Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Season 2 of Starstruck.From creator/writer/executive producer Rose Matafeo, the second season of the six-episode half-hour HBO Max original series Starstruck continues telling the story of Jessie (Matafeo), who has decided to change her plan of returning home to New Zealand and instead stays in London, and her relationship with Tom (Nikesh Patel), who complicates her life by the fact that he’s a famous film star. Their desire to pursue a relationship with each other doesn’t mean that it’s smooth sailing for them, as they have to navigate her friends, his family, a very intense agent (Minnie Driver), a demanding director (Russell Tovey), and their own communication issues.
During this 1-on-1 interview with Collider, Matafeo talked about how Magic Mike Live became a part of Season 2, why there’s currently no word on a third season, shooting the big finale moment in the lake, the chaos of shooting episode six, the fun of making a show with her friends, whether she’s thought about what could come next for Jessie and Tom, what she’s currently working on, and why the HBO series Succession should hire her.
Collider: I love this show. I am so happy that we got a second season. I loved the season. The most important question that I have to ask is how did Magic Mike Live thing work its way into the show?
ROSE MATAFEO: I know. I was just reading a piece that came out where I outed myself as a complete Magic Mike Live aficionado. For my birthday, I went to Magic Mike Live in London with my friends, including Emma [Sidi], who plays Kate. And then, I went back because I had to take (show writer) Alice [Snedden]. That was when we were about to film the first series of Starstruck. COVID was kicking off while we still went to Magic Mike Live. We weren’t quite aware of the severity of the situation. So, Alice went and she had a great time. We hadn’t even shot the first series yet. We went back to New Zealand to write the second series, before we had and Magic Mike Live weaseled its way in because it was basically the most recent things we’d attended. It was maybe one of the last live shows we’d attended, ever, before the pandemic.
And it clearly left quite the impression on you.
MATAFEO: I follow some of the dancers on Instagram. One of them is from New Zealand. I’m very proud of him. He’s the one dancing on someone nearby me, in the episode.
I thought maybe it was a ploy to make sure you get free tickets for life, by including them in the show.
MATAFEO: No. There has been no talk of any free tickets. Although they were very, very accommodating, in letting us film there. I think production was like, “Rose is just a huge fan,” so I had to keep that up. But it wasn’t a lie. I was a huge fan. It was great because we didn’t have to fake it. The only thing that is actually technically inaccurate is that there is no interval in Magic Mike Live. Someone did pick up on that on Twitter and was like, “There’s no interval.” I was like, “I know. I know.” For the story, we had to put an interval in.
With the way that this season ends, I am in need of a third season. There could easily be more story to tell. So, what is happening there? Are we going to get a third season? Will we see more of these characters? Is that something you want to do?
MATAFEO: I don’t know. I have no clue, at this point. We were in such a unique position with the first series and the second series where, because of COVID, it weirdly led to this thing where we did the second series right on the back of the first one. [The first series] came out the day we started a shoot in the second series. People were like, “Oh, they magically just had a second series.” No, I have not been working on a third series while we’ve been editing the second series. I’d be a bit behind on that. I’m sure, if the opportunity arises and the story warrants it. I never like things going on. I was even worried about the second series, whether or not there was enough stuff there. I was worried up until the day it came out, really. As long as you can find something different to say or a different story to tell. The second series feels like a completely different thing. With the first series, those two kids just won’t get together, and then they finally do and it’s a whole different ball game. So, if there is a story, yes, hopefully.
Otherwise, you could just leave them in the lake forever.
MATAFEO: I would love to leave them in the lake. Honestly, I think that’s pretty perfect. They never got out of the lake. They never escaped, and that lake is haunted.
I love that whole final moment with the kiss in the lake. What was it like to shoot in the lake? How much time did you have to spend in the lake? Was it cold? Was it clean? Were there things living in the water?
MATAFEO: The water had to be tested, many days before we went into it, for many insurance reasons. We were shooting over two days in the park, which is not a lot of time to get that amount of the thing done. On those two days, there were completely different weather forecasts. The first day was blissful sun, and then the forecast for the next day was just rain, rain, rain, rain, rain. Thankfully, we shot it continuously, so it goes from very sunny to pissing down with rain. You can’t really tell on screen because it’s real rain, but it was raining the entire second day. It was good for our editing, but it was a crappy day for me. I was only in the water for one day, and that was the one that was pissing down with rain. I had to wear a cut down wetsuit underneath that pantsuit and I had to wear these rock shoes. Walking in that pond, you might hit a rock. There was an island very nearby, which we called Rat Island because we just saw all these rats on it, all the time. I tried desperately not to get the water in my mouth, but there were a couple times that I splashed and it went in my mouth. I’m pretty up for anything, if it’s worth it and if it’s for the art, but that day, at lunchtime, I had to go back to my little trailer and just lie down. I was like, “Don’t come talk to me for an hour.” The prospect of getting back in was the worst thing. When you get out, you warm up. The fact that I had to get back in, in the afternoon, I was like, “Please don’t make me do it. For the love of God, no.” So, I don’t really want to shoot anything in a lake again anytime soon, but I also won’t say no because I’m experienced now. I know what to do.
