Camilla Whitehill (‘Big Mood’ creator): ‘We didn’t have the budget for ants’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
“I never thought I’d get to write TV,” admits “Big Mood” creator Camilla Whitehill. In our recent webchat she adds, “It seemed like an unattainable thing. For someone that used to obsessively read scripts from ‘Buffy,’ it is a mind-blowing honor” Watch our exclusive video interview above.
“Big Mood” is a British dark comedy about two best friends trying to navigate the pressures of life. The series stars Nicola Coughlan (“Bridgerton”) and Lydia West (“It’s A Sin”) as the two struggling companions. Season 1 will be available for streaming on Tubi starting April 19. The creator explains, “I have incredible script editors and producers but it is a lot of time on your own. The show was very important to me and I was involved in every single facet of it, so if it’s bad it’s completely my fault.”
Whitehill created the series for her real-life friend Coughlan, who plays Maggie. Whitehill shares, “We’ve been friends for 16 years. Maggie is not based on Nicola at all or our friendship. But, if you get to write a TV show for your best friend, you should. I knew how good an actor she is and how funny she is. The joy of writing it knowing she was doing it was extremely calming.”
Whitehill admits that in one episode Maggie “has to hold a rat, and Nicola does not like rats. I was so excited the day the rat was coming. She’s a professional. She did it. I suppose it’s a light form of bullying. It was very amusing she got to hold the rat, whose name was Ronan and he was wonderful.”
Not all intended animals made it into the show. The creator reveals, “There’s things that cost a lot of money that I had no idea cost a lot. There was a scene that I wanted to start on some ants. I was told was told that we didn’t have the budget for ants. I asked, ‘can I just bring some ants from outside?’ I was told no. I was like, ‘are the ants going to rise up and sue us?’”
Throughout the series, we see Maggie contend with her mental health. The creator explains, “I’m certainly not trying to represent everyone with bi-polar disorder. But for that character, that’s her experience. That’s part of her. There’s a lot of other things about her and that’s just one of them.”
On finding comedy in dark places, Whitehill reflects, “It’s just how I am. There’s nowhere I won’t make a joke. I will make a joke in a hospital room. I will make a joke after hearing the worst news. I don’t know what that is. I just think comedy is really important and as exciting and diverse a genre as drama and sometimes not treated as such. There’s nothing you can’t do with comedy.”
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