Apple TV+’s Physical tells the story of a quietly tormented housewife named Sheila Rubin. It takes place in ’80s San Diego, and has its dark moments as Sheila battles extremely personal demons, including body anxiety and bulimia. Things change for her when she discovers aerobics, something that sets her on a journey toward empowerment and success.
The third and final season of Physical sees Sheila having to deal with a new rivalry with Kelly Kilmartin, who is played by Zooey Deschanel, whom fans saw briefly in the season 2 finale. Sheila’s story might be coming to an end, but there are many important takeaways from the show as a whole for its fans. The ten-episode season is currently releasing new episodes on Wednesdays on Apple TV+, with the finale set to air on September 27.
Screen Rant spoke with Physical creator and showrunner Annie Weisman about the series as a whole, now that it is coming to an end. She revealed how the show evolved over time and the changes that were made from the original concept. Annie also discussed the incredible cast and what they brought to the table, as well as how the creative team balanced the darkness of the series with lightheartedness. Note: This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, and the show covered here would not exist without the labor of the writers and actors in both unions.
Annie Weisman Talks Physical
Screen Rant: When you first came up with the idea of Physical, did you have it all planned out to where it is ending now, or did some things change?
Annie Weisman: I have an annoying answer, which is both. I knew where I wanted to get to, but there were lots and lots of evolutions along the way. They’re generally inspired by both the writers room and by the actors. Relationships that started to feel like they were generating so much fruit, and you want to give them more attention than you had initially. There were a lot of little side roads, but the general endpoint, I did have in mind.
Screen Rant: What was the inspiration behind the series? Because I feel like it is a pretty unique concept.
Annie Weisman: Yeah, it’s not based on a book, or a comic book, or a cartoon, or anything else. It’s original, and that was a challenge. Getting to even do it was a gift. It’s hard to get any show made, but it’s really hard to get one made that is original in origin. It was an idea that I had based on wanting to write about the contradictions of my childhood and where I grew up. In the time period of the ’70s turning into the ’80s, in Southern California, and the hippie generation turning into the Reagan generation that I witnessed through my family’s evolution.
Also, this idea of a really complicated female character that’s not in any way, internally, what she appears to be externally, which feels true to me and true to a lot of women, and a lot of people. The origin was wanting to write about this, and write about fitness culture, and women’s entrepreneurship, and how, I saw that in my childhood. I felt like it was maybe not as understood, or taken as seriously, as it could be. That was my goal. That was the origin and beginnings of it.
Screen Rant: Can we talk about Rose Byrne, and how it was bringing her on?
Annie Weisman: Getting the script to Rose Byrne and seeing her interest was a thrill because I am a huge fan of hers and what she is capable of. Right away sitting down with her and knowing that we were on the same page in terms of what we wanted to invest in this idea, and how seriously Rose is to take it, and how brave she was, and willing to go there. She was never ever afraid of any of the dark stuff. As long as it’s true, she was down, and so capable. I was excited from the beginning, then over the course of three years working with her and continuing to be inspired, and wanting to raise the bar of what we asked her, and her continuously clearing it by a mile. It’s great.
Screen Rant: Did she bring any ideas to the table for Sheila?
Annie Weisman: You know, it’s funny. She would say no, because she’s a really humble person. But I think definitely. It was a collaboration in terms of what we wanted to explore, where we wanted to go, relationships that we wanted to continue to emphasize and build on. So for sure, it was a real collaboration with her.
Screen Rant: Can we talk about Zooey, too? She’s fantastic!
Annie Weisman: By the third season, we’re really into the quintessential ’80s world that we’ve been building. We’re building the 80s, we’re building towards what we know it to be now. When we started, you’re really not in what we consider to be peak ’80s. So when we get to Zooey’s character, that’s peak ’80s. That’s what we all think of as being that combination of bubbly femininity, and that really steely, hard, entrepreneurial, ambitious spirit underneath it. It was fun to think about. Sheila’s character in the first few seasons is battling all these inner demons. She’s so tortured inside, but when she really gets some fortitude and strength and starts to have some success, storytellers are so mean.
It was like, now who are we going to put in her path? Now what obstacle? So we give her this rival, and it felt true to her journey. That now she would have external forces to deal with and a real somebody with a totally different approach to her field. We love the idea of her as a character. It was always, even before Zooey’s in the conversation, the idea of somebody who was a real old school entertainer. Someone who is a variety performer, and a comedian, and an entrepreneur. The way these female stars really were and are. Zooey was the perfect idea for it, because she really is all those things. You hear her sing, and dance, and tell jokes. She’s doing it all. It was really fun bringing her on board.
Screen Rant: It can’t be all sunshine and rainbows.
Annie Weisman: Yeah, there’s another obstacle, making it hard. Give me an uphill battle.
Screen Rant: Were there any storylines that had to be cut, but you wish you had kept it in?
