This is just an unofficial fan page, we have no connection to any shows or networks.

Please click here to vote for our site!

By Suzanne

Interview with Tess Haubrich of "Bad Mothers" on Sundance TV 5/12/20

Tess was a very laid-back person to interview. I don't think I've ever interviewed anyone in Australia before, so that was interesting!

Here's the audio of the interview. Below is the transcript. I did not transcribe this, and I haven't yet proofread it. I apologize in advance for any mistakes!

Suzanne: Okay, how are you?

Tess: Hi. Good, thanks. How are you?

Suzanne: Hi. I put you on speaker phone so I could record. So can you say something again so I can see how loud you are?

Tess: Hello? How are you?

Suzanne: Oh, hello. Oh, good. I can hear you now.

Tess: Okay.

Suzanne: So how are you today?

Tess: I'm great. How are you?

Suzanne: I'm pretty good. I'm pretty good. Can't complain. We have nice weather. So-

Tess: That's good.

Suzanne: That's good. So how did your audition come about for this role? I know it's been awhile.

Tess: Yeah. It just came about like any other projects that you're asked to audition for. My agent called me and said, "This has come through. Would you like to audition?" And I read the part and I really responded to Sarah. And then I got the role.

Suzanne: That's great. And I watched a couple of episodes today. I really liked it.

Tess: Oh, yay. Thank you.

Suzanne: I'm not the first one to say this, but it's sort of a combination of Big Little Lies and Desperate Housewives. But in a good way.

Tess: Yeah, that's good. Yeah. And I think also because it's based in Australia it's quite different too.

Suzanne: Right. It's not-

Tess: So, yes, it's definitely a similar vibe for sure.

Suzanne: Yeah. It reminds you of those things, but its its own original interesting story.

Tess: Yeah. Yeah. Which is exactly, I think what the creators were hoping. So that's good.

Suzanne: Yeah. When I watched some promos and read a little about it, I had gotten the impression that your character gets arrested. And maybe she does later. I don't know, so I was surprised when I watched a few episodes and it was her husband that got arrested.

Tess: Yeah. Yeah.

Suzanne: They did a kind of fake out there.

Tess: Yeah. Yeah.

Suzanne: And have you heard yet whether there will be a season two?

Tess: There's no season two, no.

Suzanne: Oh, no. That's too bad.

Tess: Yeah I know. Just the one-off. Just the one-off.

Suzanne: Oh. Since I have watched the rest of them yet, does it leave us with a good ending or is there a cliffhanger?

Tess: Oh, gosh. Can I say? No, it's a good ending.

Suzanne: Okay, good. Good.

Tess: I think. It depends, I suppose.

Suzanne: Well, I'll have to watch the rest to find out.

Tess: Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

Suzanne: So the first episode has a lot of action. Would you say that the rest of the season has a lot of action as well?

Tess: Yeah, definitely. It's not as much as the first episode. That doesn't happen in every episode, but definitely. It's a great build and it definitely goes to different things happening in each episode for sure.

Suzanne: Hopefully no more small pets dying.

Tess: I heard that.

Suzanne: Yes.

Tess: So the show aired in Australia last year. When was it actually filmed?

Tess: It was filmed in... Oh my gosh, this is going back now. We wrapped in December. What year are we in now? It was the end of 2018.

Suzanne: Okay.

Tess: Very end of 2018. Yeah.

Suzanne: Right.

Tess: Yeah. So it came on quite quickly.

Suzanne: Yeah. Yeah. And did you and the other actresses spend any time getting to know each other before you started filming?

Tess: I came onto the project very late, like when we were just about to film, and I hadn't actually met or worked with any of the actresses before. I'd worked with Dan who played my husband. We've actually played husband and wife in a film years before. But no, so it was really our first thing together. Well, we'd done a few rehearsals, but I didn't really know them. But they're also lovely to work with and we all get along really well. And so it was just a joy to work with them every time we had scenes together.

Suzanne: Oh, that's good. You guys did a good job conveying being friends even though you didn't really know each other that well.

Tess: Yeah. Well, as we started filming obviously we hung out and had dinner and that kind of thing.

Suzanne: And have you stayed in touch with them?

Tess: Yeah. Yeah. Everyone's really... Well, at the moment there's the pandemic, but everyone's also quite busy. And that's what happens. You become really close with the cast on whatever job you're doing and then it ends and then you all go off onto different jobs. So it's an interesting career for sure.

Suzanne: For sure. Yeah. And you're in Treadstone which airs here on the USA Network too, right?

