Alison Brie has long been a staple of great TV—from her simultaneous breakouts on Mad Men and Community to her Golden Globe–nominated showcase on GLOW. Now, following a stretch of writing, producing, and starring in her own well-regarded independent film work—particularly after Netflix canceled GLOW to great outcry during the pandemic—Brie is back on the small screen, starring in Peacock’s splashy limited drama Apples Never Fall, adapted from Liane Moriarty’s twisty bestseller. In many ways, it feels like a homecoming.

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The show begins with the matriarch of a dysfunctional, well-to-do Palm Beach family (Annette Bening) going missing, leaving her husband (Sam Neill) and four adult children (Brie, Jake Lacy, Essie Randles, and Conor Merrigan Turner) to confront their past—and unearth some long-buried secrets. Brie’s Amy is the underestimated rock of the group, having come back from a difficult few years with newfound wisdom and perspective—a shift that those in her orbit don’t exactly take seriously.

But Brie, ever the nuanced and clever actor, certainly does. On this week’s Little Gold Men (listen below), while taking a break from the new horror movie she’s producing and starring in with husband Dave Franco, Brie suggests it’s the beginning of a new chapter.

Vanity Fair: You never play Amy as ridiculous, even though she’s viewed that way by members of her family and other people in her community. How did you approach her?

Alison Brie: That’s a theme of the show and all of the characters—how they see themselves versus the way that their family sees them. We all tend to fall into these roles within our families, and we’re always pushing back. You’re totally right that Amy is viewed as ridiculous by, I would say, almost everyone in her family except for her mom—but just barely. To me, she is the emotional center of the family. She’s certainly the most emotionally open person in the family, and attempts to be the most honest and is the only communicator. Out of everyone in the family, Amy seems to have done the most work on herself, fighting the things that were instilled in her childhood through their father, through the ethos of sports and competition. She’s spent now a lifetime unraveling those things, and nobody else has.

Were you a fan of Liane Moriarty coming into the show?

I’ve read so many of her books, but weirdly hadn’t read this book when I got to read the episodes. Which was kind of nice, because I could kind of go in clean to the show. And there are some slight changes from the show to the book. But I love Liane’s books. God, they go down easy.

You shot this in Australia. Community and GLOW and even Mad Men shot in California, so this was a departure, literally and figuratively.

Definitely, definitely. Knowing that this was a limited series makes something like that easier. You don’t think, Oh, I’m going to spend six months of the year, every year for the unforeseeable future, in Australia. Although, I have to say, I love it in Australia. I’m actually currently back in Australia now, in Melbourne shooting a movie with my husband.

Shooting in a place that was so far from home for all of us—even our young Aussie castmates, Essie Randles and Conor Merrigan Turner, live in Sydney; we’re shooting on the Gold Coast—we spent a lot of time together and it really bonded us. I do think you can feel it when you watch the show, that we came to really feel like a family. There was a clear distinction of, “This is a Delaneys dinner,” and even within the Delaneys, the sibs are going, “Sibs are going to the movies. The sibs are riding together in this van.” Also, for me, it was nice being far away. I was able to get lost in the role a little more versus when you’re shooting something and then you’re going home and taking out the trash. I mean, I still had to take out my trash. [Laughs] But you know what I mean: fewer life errands and life stuff. We could just sort of immerse ourselves in the storytelling.

Because it’s an ensemble show, I would imagine you’re not there on set every second. Your day there was probably looking a little different than on a typical TV shoot.

That’s so true, especially given that the last things that I’ve shot recently were GLOW, or films like Spin Me Round or Somebody I Used to Know—both of which I cowrote and produced and starred in.

Heavy involvement.

All day, every day. This was very different. I can’t remember the last time I’ve worked on a job like this, where I’m not shooting every day of the week. I got to explore Australia a bit and take trips to Sydney and Melbourne, and even just drive around on the other side of the road. Woo, big adventure! But also, it relaxed me a little bit because—probably similar to some of the characters I play—when I’m working, I can get really focused and mentally stay really responsible, and things like that. On this job, if there was a week where I was shooting one day, I’m like, “Well, let’s lighten up. I think we can have a little fun during the week.” It didn’t need to be quite so focused, focused, focused. And I actually think that informed the character in a lot of ways too, because she’s letting energy flow through her. She’s very in the moment. I got to embrace that as part of my experience.

As you mentioned, Amy and her mother have this bond, and you and Annette get these really touching scenes together, particularly in the third episode. How’d you find working with her and developing that?

I’m going to cry, I loved it so much. Annette is such an incredible actress and a force on set, and the way that she handles herself as a working professional is totally inspiring. She couldn’t be more generous. There’s a scene we shot, the opening scene in the third episode, where we’re in a car together. We finished shooting that scene, and I turned to her with tears in my eyes and just was like, “This is very special to me, being able to shoot a scene like this with you. You’re just one of my idols, truly for as long as I can remember.” She said, “I feel the same,” and we hugged. It was very sweet. I adore her. It’s the opposite of when people say, “Don’t meet your heroes.”

