for audiences to dive into every week. For Fumero, it represents one of her best performances and an opportunity to showcase her skills as a comedic and dramatic actress. In an interview with HOLA!, Fumero discussed the “Grosse Pointe Garden Society,” her hopes for a second season, and some helpful advice she would have liked to hear when she was first starting her career.
Congratulations on the show! Grosse Pointe Garden Society is a mix of genres. How would you describe it or sell it to someone who has never seen it before?
Ooh. I would sell it as a really fun and escapist, a little bit soapy, a little bit funny and just a fun show. It's the kind of show where you park yourself in front of the TV with some popcorn and a glass of wine and get ready to go on a ride, and take in all the scandal and the relationships.
You play Birdie, who's a very complex and interesting character. I feel like she has the right amount of comedy and drama in her story. Were there any challenges in playing her?
Yeah. You know, she is sort of the actor's dream of a role where I get to be funny and ridiculous and kind of big because she is this outspoken, larger-than-life character. But she's also really vulnerable and lost. So I get to play those dramatic moments as well.
I think the challenge with her was figuring out, almost the mask that she wears when she's in public, when we're not seeing her. In those quieter moments, I wanted to make her feel very honest and show where that big personality comes from. And she kind of says whatever she thinks, and she's impulsive and a little bit toxic, and all of that could be easily played as more of a caricature. But I wanted her to feel real. Like, I know some women who are like this, you know, there are moms at my kid's school who are like this.
I knew that, for those quieter, sadder moments to work, the audience needed to believe her, so the moments felt earned. So that was the challenge: figuring out the duality of Birdie.
Birdie is one of the show's most explosive characters
Did you discover, as you were making the show, any similarities between yourself and Birdie?
Oh gosh, not really. Birdie is… I feel like I've played a lot of characters that have big pieces of me that are maybe dialed up or dialed down. I guess I can kind of be a little loud and can joke around, but Birdie feels very far from me. But it was fun to play her because I did find myself, while we were shooting the show, feeling a little bit bolder. I was like, ‘Is this coming from Birdie? Is this 'cause I'm in this character every day?’ Like a little more outspoken, a little less afraid to say what I thought or if I saw something on set that wasn't right, I'd be like, ‘Hey, don't do that.’ You know, like, calling people out. And I'm not always like that, so I felt like that was a little gift I got from Birdie, 'cause she says whatever, and I think I got a little bit more bold through her.
I was reading some of the interviews you've done about this show, and going through social media posts and stuff, and it feels like you love this series. Fans have also really embraced it. What do you hope for the future of the series?
This cast has been really incredible, and we've all gotten very close throughout filming. So I really hope we get another season. I think there are so many fun stories to explore with these relationships and these characters, and it just feels like we're hitting our stride. And so I hope we get to make more because I think a second season of this show would be really fun and strong. I want to know what happens to Birdie (laughs).
Is there anything you’re looking forward for audiences to see as the first season draws to a close?
These last three episodes are just insane and a rollercoaster. We’ve had these flash forwards all season, and these episodes happen in sequence; there’s no time jumping. So a lot of things that happened that you don't know have happened are revealed.
Reading those scripts, I was like, ‘oh my God; (laughs). I just think it's a really fun end to the season, and I'm really excited for fans to watch it. And I'm really excited for people who may have been waiting to binge all of the episodes to get into it now. I think this is the perfect time to be getting into it. So yeah, hopefully people love it and we get another season.
You've been involved in some awesome projects throughout your career and have become an inspiration for women, specifically Latinas. Do you have any advice or some words you would’ve liked to have heard at some point in your life for these women who look up to you?
I think a big one for me, for young women, particularly Latinas, is to protect your confidence. Don't let anyone knock your confidence just because you might be a little different or you don't think you're the right type or whatever it is. Like, your uniqueness brings so much to everything that you do, and it's the strongest part about you. And I think the more we can embrace that, the way our identity and our culture kind of shape who we are, that's the best bit of us. I think when I was younger, I, like a lot of us do, tried to assimilate more. I tried to tone those parts of myself down when I should have been toning them up (laughs). It took me a long time to figure that out and to reinstill my confidence. And so that's the biggest thing I would tell young people: protect your confidence.
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© NBC
© NBC
© NBC
© NBC
