Warning – show spoilers below for Stan’s latest binge-worthy show Watching You.
As dark of theme as this truly gripping show has, one thing is for sure: the cast takes care of each other.
Inspired by J.P. Pomare’s novel The Last Guests, this six-part psychological thriller stars some of Australia’s best actors.
The show follows thrill-seeking paramedic Lina and her life-changing decision to uphill her life and have an affair with mysterious stranger Dan.
The act is caught on camera – and the footage is used to blackmail Lina… little did she know this was just the beginning.
Sitting in a press junket on the 20-something floor of Sydney’s InterContinental, I’m sitting opposite the stars of the show – Aisha Dee (The Bold Type, Apple Cider Vinegar) and Josh Helman (Mad Max: Fury Road, X-Men: Days of Future Past).
And there’s no denying that these two were cast for a reason – the chemistry between the two is undeniable.
“We hate each other, we can’t be in the same room. There’s actually a green screen between us,” Aisha joked at one point.
“There are huge financial ramifications if we didn’t do this interview together”, the Silver Logie Award nominated actress adds with a smile as Josh laughs along.
Josh assures me that “there’s no one else that I would want to be doing this job with than Aisha. It’s been a real blessing for sure”.
Aisha’s character Lina, finds herself in quite an intense situation with Josh’s character, Dan, but amidst the dark themes of the show, the pair share that the cast took “good care of each other”.
“I feel like we really lucked out because everyone was offering a different type of support to each other at different times. And we liked each other, so it was good,” Josh says.
“I’m not just obviously saying this. The thing that made it easier, so much easier for me, is the fact that we got along so well. I hate complimenting her, but she’s very, very … she’s a wonderful actor,” Josh continues to rave, adding that if that “wasn’t the case, it would have been so much more difficult.”
He reveals that the entire cast is supported on set.
“Our crew was fantastic, and gave me particularly the time and the space to be able to do the job justice,” he reveals.
Josh revealed that he enjoys playing characters that have “emotional complexity,” and his character, Dan, was very much that.
“That’s what drew me to the role, trying to make sense of something this dark. Dan does terrible things, and they’re certainly not things that I would do. But, to be able to try to justify them emotionally is the challenge, and to try to play them truthfully was the fun of it,” he says, adding “it was very intense at times”.
The key to really nailing the character work? Love.
“I just decided to low-key fall in love with Aisha, and then that just worked a treat,” he says with a cheeky smile as Aisha laughs along.
And Josh isn’t the only actor who loved working with Aisha.
Laura Gordon, who plays Claire, tells me that Aisha is “extraordinarily good” at what she does, and “loved” her scene with her.
“Claire and Lina have a few really fun scenes where they kind of go head-to-head and have great chemistry, and Aisha, she’s mercurial, she’s so in the moment. She really can just go from zero to 100, and she’s incredibly organic. Very fun to play opposite,” she reveals.
The Stan Original Watching You is now streaming, only on Stan.
