If you liked Big Little Lies last year, there’s a good chance you’ll also enjoy HBO’s upcoming miniseries Sharp Objects. Starring Amy Adams and Patricia Clarkson, the Southern gothic–esque thriller revolves around a reporter (Adams), fresh from a stay at a mental hospital, who returns home to her small Mississippi town to investigate the murder of two girls. Her socialite mother (Clarkson) is also there, and a perfect storm of intrigue, family drama, and terror ensues.
Adams, who is also an executive producer on the series, spoke to THR about her emotionally draining yet fulfilling role—one that encouraged her to return to television for the first time in 10 years. During the chat, Adams also talked about when she realized her stand-in, a woman identified only as Reb, was possibly being mistreated during the production.
“[Reb] was fantastic, and she also put up with a lot ’cause she wasn’t getting the sort of catharsis from the performance and she wasn’t treated the same way I’m treated,” Adams told THR, noting how Reb had to be covered in fake scars for many scenes. “And I’ve never experienced this before but, because we looked so much alike, at one point somebody grabbed me really hard and pulled me. I went, ‘What’s going on?’ And they’re like ‘(Gasp) You’re not Reb!’ I went into producer [mode] and I was like, ‘You will not handle her like that.'”
Marti Noxon, who created and cowrote the series — based on Gillian Flynn’s original novel — confirmed Adams’ account, and hopes her honesty will change on-set culture going forward. “Well, it’s a true story. And [it happens] all the time,” she explained. “And she wouldn’t have said a word, by the way, and that’s the other part that’s [changing] through women being more a part of the engine. But I learned a lot on this show about how I want to do it in the future.”
The first of Sharp Objects‘ eight parts will debut on July 8.
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