If you haven't heard about Big Mood yet, don't worry — it's about to be everywhere. The new TV show stars Bridgerton's Nicola Coughlan as Maggie and Love Again's Lydia West as Eddie, two best friends preparing to enter their 30s. And when Maggie’s bipolar disorder makes a return, their trust in each other is tested like never before. Every single moment of the series is packed with female-centered experiences and relationships, and the actresses are as close in real life as their characters are onscreen.
"We both love our jobs, but then we both inherently like, want to be done," Nicola jokes. (To which Lydia agrees: "We're lazy.")
The fun both women have behind the scenes comes through in every aspect of Big Mood, from Nicola and Lydia's chemistry and Rebecca [Asher]'s direction to the scripts themselves. Each detail feels intentional, and emphasizes the intensity of Maggie and Eddie's emotions.
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As a viewer, there are more than a few moments that got a visceral reaction from me — including a conversation about the TK Maxx Subreddit. And when I bring it up during our conversation, Nicola Coughlan laughs as though she's never heard the joke before. (That's just how good the scripts are — no matter how many times I hear the lines, I still laugh!)
"I'm a TikTok girlie, even though I hate to say it, but I get lost in deep rabbit holes," Nicola says. "Just like stuff that's, like, none of my business. They're like, a 50-part story about this woman whose husband cheated on [her], I'm like, 'Get me in.'"
While Maggie prefers to get her news from Reddit, I have to ask the Bridgerton actress (who plays Penelope Featherington in the hit series) what Maggie and Eddie would say if they published their own version of Lady Whistledown's Society Papers.
"[Maggie] would destroy Will because she just hates Will, who's like the nicest man," Nicola says. She just hates his very presence, [but] Rob Gilbert who plays him, I actually adore Rob. But it's very fun to like take him down. She'd destroy Jonah. Eddie would hype up the bar maybe."
"Eddie would just talk about how great [the bar] Wet Mouth is," Lydia agrees. "And how it has a great basement and it's not rat invested and she would then, I think, try and give the papers to some sort of potential investor to invest and be like 'This is actually a magazine article of how good our bar is.'"
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While the show is hilarious and heartfelt, celebrating the joys and struggles of female friendships, it doesn't shy away from themes of mental health. I was taken aback by how raw and unfiltered Maggie's experience with bipolar disorder is, and Nicola Coughlan feels the same way.
"It's so deeply woven into the show in such a seamless way, and it's a testament to how incredible a writer Camilla [Whitehill] is," Nicola says. "The depressive periods that Maggie has, when we were on set, so many of the crew would even be like, 'This has been me,' you know, like that's very relatable. But the mania was something that I didn't really understand."
"I've known people in the past who've had bipolar disorder but trying to get in the headspace of someone that would go from the highest of highs and lows of lows imagining how unbelievably difficult that is and debilitating it is," she continues. "That was a big learning curve for me."
Rapid Fire With "Big Mood" Stars Nicola Coughlan And Lydia West
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Brit + Co: This show is called Big Mood — what's something that always puts you in a *good* mood?
Lydia West: Ice cream!
Nicola Coughlan: Trash TV.
Brit + Co: What is your onset must-have?
Lydia West: A candle in my trailer.
Nicola Coughlan: A cozy place to have a little rest.
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Brit + Co: What's on your summer 2024 bucket list?
Lydia West: I really want to go to Japan. I don't know if I will be able to with a small baby. I'm going to try it.
Nicola Coughlan: He's a chill guy, he's in New York. He's an international traveler, he can do everything! I want to hug Lydia's baby. Literally, that's all I can think about all day. I'm like, this is fun and everything but give me the baby.
Brit + Co: When was the last time you canceled plans?
Lydia West: I love to cancel plans. I always make a plan and I'm like, 'I don't want to do this.' I've tried to do it a lot less now, like, set boundaries of 'I actually don't want to have a plan this day.' So I was really good because everyone's planning dinners and stuff in New York and I was like, 'I'm gonna be so tired. I've got a small baby. I'm not coming,' and that was good for me because I would have canceled. It's actually okay to cancel plans.
Where can I watch Big Mood in the US?
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You can stream Big Mood on Tubi starting April 19, 2024.
Check out Nicola Coughlan and Lydia West in Tubi's Big Mood starting April 19 — and read up on all this year's spring movies too!
Lead image via Tubi