Annie Weisman: Oh, that’s such a good question. You always want more time, for sure. There are always things that you wish you could spend more time with. I think for example, Murray Bartlett’s character in season two, we love him and adore him, but so does the whole world. So we can only get so much Murray. We definitely reached out like, hey, can we find a way to bring you back in season three? He was so wonderful and so wonderful to work with. But he was like, Oh, I’m so happy with the way we ended, and he was doing a bunch of other stuff. So slight regret that we can’t bring Murray back into the mix in season three, we get to reference him in an interesting way. I always want more Murray Bartlett. Everybody does.
Screen Rant: One of my favorite things about this series is the outfits. Can you talk about finding them?
Annie Weisman: We had so much fun creating the world of the show with costumes, because it’s so much a part of the storytelling. It’s so much a part of the period and also who she is and how women express themselves and who they are. Creating her look for the beginning was about what makes her stand out. And then as she’s developing this robust career, we’re true to the time. When you look back, a lot of these new fabrics and things that we know of, were still being invented. There was a lot of creativity going on, figuring out how to create clothing where women could really sweat and move and still be sexy. Everything you see is really authentic to the period and handmade. So much great artistry goes into all of that stuff.
Screen Rant: Now that Physical is wrapping up, what do you hope the fans take away from the series as a whole?
Annie Weisman: What I’m excited about is really the scale of the journey. Because you see her at rock bottom at the beginning. And it feels kind of hopeless. Her world and what’s available to her. But then I think seeing how, even from that very dark, and very closed off place, this woman is able to find inspiration and not only get a job, but create a job and create a world for herself. I hope that is a source of inspiration for people. Seeing how far she goes and also seeing how she learns to be healthy and empowered on her own terms. Because I think we’re pretty honest about the difficulty of that. It’s not easy. It’s a three season journey. There’s a lot of two steps forward and one step back. I hope people can take away some inspiration about how far you can get to, even from a pretty hopeless beginning point.
Screen Rant: There is a lot of dark stuff in this series. Can you talk about finding the balance between it and the light stuff?
Annie Weisman: It’s really to do with the other characters and their art. The gift of our casting. One of this wonderful discoveries of the show is how gratifying it is to see female friendship. Her relationship with Greta is such a source of healing to her. Any eating disorders and addictions, they thrive in isolation. So one of the ways that we pry off this intrusive voice, and disordered thinking, and behavior from her, is through connection. And that connection is this really great friendship. So that becomes a real important part of the show. Finding delight in the show, because the two of them are so great together, and watching them figure all that out together, is really fun.
There’s also a lot of fun in it. Rory Scovel, as her husband, Danny, we knew when we met him. We saw a lot of people for that part and Rory brought such a uniqueness. He wasn’t at all what I had initially thought of that character. He is not what I pictured or who I thought of, but the comedic energy and the lightness and likeability that he brings to it is so buoyant. Try as you might, you can’t hate him, even when he’s doing terrible things. That’s who he is, and the joy he brings to it. So, his comic energy, and then we just have a lot of fun. We try to balance out the emotional depth of it with having fun with the time period, and the setting of beach community in Southern California surf culture and an exercise culture, diet culture, and all these things. There’s quite a lot to enjoy.
Screen Rant: You mentioned female friendship, but can you talk about the importance of showcasing positive female friendships on screen? I don’t think we get them often enough.
Annie Weisman: I don’t know about you, but for me, my friendships, my longtime girlfriends, are the bedrock of my life. I’ve got a husband, I’ve got kids, that’s all great. I’ve got a career. But those female friendships, that deep knitted together, understanding, is just so core and so foundational. I think it gets undervalued in the culture. You hear people talk about, with an eye roll, girl drama, and I think that as women we very often have this emotional intimacy with each other that is really complex and can be tough, but it’s also really important. I just wanted to be true to how important it is in my life.
Screen Rant: Hopefully once it is all out and able to be binged on Apple TV+, Physical will find even more fans and more of an audience.
Annie Weisman: Yeah, I hope so too. Sometimes you don’t know if something is a complete journey, and so you don’t want to make the commitment. It’s out there. It’s a real satisfying journey. You can make the commitment and get started. I promise you get an ending. We won’t leave anybody hanging.
About Physical
Set in the idyllic but fragile beach paradise of sunny 1980s San Diego, “Physical” is a half-hour dark comedy following Sheila Rubin, a quietly tortured, seemingly dutiful housewife supporting her smart but controversial husband’s bid for state assembly. But behind closed doors, Sheila has her own darkly funny take on life she rarely lets the world see. She’s also battling a complex set of personal demons relating to her self-image… that is, until she finds release through the unlikeliest source: the world of aerobics.
Check out our previous Physical interviews with:
- Rose Byrne & Deirdre Friel
- Annie Weisman
- Rory Scovel
Physical season 3 premiered on August 2 with two episodes. New episodes will be released on Apple TV+ up until the finale on September 27.
