I’m a huge fan of the new Hulu series Death and Other Details already. So I was obviously thrilled to be given the chance to sit down with Angela Zhou (“Teddy”) to discuss what drew her to the role and what surprises might lie in store for her character. And, of course, in a series where it seems anyone and everyone could be the murderer, what would drive Teddy to murder?
Theoretically, of course. Zhou was careful not to give spoilers. (Which, as a viewer who thinks this show is better without spoilers is probably a good thing. But as a fan who wants to know all the things was also somewhat painful. But alas.)
As it turns out, Death and Other Details was somewhat of a unique project, in part because it was filmed at a rather unique time. (No, I will not use the word “unprecedented,” thank you.) Filmed in 2021, the world was still in the early stages of opening up post-pandemic. Many people had been feeling claustrophobic in their own homes, and then the actors joined on to this closed-door mystery. Which could itself feel claustrophobic at times, couldn’t it?
Actually, not so much, thanks to the nature of the filming location: the Queen Mary. As Zhou explained, “It’s this huge historic cruise ship. It just felt like another world. … It almost felt like we had these mini little fun adventures while we were also shooting, because during lunchtime, you would see cast members and crew members look, go searching for haunted rooms and stuff. That’s how big this cruise ship is. It’s huge. … You realize just the sheer magnitude of these ships. You would think that they would be claustrophobic, but they’re actually almost little floating cities.”
So, I’m not just a fan of the series. I’m now also incredibly jealous about the filming experience. Who wouldn’t want to go check out haunted rooms on a historic ship in their down time at work? Particularly if, like Zhou, you’re a Titanic fan and want to have a “king of the world” moment.
But, of course, as gorgeous as the setting is (and the sets in Death and Other Details are beautiful), that wasn’t what really drew her to the role. So what was it that sparked her interest in the project? A few things, as it turns out. The writing (naturally). The chance to do a British accent. And, perhaps most importantly, the sheer number of Asian characters.
As she explained, “[I]t was the first time I had seen a script where there were so many Asian characters, but it wasn’t an Asian show. It just so happened that these characters aboard the ship, a bunch of them just happened to be Asian. … I love the fact that that meant my character wouldn’t have to shoulder the weight of an entire community of a billion people on her shoulders. I thought that was wonderful.”
She continued, “I actually thought maybe (show creators) Mike [Weiss] and Heidi [Cole McAdams] might be Asian or something, because there’s the difference between the Chinese characters speaking Cantonese and the Chinese characters speaking Mandarin as well. That’s just such a lovely authentic detail that you don’t really see that much. You really only see that in Wong Kar-wai movies and stuff like that, so that was great.”
As much as the casting drew her to the show, the surprises in the writing kept her invested – in the series and in her character, of Teddy. So I had to ask…when did she discover the identity of the murderer? Did everyone go into filming with the idea that they could be the murderer at the end? Were the cast trying to figure out the identity of the killer in between Ghost Huntering their way across the Queen Mary?
Sadly (for the wacky scenarios that live in my imagination, at least), not so much. Zhou, at least, knew fairly early on who the killer would turn out to be. Though that doesn’t mean that there weren’t any surprises in store for the cast. Every character has secrets, and the actors kept those secrets from each other as long as possible.
And Zhou assured me that knowing the identity of the killer didn’t take away the fun. As she explained, “[O]n the first day of the writer’s room … they told us [the identity of the murderer]. We were like, ‘Oh my gosh, y’all are geniuses.’ Then, all we had to do was fill in the little steps and stuff all the way from the first episode to the 10th episode. They know, and a big, big part of it and what I love about it is that we play fair with the audience. You’ve met the murderer. It’s not like the murderer is going to come out the middle of nowhere or halfway through the season or something. You’ve met them at the beginning, then it is something that theoretically people watching very closely could piece together.”
