Note: This story contains spoilers from “Grosse Point Garden Society” Episode 1.
“Grosse Point Garden Society” plunges viewers into a dark moment as a group of friends — linked by a suburban garden club in Michigan — cover up a murder, though just six months before, one of those four individual was barely an acquaintance.
The new NBC drama series straddles two timelines — one where Birdie (Melissa Fumero), who is known for a reputation of partying and trouble, is welcomed into the garden club by Alice (AnnaSophia Robb), Catherine (Aja Naomi King) and Brett (Ben Rappaport); and one that occurs the night of a mysterious fatality that the group bands together to cover up.
Despite a murder happening during the second timeline, Fumero said the audience meets Birdie at “one of the lowest points in her life” as she’s sentenced to community service after a reckless driving incident, which forces her to confront her next steps. “She’s really lost and trying to figure out what she wants in life.”
“The garden club for Birdie is, throughout the season, going to be a bit of a metaphor for her own personal growth,” Fumero told TheWrap. “Being exposed to a community outside of the one that she’s mostly aligned herself with … especially in this time of her life … she finds herself in a situation that I don’t think she expects is going to help her grow or help her figure thatout, but it ultimately does. And then they murder someone.”
While the group presents a united front as they bury a body in the garden where they first met just months before, Birdie can’t help herself but flake on the group in the middle of their diner breakfast the next morning, ultimately escaping with a key piece of evidence much to the chagrin of her friends.
“Birdie is a survivor … She has gotten herself to where she is by herself on decisions that she’s made,” Fumero said. “That morning, after everything that transpired, she’s just in survival mode — ‘How do I get to the next place?’ — because that’s how she operates.”
Below, Fumero explains why she was “intimidated” to audition for the role of Birdie, how she cracked the character open and teases what’s to come for the rest of the 13-episode season.
TheWrap: What first sparked your interest in the show?
Fumero: It was kind of like the hot pilot. It felt like everybody knew about it. I was aware of Jenna [Bans] and Bill [Krebs] from “Good Girls,” and I read it, and I just thought it was one of the best scripts I had read. I wanted to see what happened next. I have to give credit to Liz Dean, the casting director, because at the time, I was like “am I even going to be considered for this?” People think of me as the sitcom comedy girl, and it felt like everyone’s available right now, because the strike just ended, and everyone’s going to want to audition for this. But Liz saw something in me, and was a big champion and a big supporter throughout the audition process.
What’s it been like to jump back into the world of drama? Have you enjoyed it more than comedy?
I was mostly doing drama before “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” so it feels a little bit like coming back to that. Birdie is a larger-than-life character, so they definitely give me a little bit of license to be a little bit ridiculous. It’s this kind of dream role where I feel like it’s a mix of everything I’ve done to this point.
It’s fun to do the more dramatic stuff, because I definitely missed doing that, but it also gets to scratch my funny bone a little bit, because I get these great one-liners. I love comedy — I hope I never stop doing it. I feel like, when this is done, I’m going to be itching to do something super silly and dumb, which I’ve gotten to do a little bit with voiceover work.
How did you find your version of Birdie? Did you take inspiration from other characters or people?
I was actually very intimidated to audition for her. She felt very far from me. I couldn’t figure out my in with her. I kept picturing other actors that could play Birdie, and I was like, “I don’t know if that’s me. I don’t know if that’s in my wheelhouse.” And my husband, David, actually, when I was working on the interview, remembered this role that I did a gazillion years ago on a web series and the character was kind of similar. He said, “Just start there, because that’s kind of in the same lane,” and it just blew it open, and I found that kind of connection with her to feel like a real person. I really didn’t want her to feel like a caricature at all. And maybe some women I’ve met in my life that you start drawing from, but she’s really different and, and definitely once we’ve gotten into the series … the clothes and the hair and makeup … informs how she walks through the world.
In the premiere we learn that the teenager Birdie is giving a scholarship to is actually her son. Why did she try to go this route even though it seems like she had agreed not to contact him?
She is at the lowest point in her life and she’s really lost, and she’s seeking connection, but it’s not something she’s good at. It’s not something that she has a lot of experience with. She’s thought about the baby that she unwillingly gave up for a long time, and contacting him [was] maybe not the most thought-out plan. I think she’s just grasping at anything, so that decision to make contact and insert herself in his life … opens her up in a lot of ways on this journey she’s on to figure life out but also has consequences.
How did you all figure out the tone for the show? How would you describe it?
At first glance, I was a little bit like, “What is the tone of this going to be?” I was really excited when the casting process was complete — my co-stars are incredibly talented and such good actors and they elevate everything, and they also ground everything. The show will remind people of “Desperate Housewives” a lot, but I think tonally, we’re maybe a little closer to “Big Little Lies.” I feel like “Desperate Housewives” had a lot of fun with camp and that kind of feel, and I think we’re a little different than that. It feels a little more grounded and real with some comedy infused in it, and that’s what I love the most, too. It feels like its own thing. It’s it’s a mystery, it’s a thriller, it’s kind of escapist, it’s fun, it’s funny, it’s sexy. It’s got a little bit of everything, while still staying honest and real.
What can you tease about the rest of the season?
Everything you see in the first few episodes are just the little, tiny embers of what is actually going to happen. There are so many more twists and turns — relationships go to places you don’t think they’re going to go. So much happens in every episode. They resolve something and then something else happens, and all the while we’re giving more and more tidbits and information on what happened the night of the murder. But there’s also these fantastic storylines of relationships and friendships and love and heartbreak all interwoven. I devour every script that they send.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
“Grosse Point Garden Society” airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC and streams the next day on Peacock.
