Grosse Pointe Garden Society has fans wondering who the characters are burying at the beginning of the series — but how is everyone connected before the murder?
In Us Weekly‘s exclusive clip, Melissa Fumero, Aja Naomi King, Ben Rappaport and AnnaSophia Robb break down the family tree at the center of the hit NBC series.
“Our four main characters are all a part of the society but in some ways, they feel like total outsiders,” Fumero, 42, who plays Birdie, shares in the video.
Robb, 31, started by introducing her character, Alice, adding, “[She] is an English teacher and an aspiring writer with big dreams to have her stories published. Plus Alice’s friend and fellow garden club member Brett kind of has a crush on her.”
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While offering more insight on Brett, Rappaport, 38, teased where the story goes from here. “Brett is a divorcée who is fighting for custody of his kids. He is a dad but like a cool dad,” he quipped. “Alice is married to Doug but Doug’s parents don’t exactly approve of Alice’s writing dreams.”
Then there is Catherine, who King, 40, described as Alice and Brett’s “closest friend” in the garden club.
“She’s a real estate agent and even though she is married to Tucker, she is having a salacious affair with a guy from work named Gary,” King continued. “Catherine and Birdie start off as rivals but they eventually bond over how awful Gary is.”
Fumero’s Birdie might not love to garden but the actress noted, “She only joined the club as part of her mandated community service. But she’s genuinely trying to contribute to the club in her own and unique way.”
Ultimately, everyone’s “messy personal lives get unexpectedly entangled when they are forced to come together to cover up a mysterious murder,” according to Rappaport. Grosse Pointe Garden Society, which premiered in February, opened with a scene from present time where the core four are burying a body.
Flashbacks to six months prior showed a very different situation. “Throughout the episodes, we go through different parallel timelines. We jump back and forth between timelines,” Rappaport teased to Us in February. “So you’re like, ‘Wow, how did we end up here?’ Then throughout the season, those timelines begin to converge.”
Rappaport praised creators Jenna Bans and Bill Krebs for bringing the series to life. “It is remarkable how they have woven this thing together. The roller-coaster ride they’ve taken us on is absolutely incredible every day,” he shared. “Every couple of weeks, we would get the new scripts and react like, ‘Oh my God, what happens next?’ And we’re just dying for the next one.”
Rappaport continued: “All four of us have our own very intricate story lines that branch off of this. Truly, it just keeps you guessing all along the way. And that’s the thing that’s going to hook people is the addictive quality. Every episode you think you’re getting closer — but then maybe you’re not.”
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While viewers await more answers, they shouldn’t expect them too soon.
“With other shows, you find out who’s getting killed and the premise of the mystery becomes the why or the how. We’re giving audiences the fun of not knowing anything — just like these characters going into it — not knowing that this is where they’re going to end up,” King exclusively told Us earlier this month. “It’s exciting for all of us to be on that ride together. Because we didn’t know for the bulk of filming. It’s so satisfying. I’m really proud of what they’ve done there.”
King praised Grosse Pointe Garden Society for its unique storytelling, adding, “The feel of the show, the excitement and the flash-forwards. There are so many aspects of it that are really thrilling, sexy and have these kind of absurdist comedic moments, which I really love. But then it’ll also have these moments of really grounded and relational drama between characters that for me as an actor are a dream to dive into. There’s nothing like this show on TV right now, which I think is what makes it really exciting.”
Grosse Pointe Garden Society airs on NBC Sundays at 10 p.m. ET, and new episodes are available to stream on Peacock the next day.