Was there anything interesting for you and Jake, playing two siblings of four, with Essie and Conor playing your other siblings as native Australians coming at this from a different angle? How did you find those two halves coming together?

All of the six of us in the Delaneys, it felt like these three generations. Annette and Sam, pros and icons; then me and Jake, like, working actors, doing this for a while; and then Essie and Conor, excited for the first big job. It was really fun for Jake and I to take on a mentorship role for them a little bit. It’s always fun to get to tell all your stories to somebody. We did feel a responsibility, on the one hand, to look out for them, and at the same time, we’re all equals on the set. I couldn’t help but get caught up in their energy and enthusiasm. If anything, it’s Jake and I giving a healthy dose of skepticism and how we’ve been around the block a few times. [Laughs]

You mentioned the luxury of being an actor in an ensemble piece. After GLOW was canceled, I know you got more into writing and producing. Now, generally, what kinds of things are you looking for? Are you still focusing on more of that kind of ownership?

I mean, I’m really looking for another great ongoing show. I’ve been so lucky to have worked on Mad Men and Community and GLOW, and I feel like I’m most comfortable being on a show. Apples was so fun, it made me wish it was not a limited series. Returning [to production] after the strikes—it almost felt like we were returning for a second season. We’re so familiar already with each other and our surroundings. You’re not breaking ice again.

It’s so daunting. I’m still enjoying taking a little break from writing, but my husband and I are coproducing this horror film that we’re starring in right now, which I’m really enjoying. I’ve been thinking more and more about directing a film, which I really want to do, but it’s the same type of thing where it’s just like, What’s the project that’s going to ignite the passion enough to carry me through that kind of time commitment? And just the fear, the scariness of taking that leap and the vulnerability that comes with that.

Community and Mad Men were on at the same time, during an exciting and fresh period for TV. Both were really long-running shows in a way that’s hard to get made nowadays. Then you look at GLOW, and it was at the height of the Netflix boom. Now you’re in this limited series, a form that is very in. You’re very much in tune with the eras of modern television as they evolve.

I’m so glad. I think it’s just dumb luck, and trying to make good choices. I mean, Mad Men and Community—those were two of my first jobs. Really, it was the luck of the draw. There was no audition I was turning down when I was booking Mad Men and Community, and so the odds that I could have ended up on any other pilot that didn’t go, it’s just as high as having ended up on those amazing shows. And then of course had more agency in sort of choosing to pursue GLOW. But even that was a long audition process. As you get more agency, you get to choose your projects more—it’s almost scarier, right? The stakes feel a little higher, like, I did this to myself. But ultimately, it’s just about doing good work that’s fulfilling, and hopefully trying something new and different, trying to show a different side of myself or explore a different side. To that end, I have some series in development, but the development road is long and uncertain, and who knows if those will ever see the light of day. So we persevere.

Thinking of Mad Men and Community, they were both within that kind of character type that you were talking about earlier. Did you notice people seeing you a certain way as you gained more agency?

When I was shooting those shows simultaneously, they couldn’t have felt more different to me. So that was a surprise to me that I was like, Oh, people think these characters are the same, and that’s my thing. It was all my introduction to the business at large, and the trope of typecasting and things like that. I feel like GLOW was a departure from that. I don’t know if everybody felt like it was, but certainly that is what led me down the road of writing material for myself—not getting opportunities to flex different muscles and do different types of things. I feel like the three films that I’ve cowritten, Horse Girl and Spin Me Round and Somebody I Used to Know, are all quite different from each other, and they’re more personal to me, but each in different ways.

When I first got the [Apples] script, I saw the character breakdowns and I thought they were sending me the role of Brooke, which is described as “type A, owns a physical therapy business, father’s favorite.” And then I was like, Oh, it’s the Amy role. That made me really excited. All of that said, if the right project comes around and the writing is really great and the people involved are really wonderful, I’m not like, No more type A characters ever again! Also, let’s be honest: I must just have some of that in my personality, and it may end up coming through in any role I play. [Laughs] I can’t fight it.

Now I’m going to be the first person ever to ask you about the Community movie. Joel McHale said that you guys are going to maybe film it this year. People are excited.

I’m so glad people are excited. I’m excited! I love those guys. To make an Apples comparison, they really feel like my family, and we had so much fun shooting that show. It was long hours and some wild things happened on that set. My memories of shooting Community are just laughing until we’re all crying, and having to lean over so that the tears aren’t ruining our makeup. It’s like that every time we get together. Our text chain is going strong, and so I’m really excited. I did get a phone call recently checking some availability for later this year, so that’s good. Just waiting on that script. Putting a little pressure out there. [Laughs] I know that anything Dan [Harmon] is going to come up with is going to be so brilliant and extraordinary. I can’t wait.

This interview has been edited and condensed.