I just kept thinking about what could be in the water.
MATAFEO: It was so scary. Sometimes it would be more squelchy than others, and then you’d hit a rock. But there were all these amazing Marine guys in there, who were helping out with all of the aqua stuff and they were really nice, so it was pretty cool. And also, it was not only me, but the poor boom operator had to be in the water for a while as well and her toes started going numb, so she had to get out. It was a bit of a nightmare.
That whole last episode is quite the journey. They go to all these different places and have all these different activities. What was it like to shoot that episode and all of those different things? Is it fun to do that and go just all out for an episode?
MATAFEO: It was fun to write, and it’s fun to watch, but it was probably the hardest one to shoot. That party bus was a nightmare because it’s so loud and it’s tiny. None of us are movie stars. We don’t have movie star budgets. It’s TV. It was cramped. We had to set up a particular rig, to even be able to even fit into that party bus. There are only a certain amount of angles that you can shoot in a party bus as well. It was a real challenge to figure out how to shoot it. We wrote so much important stuff happening in a moving party bus, which is very loud, very low lit and very cramped. I learn from mistakes. I won’t write anything in a party bus anymore. Laser tag was pretty fun. It was all great. To be honest, the great thing about television is that when you do work with relatively small crews or people who are used to smaller stuff, they just do whatever it takes to get the script done. I’m lucky that I’ve always worked with producers who are never like, “You’ve gotta rewrite this because we can’t do it.” They’re like, “Okay, let’s just figure out how we’re gonna do this.” I was very happy that the mini-golf was indoors though. At least one thing was, for fuck’s sake.
It just seemed like it was challenge after challenge after challenge, for that episode.
MATAFEO: It was writing a situation because, in that episode, they hadn’t seen each other for a while and they could never have meaningful time alone. It’s great because when the context of your setting constrains you for the story, you can find little dark corners to find each other. Then, they’re separated on boats. It was very much intentional, that episode, to almost bombard them with overstimulation, so they couldn’t actually talk about anything. Having a proper, meaningful, important chat on a party bus while people are doing karaoke, I just find so funny and weird and true to life.
Now that Jessie has had this life epiphany that she’s just a bad girlfriend who’s not really good at relationships and you’ve left them in the lake, have you thought at all about like what might happen next for them?
MATAFEO: I’m not even sure. It’s funny because in the first series, we don’t see them in a relationship. It’s the will they or won’t they thing. With the second series, they do give it a go in a relationship, but neither of them are ready for it. I don’t know. It’s hard. It honestly feels like, every time we write another series, it’s like writing fan fiction about these characters. I do daydream about where they would end up, but I’m not sure. People should just write fanfiction for me, and then we can just make a show about that and that’ll be fine.
Before you created and wrote and produced and started this, had you ever auditioned for a romantic comedy? Was romantic comedy something that was even on your radar?
MATAFEO: This comes from a place of people, with me and Alice and Karen [Maine], who directed the first series, who really have a lot of love for romantic comedies. We know our shit when it comes to these films. I was in a film, called Baby Done, in 2019, which is kind of rom-com, but kind of not. I did a standup show where I was like, “I’ll never get cast as a lead in a rom-com. Look at my curly hair, and I wear glasses. It’s never gonna happen for me.” And then, I was in that film, which was edging towards that, in a way. Other than that, no. And even in that scenario, I knew the creators of that and I was part of the script development of it, so I was already in their minds. I have never, ever had an audition, just outright, for that kind of stuff. But I don’t think people make rom-coms much anymore, particularly not the Hollywood blockbuster level of rom-com. I’m not surprised I didn’t get an audition for Marry Me. I think Jennifer Lopez had that one in the bag. I think I could have brought a lot to that role. I think I could have brought a unique spin to it. Me and Owen Wilson could have had a chemistry test and it could have been good, but I’m glad that they went with J. Lo, in the end. It’s fine.
One of the reasons I love this is because the relationship and the friendships feel so real. How much fun has it been for you to get your real-life best friend, Emma Sidi, involved as your show best friend? Does that help with making it just feel real and natural?
