This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
*In Apple TV+’s gripping new series “Your Friends & Neighbors,” no one in Westmont Village is as picture-perfect as they seem. Beneath the polished surfaces of wealth and luxury lies a tangled web of secrets, betrayals, and moral ambiguity, and at the heart of it are Barney and Grace Choi, played by Hoon Lee and Eunice Bae.
As one of the few seemingly stable couples in a neighborhood built on appearances, the Chois serve as both participants in and witnesses to the unraveling drama.
“Barney in the village of Westmont is somebody that acts as a financial advisor to several of the inhabitants there, including Nick and Coop,” says Hoon Lee. “He’s also one of Coop’s closest friends. And I think that he functions as a sort of window into both the troubles that Coop is facing, because he’s a confidant, but also into the interior lives that might exist for a lot of these people in the village.”
Through Barney’s close friendship with Jon Hamm’s Coop and his relationship with Grace, the show gives viewers a rare look at what “normal” life might look like in a neighborhood where nothing is truly normal.
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“Through Grace and the family, we get to see sort of a family at work, a family living their life in their normal flow,” Lee adds. “And so for the audience, I think he serves that role as well as a window in. But Barney is somebody that, unfortunately, as Coop’s fortunes take a turn, he’s being dragged in the undertow. And that’s great fun for me, but not so great for Barney.”
On the other side of the Choi household, Grace is navigating a complex social world full of hidden agendas and emotional minefields.
“Well, I think she is definitely one of the… I mean, it’s not a high school, but, you know, definitely one of the queen bees of this world,” says Eunice Bae. “And where there’s so much emphasis on acquisition and wealth and what we show on the outside, there’s so much to know about everyone’s secrets.”
Grace isn’t just a socialite, she’s Melanie’s best friend (Melanie being Coop’s ex-wife, played by Amanda Peet), which makes her loyalty and her marriage all the more complicated.
“She’s Mel’s best friend… and so, you know, that comes with a lot of complexities,” Bae explains. “My best friend is dealing with this crumbling of her family life. And then also my husband happens to be the tether on the other side of that drama. So there’s a lot of, yeah, complex and delicate navigation between those things.”
When asked to tease what lies ahead for their characters, both Lee and Bae hint at unexpected turns and emotional reckonings.
“Barney makes an attempt to remedy his home renovation in a very unconventional way,” Lee offers, while Bae adds, “I think Grace is going to go toe-to-toe with some secrets that she discovers in her home.”
“Your Friends & Neighbors” premiered April 11 on Apple TV+ with the first two episodes, followed by new episodes every Friday through May 30. With its darkly comic tone and deeply layered characters, the series dares to ask: How well do you really know the people next door?
Watch our conversation with Hoon Lee and Eunice Bae via the clip below.
READ MORE FROM EURWEB.COM: Jon Hamm’s ‘Your Friends & Neighbors’ Delivers Murder, Deception, and Intrigue on Apple TV+ | EUR Video Exclusive
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