Tess: Yeah. It's on Amazon Prime at the moment.

Suzanne: Okay. Yeah. And any word yet on whether that one will have a second season?

Tess: I don't know yet.

Suzanne: You don't know yet. Okay.

Tess: We're waiting.

Suzanne: That's good.

Tess: Yeah, I don't know yet.

Suzanne: They make us wait don't they?

Tess: Yeah, they sure do.

Suzanne: And is there anything else that you've been up to as far as filming since those two series?

Tess: Well, no because of the-

Suzanne: Because of the pandemic.

Tess: I just finished a test run. Yeah. And then, the pandemic has really impacted everyone.

Suzanne: Right.

Tess: So yeah, just waiting until we all have the green lights to start making projects again.

Suzanne: I didn't know exactly when you had filmed Treadstone and whether you had time to fit anything else in there.

Tess: No, I didn't. I didn't unfortunately, but it's also been a nice break as well.

Suzanne: I'm sure. And are you living in Australia?

Tess: Yeah, I am. I have a daughter and I live in Sydney with her.

Suzanne: Oh, that's nice. That seems like a nice city.

Tess: Yeah, that's Australia. It's a beautiful place to live. It's very far away everywhere, but I've been born and raised here and it's my home. Yeah, it really is a pretty beautiful country.

Suzanne: When I think of Sydney, I always think of that opera house that you always see whenever they do stock shots of Sydney or Australia.

Tess: Yeah. Well, I actually fought Jackie Chan on top of the Opera House-

Suzanne: Oh, how funny.

Tess: In a movie.

Suzanne: How funny. So you've seen parts of it that everyone else hasn't seen.

Tess: Exactly.

Suzanne: That's funny.

Tess: I told my daughter that one and she was so confused when I told her that, she was like what?

Suzanne: Mommy, why were you fighting somebody?

Tess: I know. "Why were you doing that?"

Suzanne: So I had heard that your country did pretty well though against the virus and it's reopening. Is that true?

Tess: Yeah. So we're in stage one at the moment. I think on Friday actually, so a few more people are allowed into houses. But there's gatherings of 10 people outside. But we have been doing incredibly well.

Suzanne: That's good.

Tess: I think Australians, they've just taken it very seriously. And it seems that where we're not recording that many new cases. Who knows if there's going to be a spike in cases once the restrictions are relaxed, but we'll just have to wait and see. We've definitely all pulled together and done the best that we could, I think.

Suzanne: That's good. And you guys had those horrible fires and then this, that must've been pretty shocking.

Tess: I know. That's what's so sad. It's that everyone's all focused on the virus now and not so much about the impact that science had on people and wildlife. So, it's not a very good time.

Suzanne: Yeah.

Tess: I think it's a great thing that the virus is under control.

Suzanne: That's good. So you've had to stay... Shush. Sorry, my dog... Every time anybody walks by...

Tess: It's okay. That's funny.

Suzanne: Have you had to stay at home a lot like we have here then?

Tess: Have we had to?

Suzanne: Yeah. Have you had to do the whole stay at home, social distancing-

Tess: Yes. Oh, yes. Yeah. All that kind of thing. We've had to be 1.5 meters apart from anyone, stay at home unless it's for essential shopping like medical or food. You were allowed to exercise once a day. I mean everything. Yeah.

Suzanne: Wow. I think you probably have stricter standards than we do. We can go out as long as we have a mask or... Well, it depends on the state, but I live out in the country a little bit so we can go outside.

Tess: I know. That's exactly-

Suzanne: Yeah. We can exercise all we want. Otherwise, my dog would go crazy.

Tess: Yeah, exactly. Well, mental health has been such a huge part of it.

Suzanne: Yes.

Tess: How it has affected so many people this whole virus.

Suzanne: Yes, definitely.

Tess: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Suzanne: And we're reopening. Well, the state I'm in. The governor never actually made a stay at home order, but he suggested. I don't know what the difference is, but people are mostly staying home. But then they reopened the restaurants this week. And I'm not going anywhere, so-

Tess: No. No. No.

Suzanne: I don't know, but is there anything-

Tess: You probably need to stay at home anyway.

Suzanne: Yeah, exactly. I'm not going anywhere. My health is too important, right?

Tess: Yeah. Your health and everyone.

Suzanne: Right, exactly. So, is there anything else that you'd like to tell us about the filming of the show?

Tess: Oh, just that it was such a wonderful experience for me. And I really loved playing Sarah. And I really love giving a voice to mothers and to women. And I think that it was just such a great experience for me. It was a challenge at times too, and I just look back on it with a great fondness and I just loved playing her.