MATAFEO: One hundred percent. It’s very easy for me. I was living with her, at the time, so we’d share cars all the time. It was easy for me because I trust her implicitly, and I trusted her to be able to take the character and do her own thing with it a lot. We know each other so well that we could write and go, “Emma will pull that off.” That’s not a luxury you always get with casting. We wrote both series with her in mind. It’s a pleasure. It is down to casting. Being able to be a very, very, very involved part of every casting in the show means that you can show up at work and go, “It’s fine, everyone is gonna take this and they know the tone of the show and they know that there’s a natural vibe to it.” There’s not much improv in the show, technically. It’s entirely scripted, but it’s always a conversation as well. I’m there in the scene, usually, with them and can immediately talk about and make decisions, as a writer. Alice is always there as well. That kind of really collaborative environment means that dialogue can feel real. We only very rarely are writers that are like, “No, you have to say it like that.” I make a very conscious effort to be like, “I’m never gonna give someone a line reading, or anything.” It’s always so annoying, as an actor, to have that.
How much fun are those bigger groups seems like to do? Are those fun to shoot? Are they chaotic to shoot? Is it a little bit of both?
MATAFEO: They’re both fun and chaotic. My mom’s a teacher, and sometimes I have to go full teacher mode. I was also always the goodie good in the class and I’ll be like, “Sorry, can we just keep it down? We’re trying to do something over here.” Getting that group together for episode six was sometimes hard to wrangle. That’s the price you pay for a cast with an ensemble that has a lot of chemistry and who get on. It would’ve been much worse, if no one was talking to each other or were on their phones. That would be horrific. But it can be hectic, especially the third episode, the party episode. It’s a genuine joy. I can’t believe I managed to write a script and cast a show, and then git to hang out with my actual friends. It’s actually suspicious. I don’t know why anyone let me do that. It’s the best.
I love how terrifying Minnie Driver is as Tom’s agent. She’s just the best in that role. Did you intentionally want to find a way to work her in more this season, just to interact with her?
MATAFEO: Oh, a hundred percent. As soon as she did the first series, she was like, “When am I gonna be doing the second series?” She’s so supportive of the show and she’s so brilliant in it. She has fun when she comes back and does it. I made the right call to make the scene with me. I was so jealous, the first time around. I was very, very happy to be able to share a scene with her. It was a dream. It was so funny to write that character because it’s a really big character. Same with Russell Tovey, the director. We were able to just write these really comical, big characters. In a show where there are more realistic characters and natural characters, to be able to have these pops of just total comedic performances is such a great gear shift.
What was it like to cast the role of Tom for this show? How did you figure out what you wanted, and what was it about Nikesh Patel?
MATAFEO: He came to us at a time we needed him. We auditioned a lot of people, and all of them were brilliant actors, but I was cast already. Many of those actors could have read against other people playing Jessie, and it could have been a match. It was honestly about just finding a match, knowing that I was probably gonna be in it. I reckon that we would’ve recast him rather than me, to find the person who clicked. We had a natural chemistry with the script, but he’s also just such a lovely guy. To go into something going, “Okay, well, I’m gonna have a working relationship with this person and I really get on with them.” It went beyond the role. He was a great person to work with. It was tight budgets, tight time frames, really collaborative, we had to work fast, you had to have a great attitude about it, and he did. He’s quite a charming, good-looking man, and that really helps when you’re casting a love interest. I’m probably not supposed to say that he’s good-looking, but he’s a movie star in it. We never wrote that in the character description though. We never even had much of a character description. God, we’re bad writers.
While you’re figuring out whether there will ever be a third season of Starstruck, what are you doing next? Do you have anything you’re working on developing and creating?
MATAFEO: I’ve got bits and bobs. I’m helping out on other people’s projects, here and there. I was working on a pilot thing, earlier last year. I’m trying to get more into directing. Honestly, I’m just bopping around. I’m in a real period of just trying to figure out what to write next. I’m really lucky to have so many directions in which I can write. I still do standup, from time to time. I haven’t done it much lately, during the pandemic. I’ve always got five different things in my mind and I always manage to procrastinate from all of them. What’s great, if you have five different things, you can move from one to another when you get bored. But I genuinely have nothing in the pipeline, which is also a very natural state for me. That was my life doing standup. I’d work towards the goal of an hour-long festival show to do a comedy festival, and then the rest of the year I’d be bopping around and being very fortunate to just be creative. I’m unemployed right now. If anyone has a quick job that you want me to do, I’m here and I’m ready. Otherwise, I’m honestly just in London, going to movies.
Is there a show that you watch that you would love to do a guest spot on?
MATAFEO: Honestly, I’d love a job. No one’s giving me jobs. The problem is that people think I’m much busier than I actually am. I’m truly not. When I’m doing it, it takes up my time. Honestly, I’d be an extra in Succession. I’d be happy to do that. I’m so good at pretending to talk on the phone. This is where the campaign should start, to get Rose a spot in Succession, in the background just nodding and getting shit done. I’ll go be an extra in Italy at an Italian wedding. That would be great. They need a few more brown people on that show anyway. It is actually their duty to get me in as an extra. That will be the headline of this story. “Succession has no brown people. Get her a job.”
Starstruck is available to stream at HBO Max.