As a murder-mystery fan, I was thrilled to hear that the show “plays fair” with the audience and gives us a chance to sleuth out the murderer’s identity alongside the cast. (Not that I expect I will accurately do so, and I pretty much never do. I’d make a terrible detective.) But were the worried the audience would catch on too quickly and spoil their own fun? Not even a little.
“That would not worry them at all if people looking closely had a theory and they were close to being right on that one. I briefly saw some comments here and there and I saw somebody go, ‘Oh, there’s this random little detail here and … maybe I’m just being crazy. Maybe I’m reading too much into it.’ I’m like, ‘No, you’re not reading too much into it! That’s actually a thing! We actually dropped that in there!'”
Before we continue, I have to ask…if you’re the person who wrote that theory online, please contact me immediately. I need to know all the theories and catch all the clues I’ve missed. Because I guarantee I’ve missed so many clues. But I digress.
As much as I wanted to remain spoiler-free, I couldn’t help myself. I had to ask Zhou if she prefers playing the good guy, the bad guy, or someone living in the morally gray area. Did I really expect her to slip up and tell me where Teddy falls on the spectrum in answering this question? Probably not. She didn’t fall for my cunning ruse, in any event.
“The most fun for me is to do two things. I think it’s so much fun to play anything, to play super evil, but then it’s also super fun to, I think, to be able to see the switch. I find oftentimes I am drawn to a lot of characters that have a two-sidedness to them. My first big break was somebody who was undercover pretending to be a boy, so gender-bending. The audience didn’t realize it for the first episode and a half. I love doing both sides of it. Then, particularly, as people have gotten more nuanced about Asian characters – in our community we’ve talked a lot about the stereotypes of either the model minority or the dragon lady. It’s nice to have a little bit of niceness, but also a little bit of edge to you so that you don’t fall into either category.”
Just tell me if you play the murderer in this series, Zhou! I’m begging you! In all seriousness, Zhou knew exactly what I was after. And teased me about it. A LOT. For example, when I asked her how she approached Teddy’s internal conflict, where she’s in this extremely professional role but also has family members who may be threatened by this murder investigation, she replied, “Maybe the personal stake is that I did the murder, I suppose.” Dirty pool, Zhou. Dirty pool. I’d have probably been crushed if she wasn’t so charming to interview. And if a big part of me didn’t really want the ending to be spoiled so soon.
And, to her credit, Zhou knows exactly how painful it is to be kept in the dark, as she explained, “I know by the eighth episode the itch is so intense and so uncomfortable. I swear you will feel so relieved when you watch the end of it. It will be so satisfying to scratch that damn itch.”
Back to the point, though, could Teddy off someone to protect her family? In Zhou’s mind, absolutely. “…Teddy loves her family and will do a lot for her family. You get the sense that Teddy has always needed to be the parentified child in some sense, and maybe from her perspective, her sister (Winnie, played by Annie Q. Riegel) has almost been somebody that she’s needed to help and drag along all this time. You get the feeling that her sister needed this break, and she stuck her neck out to give her this job, and on the first day, she’s already messing things up and drags up a lot of their past history. I don’t know if you have siblings or anything, but with family members and siblings, just a small thing can really, really be just the tip of an entire iceberg that’s been there for decades.”
I do have siblings, so I know exactly what she means. Could Teddy even be willing to cover up for her sister, if it turns out Winnie is the murderer? “I can’t comment. Don’t get me in trouble, Jade. I’m trying.”
Okay, so no spoilers. But for fans of Zhou (and the compelling-but-also-deeply-suspicious Teddy), there’s a lot to look forward to with regards to her character. As Zhou explained, “It’s just maybe in the beginning she comes off as the perfect model minority, and maybe she’s not. You’ve got to ask yourself, ‘Who is Teddy? What is Teddy? What is Teddy just pretending to be?'”
I’m hooked already. I just hope to have a chance to talk to Zhou after the Death and Other Details ends, to discuss all the details I missed. Like was Teddy the murderer, after all?
A new episode of Death and Other Details can be found on Hulu on Tuesday.
