Dating is hard enough without your exes dying mysteriously. That’s the deliciously dark premise behind Peacock‘s new series Laid, premiering Dec. 19, which stars Stephanie Hsu as Ruby, a woman who discovers her former lovers are meeting untimely ends – in chronological order. But beneath its twisted concept lies a surprisingly resonant story about modern romance and self-discovery.
From Australian Hit to American Update
The journey to bring Laid to American screens began with co-creators Nahnatchka Khan and Sally Bradford McKenna discovering the Australian original. “I think we both fell in love with the premise of the Australian show,” Khan explains. “We absolutely loved it and I think wanting to bring it into 2024 and the idea of somebody out there online who’s been dating, she’s in her 30s, she’s been dating for 20 years. What does that look like today?”
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The American version adds its own distinct flavor, particularly in its approach to true crime elements. “Actually, I think the true crime element might be a little more American,” McKenna notes. “We leaned into it more in terms of America having more specifically an obsession with true crime by having one of the characters so into it and playing detective and trying to solve this mystery.”
The Rom-Com Renaissance Gets Dark
“The very foundation of Ruby is that she just so deeply wants to be the center of a rom-com,” explains Hsu, who immersed herself in the genre by watching one romantic comedy per week during the show’s nine-week shoot. Her character’s devotion to finding true love persists “even through all the crazy stuff that starts to happen,” with Hsu noting that maintaining that romantic core was crucial to the show’s unique tone.
Khan and McKenna conceived Laid as a way to merge traditional romantic comedy elements with contemporary dating realities. “We really wanted to preserve Ruby, the main character, like, the idea that she has watched these movies and really wants the idea of the Prince Charming or Princess Charming,” Khan explains. “Have her believe that while also experiencing the real world version of that, which is not that.”
A Complex Leading Lady
Early in development, there were concerns about Ruby’s likability. “Even as they were pitching me Ruby, everybody was kind of like, ‘She’s selfish, she’s a narcissist. She’s made a lot of mistakes and she doesn’t know that she needs to look inward,’” recalls Hsu. Her solution? “I was like, ‘Okay, but I have to play her, so I have to figure out why I like her!’”
Khan elaborates on Ruby’s self-awareness – or lack thereof: “You know, she’s gone to therapy, but she hasn’t been in person. She’s only Zoomed with her therapist from her car. So there is like that little bit of a disconnect as to her place in the world.”
Michael Angarano, who plays Richie, one of Ruby’s exes, provides insight into their dynamic: “Richie is one of the few people, if one of the only people, who is very brutally honest with Ruby. They have this interesting journey where it doesn’t quite go well at first and then as it goes on, they kind of need each other in specific ways and they both accept one another for who they are. There’s no judgment and I think that’s really new for Ruby and for Richie.”
The Time Capsule Effect
The show’s unique structure allows it to explore Ruby’s growth through her past relationships. “I think it’s part of what is so clever about the show, that each past relationship or person that you’ve ever been with or even interacted with, it’s sort of a time capsule for who you were,” Angarano explains. “And Ruby gets to go back and see herself projected through that person’s perspective, which is a terrifying thing. And I think really that’s what the great metaphor of the show is – she’s learning about herself through other people.”
The Friendship at the Core
While the show’s premise might suggest a focus on failed romances, the relationship between Ruby and AJ provides its emotional anchor. Zosia Mamet pushes back against the idea that her character AJ is simply the “grounded” friend: “Oh my God. I love that you think she’s not outlandish. I mean, I think that all the characters in our show are grounded in their own way.”
“We’ve been talking a lot today about how that was really important,” Mamet continues. “That’s something we really tried to keep at the forefront while we were making the show, because I think the circumstances are so zany, but at the end of the day, all of these characters are really on the same journey, which is to find love and acceptance, which I think is really all anybody actually wants as their most base desire in the world.”
Modern Dating Commentary
The show’s dark premise resonates particularly well with contemporary dating experiences. “I think it’s really scary out there,” Mamet observes. “I think the different ways that people can connect and the ways that they can put a very specific manifested version of themselves out into the world that maybe is entirely counter to who they actually are… the world is really crazy. And I think dating is really insane.”
Andre Hyland, who appears as a guest star, appreciates how the show incorporates current technology and dating culture: “I like the way technology is used in it, like how people communicate with cell phones now and just like the nuances of all the gross stuff or bad stuff about modern dating or relationships. I like the way that was mixed in also. And then obviously the dark aspect of, you know, death.”
Finding Hope in the Darkness
Despite its dark premise, Laid ultimately remains hopeful about love. “All she wants is to be the center of a good love story—and she’s efforting to do so,” Hsu reflects. “But by the end, through the messes that she makes and the coming to terms that she has to do, she does become the center of the love story without even trying.”
The series suggests that sometimes the path to romance requires confronting our past – literally, in Ruby’s case – and coming to terms with who we’ve been to understand who we are. As Hsu notes about her character’s journey: “Maybe she is selfish, maybe she is imperfect, but maybe she’s also literally confused as to how a person is supposed to know [when it’s love]. If you’re telling me it’s not how it’s like in the movies and if she didn’t have it growing up, then how is she supposed to know when she knows?”
Laid premieres all eight episodes on Peacock on Dec. 19, offering a darkly funny but ultimately heartfelt exploration of love, death, and the messy journey of finding oneself in the modern dating landscape. As its tagline suggests, sometimes the answer to “Why can’t I find love?” might be “The problem is definitely you” – but that doesn’t mean hope is dead, even if some exes are.
