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, Patel talked about whether he’d be game for a third season, how well-formed this series was from the beginning, what this rom-com gets right, the fun of getting to explore Tom’s family in Season 2, working with national treasures like Driver and Tovey, shooting the ambitious last episode, the lake scene, and how he’d feel if there were no more episodes of the series.
Collider: With the way that Starstruck ends, there could definitely still be more story to tell. Have you heard anything about a Season 3? Are you game for a Season 3? Would you like to see that happen?
NIKESH PATEL: Hell yeah, I’m game for it. The person to ask is not me, unfortunately, it’s Ms. Matafeo. I’ll be there in a heartbeat, if she wants to do another series. When I last asked her, she was being very tight-lipped, so I don’t know. I don’t know if there will be more Tom and Jessie, but hopefully, we’ll get to see more because I love playing this character, and I also just love being part of this world that Rose created. It’s really fun.
When this project first came your way, what was your first impression of these characters in their world? What made you want to do this? Was it very well-formed, from the beginning?
PATEL: Yeah, it really was. There’s another thing at play, which is that this came through when we were still reeling from the pandemic, and I wasn’t sure how long it was gonna be before I got another job, and then this job came along. As I understand it, it was meant to go in March of that year, which is when COVID hit, so everything shut down. I think my understanding is there was another actor attached to play Tom, who became unavailable, so when it came my way, I was like, “Yay, I’ve got a job,” and also, “Oh my God, it’s this job.” It really did feel fully formed. Just from reading the script, the voice felt really confident. It made me laugh, as I read it, which is always a good sign, and it was really well-observed. Rose and Alice [Snedden] for the first series, and Nic [Sampson] added for the second, had a real eye for the little details and absurdities of these people, that make them feel very relatable.
And then, when it came to shooting it and seeing how this world was coming together, (director) Karen Maine for Series 1 was instrumental in that, and then Jamie Jay Johnson for Series 2. It’s really confident with a really nice mix of old timey with a slightly timeless quality to it. Partly that’s visual, partly that’s the music, but then there’s also something really current and relatable about the messiness of modern dating and living in a big city and being a fish out of water. And then, there’s how it deals with celebrity, which from the time I spent with Rose and Alice, is equal parts obsession and disdain. That’s their take on famous people, and you see both of those things in the show, as well.
I’m definitely a tough sell with comedy and I’m an even tougher sell with romantic comedy. When it comes to romantic comedy, for me, the humor works best when it comes out of authenticity because, too often, it feels like romantic comedies are so contrived and the people talk in a way that real people and real couples don’t talk. With this show, the relationship and the friendships just seem so real. What do you think this romantic comedy gets right? What sets it apart for you?
PATEL: I think there’s a world in which you take the central premise of this show and you get a very different show that’s less relatable and less well-observed. What makes this show sing is that it’s clear that the people who wrote it have a deep love for the genre, but also have a really clear voice and are really fucking funny, which helps. This story really resonates and really grips its audience, if you get both halves of that rom-com equation. This show can be incredibly funny and you get these heightened situations that are played for laughs, but then the whole premise of Series 2 is, “How does this actually work?” It’s the point where, in the time that you get to tell a film, it wouldn’t take us through this bit. It’s also not shying away from when it gets messy and when it gets rough and how the fights stink. I found myself reading the script like a fan going, “No, don’t do that. That’s stupid.” I knew that, if I was reading it and feeling that, then hopefully audiences would be doing the same.
How does it work with Rose and her writing the scripts? Does she call and tell you about what she’s thinking of doing, or do you just get the scripts once they’re all finished?
PATEL: There was the occasional point of just checking in about something. It’s very much the kind of atmosphere where, if I wanted to query something or get some feedback or just get a bit more information about why a scene had gone a certain way, Rose and Alice were very open to that. But I have to say there wasn’t much of that. The scripts were really good. They’ve got really sharp instincts for what works and what doesn’t, even down to hearing it out loud on the day, and then going, “You know what? Change that.” That’s the advantage of working this closely with the people who wrote the thing. On the day, sometimes that process can be jumping through hoops because you’ve gotta try to get ahold of the writer and people can get quite precious about changing a single with what’s written. But it was always the case where all of us had the freedom to do a take as written, and then we could riff. Particularly when you’ve got really seasoned comedy actors who breathe improv, that’s where some of the best stuff came from, and it made me braver to do a bit more of it, myself. Across the board, with the comedies that I’ve done, with Four Weddings, Man Like Mobeen, and [Starstruck], when you’re watching really good comedians who are also really good actors, because the two aren’t the same thing, it’s really inspiring. Sometimes it makes it and sometimes it doesn’t, but they try. And to have keen eyes on it, they can go, “Yes, you tried something there and I think you should pull out more of that because that’s really funny,” or “Actually, let’s control it and keep it tight because the payoff comes later.”
