Desperate Housewives veteran Mark Cherry is back with a second season of his dark comedy series Why Women Kill, debuting today on Paramount+.
The anthology goes to postwar America for its sophomore frame, centering on Allison Tolman's Alma, a "frump" of a housewife who becomes envious -- murderously so -- of the glamorous women in her neighborhood's snobby garden club.
"My character...certainly proves that [kind of jealousy] that was at work well before computers, well before social media," Tolman tells ABC Audio.
She continues, "Because we've always had figures that we revere: movie stars or Jackie O...politicians' wives, whatever, people that we think, 'Oh, their lives must be perfect. Oh, they're so beautiful...' Now, it's influencers and it's a different game. But we've always had those figures that we thought, 'If I could just be more like her, then my life would be so much better...' And that is certainly something that Alma falls victim to."
Shaun of the Dead star Nick Frost plays Alma's husband, the town's lovable veterinarian. He, too, has a dark side, he explains. "I think this was the joy of getting this part, that it gave me the chance to be a committed, loving husband and vet, and then also on the flip side...he puts people down, too," Frost says with a laugh.
"He's so gentle, you know," Frost adds, "There's characters in shows that I really liked over the years where they're really bad people, but they're human too, and they're flawed, and as such, you kind of feel sorry for them and you shouldn't. And that's what I kind of wanted Bertram to be."
The first two episodes of the 10-episode anthology will premiere and stream exclusively for Paramount+ subscribers today; new episodes will be available weekly on Thursdays.