Suzanne: Well, good. I hope people sign up for SundanceNow and watch it. You know it's a good show. I enjoy it.

Tess: Yeah. Cool. Great. Thank you for watching it.

Suzanne: Yeah. And thanks so much for doing the interview. I really appreciate it.

Tess: No problem. Stay safe.

Suzanne: All right. You too. Take care.

Tess: [inaudible 00:00:12:15]. Okay, bye.

Suzanne: Bye bye.

Transcribed by Rev.com

MORE INFORMATION:

Alluring Australian actress Tess Haubrich (Treadstone, Alien: Covenant) and one of Australia’s most highly regarded leading actors, Daniel MacPherson (Strike Back, A Wrinkle in Time) star as a couple trying to find the truth about each other after a friend’s murder.

Sarah’s (Tess Haubrich) seemingly perfect life as a local GP, loving wife and doting mother comes crashing down the moment she discovers her husband Anton (Daniel McPherson) is having an affair with her best friend Charlotte (Melissa George).

Suddenly, Charlotte turns up dead, and Anton is arrested for her murder. As Sarah’s life spirals out of control, she finds unlikely support from a ragtag group of mums called ‘The Bad Mothers Club’. Sarah finds herself drawn into the chaotic worlds of her new friends. There’s just one thing stopping Sarah from leaving the mess of her old life behind her, Anton swears he’s innocent. Now Sarah will have to add ‘detective’ to her already lengthy list of jobs if she is to clear her husband’s name.

“Australia’s version of Desperate Housewives” – The Sydney Morning Herald

“Intriguing, captivating and full of surprises. The casting is also excellent” – Ryno’s TV

“Action-packed” – Who.com.au

“A twisty murder mystery and superb cast… this is immediately addictive viewing” – The Sydney Morning Herald

New Australian Drama

BAD MOTHERS

Exclusive North American Premiere on Sundance Now on Thursday, May 7, 2020

With a new episode available every following Thursday

 Starring Tess Haubrich (Treadstone), Mandy McElhinney (Love Child), Jessica Tovey (Wonderland) and Shalom Brune-Franklin (The Heart Guy), along with Daniel MacPherson (Strike Back) and Don Hany (East West 101)

with guest star Golden Globe nominee Melissa George (In Treatment, The Good Wife)

 AMC Networks’ streaming service Sundance Now features the Exclusive North American premiere of the new Australian drama BAD MOTHERS on Thursday, May 7, 2020, with a new episode added every Thursday after. The funny, glamorous eight-part drama explores the underbelly of modern motherhood through the prism of four very different women as they juggle life’s big issues: love, family, careers, infidelity… and murder. Starring Tess Haubrich (Treadstone), Mandy McElhinney (Love Child), Jessica Tovey (Wonderland), and Shalom Brune-Franklin (The Heart Guy), along with Daniel MacPherson (Strike Back) and Don Hany (East West 101) with guest star Golden Globe nominee Melissa George (In Treatment, The Good Wife). Sundance Now is AMC Networks’ premiere streaming service for engrossing true crime, heart-stopping dramas and fiercely intelligent thrillers from around the world.

 Sarah’s (Tess Haubrich) seemingly perfect life as a local GP, loving wife and doting mother comes crashing down the moment she discovers her husband Anton (Daniel MacPherson) is having an affair with her best friend Charlotte (Melissa George).

 Suddenly, Charlotte turns up dead, and Anton is arrested for her murder. As Sarah’s life spirals out of control, she finds unlikely support from a ragtag group of mums called ‘The Bad Mothers Club’. Sarah finds herself drawn into the chaotic worlds of her new friends: Danielle (Jessica Tovey), the outgoing mum who needs more in her life; Bindy (Shalom Brune-Franklin), the wild child party mum; and Maddie (Mandy McElhinney), the fierce mum battling with a difficult child and an acrimonious custody battle.

 There’s just one thing stopping Sarah from leaving the mess of her old life behind her, Anton swears he’s innocent. Now Sarah will have to add ‘detective’ to her already lengthy list of jobs if she is to clear her husband’s name.

 Exclusive Premiere: Thursday, May 7, 2020                                                                         Episodes: 8 (New episode added every Thursday)

 

Back to the Main Articles Page

Back to the Main Primetime TV Page

We need more episode guide recap writers, article writers, MS FrontPage and Web Expression users, graphics designers, and more, so please email us if you can help out!  More volunteers always needed!  Thanks!

Page updated 5/14/20