I love that we get to see Tom with his family this season. How much fun was that for you, getting to see how he is with his parents and his brother?
PATEL: It was so much fun. It was a real privilege, working with those three actors. With Vincent [Ebrahim], I’ve had the pleasure of playing his son in a number of different incarnations, on stage and on radio, and he finally got to be my screen dad. And Mina [Anwar] was great. Parth [Thakerar] was brilliant in that episode and in the party episode, as well. I just think it’s great to have that kind of representation in this show, where it’s just a really well-observed family dynamic and the comedy doesn’t particularly derive from identity-based humor, apart from one dig, which I really enjoyed, where Vinay comments on the fact that mom and dad gave me a white name and I’m not even using it properly. I thought that was really fun. But yeah, working with them was a joy. I just wish there was more of it. I also think it’s just such a funny, believable dynamic that you see Tom’s family and they actually could not give a single shit about his career or his status. When he goes home, he’s the put-upon brother who can’t keep a girlfriend and is a constant source of disappointment, and no one really knows the name of his latest film. I really enjoyed that.
The very strange relationship that Tom has with the director of the movie that he’s making is a definite standout, and Russell Tovey is so great in that role. How much fun was that dynamic? Did it remind you of any real on-set dynamics you’ve had with directors?
PATEL: It was so fun because Russell is so lovely. He’s a national treasure, as well. Trying to pin down the one thing that you know him from, particularly [in the UK], is really difficult because he’s been in so much good stuff, but he’s not like that at all, which makes it even more fun to watch. Does it mirror experiences that I’ve had? Definitely not directors that I’ve worked with, I’m happy to say. But I remember, about 10 years ago, when I was starting out, you’d be auditioning and there would be some questionable approaches or ways of engaging with certain directors who had that slightly mad, alpha, cokey energy. I’ve gotta say, I’m very lucky that I’ve not experienced it firsthand, myself, but I’ve heard stories. And Russell, as far as I’m aware, didn’t base it on anyone in particular, but I can only assume that he’s had plenty of experiences of his own, that he was able to just go, “Right, I know who this guy is. Let’s go.”
Tom also has a terrifying agent, in the form of Minnie Driver, who is so great in her role. Has that also been a lot of fun?
PATEL: Yeah. Again, she’s someone who is a national treasure. I remember with the first series, we were all on tiptoes because we’d managed to get Minnie to play the agent, and we weren’t sure what sort of energy she’d bring. She was just really fun, really professional, really funny, and great with improvising. When we were filming series one, it was just her and I in the restaurant and I was like, “Well, shit, I’ve gotta up my game.” And then, coming back, Rose saw that and went, “Yeah, okay, I wanna play next time. I write the damn thing.” It had hilarious results. It’s such a fun dynamic. She’s cartoonishly mad. It’s so well-judged because that ingredient really works in this world. You completely buy it. I’d love to know what that origin story was like and why they still work together. I suspect a big part of the reason is actually money, but I’d love to know why she’s his long-serving agent.
I also love that Tom always feels a little bit out of place with Jessie’s friends because they’re all so close with each other that, even though they like him and have embraced him, they still know more about him than he does them, due to him being famous. What are those scenes like to shoot, especially when they are some of the more chaotic scenes on the show?
PATEL: Yeah. I think that one of the real strengths of the show, for all that it’s a rom-com and it’s investing in the two characters at the center, those group scenes and the strength of that ensemble is what really makes it sing. You really believe you’re at that party, or that Kate and Jessie are best friends and flatmates, and each time a new you or returning character comes in, it’s a real joy because we get to watch someone else do their stuff. On my first day at work, I went to the set and, just by virtue of the fact that there’s a cast sheet with everyone’s names on it, you’re already in a position where loads more people know your name than vice versa. That’s nowhere near the same as what Tom goes through, but they mine that for really comedic effect. What’s quite nice is seeing how some of those short interactions between Tom and Jessie’s, and I’m like, “Great, who am I gonna get to bounce off today?” There are little nods to how things were in Series 1, like his strange partnership with Joe in the final episode and he’s like, “I don’t wanna take advice from you because you tried to fuck me over last time.” There’s a nice payoff for attentive viewers.
That whole last episode is so fun because even just him showing up, you’re like, “Why exactly is he there?” And then, it’s kind of sad because maybe he doesn’t have any other friends.
