Before joining the Apple TV+ series Your Friends & Neighbors, Olivia Munn had told her agents she no longer wanted to appear on camera. In a recent interview, Munn said she was ready to step away from acting entirely.
The actor described the period leading up to the show as a difficult one. During the pandemic, she became a new mother while dealing with postpartum anxiety. She also felt disconnected from her work. “I called my agents and my manager and said, ‘I’m done being in front of the camera — don’t put me up for anything,’” she told the Los Angeles Times.
At the time, she was considering moving into producing, directing, or writing. That shift was interrupted when she was offered the role of Samantha in Your Friends & Neighbors, created by Jonathan Tropper.
The Apple TV+ series follows Andrew “Coop” Cooper (Jon Hamm), a recently divorced hedge fund manager who begins stealing from people in his upscale neighborhood. Munn plays a character who becomes involved with Coop while raising children and trying to protect her position in a wealthy social world. Amanda Peet also stars in the ensemble.
“Samantha is a survivor,” Munn said. “She’s going to do anything to maintain her place and take care of her children.” She added that she was drawn to the project for its perspective on class. “There’s a carelessness with which they live their life. They feel impervious to the world and it’s so fascinating to watch these people crumble.”
Tropper originally planned for Munn’s character to appear in a single season. That changed after production began. “After working with her for a little while, I think we had consensus across the board, we wanted her,” he said. The show was renewed for a second season in advance of its premiere.
Munn was undergoing breast cancer treatment in the months leading up to the shoot. She received multiple procedures and surgeries before filming and is now in remission. That experience, paired with the challenges of early motherhood, shaped her approach to the role and influenced her decision to return to acting.
The actor became known to many television viewers through The Newsroom and later took on film and television projects across different genres. Her work in Your Friends & Neighbors marks a reentry into television in a role she has described as grounded and demanding.
Season two of the series is currently in development, with Munn set to return.