PATEL: It is sad. Yeah, I agree.
He’s famous, but does he really have any friends?
PATEL: It’s like, “Oh, buddy, you really had to come to Steve’s stag night/bachelor party? That was a call that you had to make?” Yeah, I think it’s very fun. There’s an element of classic Tom to blunder into a situation like that. He’s trying to do the right thing, even though it’s not very clear, with everything that’s going on, what that is.
What was it like to shoot that whole last episode. They go on all of these interesting adventures, so what was it like to do all of that, in one episode?
PATEL: Really fun. I remember it was really ambitious. We had one or two days on the bus, to shoot all the bus stuff, and with how crazy and drunk those guys were playing, that was a lot of fun. We had the laser tag section, we had the crazy golf section, and we had the lake. We had two days on the lake, and the first day, we had beautiful sun and we thought, “This is gonna be a really nice end to the show.” And then, the second day, the weather just turned, and luckily, we’d shot in chronological order, so we were able to rewrite it, where the characters talk about British weather doing its thing. With all the planning in the world, you can’t account for the elements. You go, “Of course, on the very last day of the shoot, it rains. That’s perfect.” I have really fond memories shooting all of it, but that last episode, in particular, Rose got very, very sick, after spending a full day in the lake. But hey, she suffered for her art.
That whole final moment with the kiss in the lake is just so great. What was it like to shoot that moment? How much time did you have to actually spend in the lake? What was the water like? Was it clean? Was it cold? Were there things living in it?
PATEL: It was super gross. We had this amazing team in the water, who were in there the whole time, and several members of the cast were very taken with them, I don’t mind telling you, because they were hot dudes. During the course of the day, they were like, “Do you see that island?” There was an island in the lake where we filmed. They were like, “Yeah, that’s nicknamed Rat Island.” That gives you an idea of the level of hygiene that we’re talking about. I needed a deep clean. It looked pretty, so that’s what counts. Hopefully, there are no rats to be seen in the final shots of the show because that would undercut the effect somewhat.
I always worry about that, anytime a movie or TV show has a scene in water.
PATEL: It’s a nightmare because you’ve gotta do it over and over again. If it’s cold, there’s that to deal with. Particularly with rain machines, or any kind of dirty water, it can be gross. I’m not gonna say we’re going to war or anything. We’re making a TV show. But those are the days you need some hot tea and a boiling hot shower ready when you’re done. It all added to the glorious chaos of that episode. There’s something quite mad about the party atmosphere and hurdling from one place to the other. I think there were a couple of scenes that we had to drop. We did an emergency scene that was just shot in the wide, but watching it back, it was perfect and what we needed. Sometimes the TV-making God’s smile on you in weird ways.
Having that kiss at the end of the season leads us to believe that they would be back together, but we don’t really know what happens next for them.
PATEL: I don’t know either. There are so many questions. Tom said yes to this job, so he’s going to Atlanta for an undetermined period of time. Does that leave them any more certain than they were? It’s a whole new challenge, if we get to see it. I hope we do, but that’s for Ms. Matafeo to answer.
Are there aspects of the relationship that you would particularly like to explore? Is there anything with Tom that you’d really like to see?
PATEL: Yeah, I really enjoyed just getting to play more with Tom being in a relationship. Series 2 progressed from the will they or won’t they, and how they kept missing each other, and seeing each other sporadically, over the course of the year in Series 1 to, “Okay, we’re doing this, but what does that mean? Who is this person that I want to be with? We’re actually quite different in a lot of ways and there’s a lot of stuff about each other that we don’t know.” I think there is lots of territory to explore, were we to get to do it again, for another series, but I also have no idea what’s going on in Rose and Alice and Nic’s brains. If we get to do it again, they might go full concept and we’ll be surviving a plane crash on a desert island, trying to find each other. Who knows?
Have you thought at all about how you would feel, if there aren’t more episodes, we don’t get to see what’s next, and this is just it for these characters?
PATEL: I have. There’s an awareness that it’s a very cool British thing to do, to quit when you’re ahead, after two series. I hope, in this instance, Rose does not do the cool British thing and does her thing, which is to make more. But I know there’s lots of stuff that she wants to work. I’d consider myself very lucky, if I got to be part of more, and I know from the reactions of audiences that they’d like to see more. I keep getting stopped by people that have seen it, who are like, “It can’t end there, surely.” And I’m like, “It also could. It feels like a resolution, of sorts.” But yeah, I want six more, or 12 more, or however many more, please. Fingers crossed.
Starstruck is available to stream at HBO Max.