Apples Never Fall is the latest series to be adapted from a popular Liane Moriarty book, following Big Little Lies and Nine Perfect Strangers. While it certainly has a sprawling ensemble like those TV series (with the cast including Sam Neill, Annette Bening, Georgia Flood, Alison Brie, Jake Lacy, Essie Randles, and Conor Merrigan-Turner), this time the focus is mainly on one single family and the resentments and secrets — and possible murder — which is tearing them apart.

Apples Never Fall follows Stan and Joy Delaney, two respected tennis enthusiasts who are retiring and selling their tennis academy, as none of their children were interested in running the academy. There is a lot of emotional distance in this family already, but when Joy goes missing one day and Stan lies about her disappearance, the Delaneys become involved in a police investigation that opens up every issue, hidden or otherwise, in the family’s life.

We already spoke with Sam Neill about his character, so MovieWeb wanted to speak with Merrigan-Turner, Lacy, and Flood (who plays a mysterious stranger embedded with the Delaney parents) about their characters. Just what is the Delaney dysfunction? Find out below, and watch our video interviews.

Apples Never Fall 4/5 Release Date March 14, 2024 Seasons 1 Studio Heyday Television, Universal International Studios Characters By Liane Moriarty

Jake Lacy as Troy Delaney

“Troy had higher hopes for himself,” explained Lacy, who plays the eldest and most seemingly successful son, “whether those were self-generated or impressed upon him by his father. But higher hopes for where tennis would take him; he still plays collegiately at Stanford, but doesn’t go pro from there.” He added:

Instead, Troy channels this intensity and intelligence and competitiveness into accruing wealth and things, and trying to build this external life that communicates success and competence, but inside is continually trying to overcome this feeling of like not measuring up.

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“And, without giving too much away, he is also, in his own way, in service of his family behind the scenes,” elaborated Lacy. “And so, that kind of churning, like, ‘What is enough? Why is this not enough for you?” That throbbing pain under a veneer of like, ‘I’m unaffected by you’ can only last so long before it goes one of two or three ways.”

Related: Apples Never Fall Review: Take a Bite, It’s Juicy Good

Alison Brie as Amy Delaney

“I mean, I feel like this is an Allison answer and an Amy answer, because I think Amy would agree with me that communication is something that’s very lacking in the Delaney family. You know, I think they are very determined to hold on to the facade of the perfect family and, because they come from a competitive tennis background, they are so goal oriented, their love can feel conditional,” said Alison Brie, who added:

“But more than that, they really don’t talk about their feelings. I think Amy is the only person who tries to get people to talk about how to deal with and of course, she’s shunned for doing it. I feel like she gets a lot of flack for experiencing any type of emotions at all. It’s through embracing their flaws and divulging some of their secrets that they’re able to begin to move forward as a family. So I feel like communication is a big one.”

“And they hold grudges, because they don’t work through any of their drama, so they all just hang on to it. ‘You said this to me when I was 12,’ and so on,” concluded Brie. “And sometimes that matters more than other times.”

Essie Randles as Brooke Delaney

“I’d say also kind of growing up with a sense of conditional love or conditional positive regard, instead of an unconditional belief that your parents will always love you and be there for you,” explained Randles of the Delaneys’ dysfunction. She added:

“I think that, especially for Brooke, growing up sort of believing that their love and support and acceptance was potentially based on or dependent on winning at tennis, I think, was a huge factor in a lot of the things that they’ve come up with, with this character. And a lot of the facades that she puts into the world, trying to sort of seem like she’s got it all together or that she’s kind of perfect, because you want to really please them and and get that positive affirmation.”

Related Apples Never Fall Family Tree, Cast & Character Guide Apples Never Fall is all about a family hiding its dark secrets, so let’s get to know who they are and the actors who play them.

Conor Merrigan-Turner as Logan Delaney

“They’re all so desperately doing everything they can to make this family happy, or what they think they need to be doing,” said Conor Merrigan-Turner of his character. He specified:

“And for Logan, definitely his is more of like a practical approach. He’s always trying to help out around the house, doing everything he can. And so the book was a great resource for that. There were lots of little sections, and same with the adaptation, of
Logan wanting to do everything he can to help out around the house, and he’ll do everything he can to avoid conversation with his parents, but that’s just the way he interacts
.”

And Logan wants to be a part of his family. He wants to get that validation, whether that’s through performing on the tennis courts, doing repairs around the house, painting the house, cleaning the gutters, fixing the roof — those are the ways that he brings himself to the relationship.

“I can definitely find myself in that,” admitted the actor of his Apples Never Fall character. “I find conversation sometimes a little tricky, but I want to bring myself to whatever relationship I’m in. My act of service is my love language, and I think Logan’s is similar.”

Georgia Flood as Savannah

“I feel like I don’t know how to make a judgment about the Delaneys. You know what I mean? But I will say that the dynamic between Sam’s character and Jake’s character, it’s very obvious that there’s a competitive nature there,” explained Flood. “And there’s kind of like the tropes of family drama, but it’s so complex and very specific to this particular family and the secrets that are involved there.” She spoke about Savannah:

[Savannah] doesn’t really know what she’s getting herself into when she arrives there. I think it’s all an improvisation, and she’s picking up cues from from the interrelationships, and she’s kind of like feeding off whatever is happening in front of her eyes. So I don’t think it’s premeditated, but that she’s just kind of learning as she goes, without giving too much away about her.

“I think working with Annette, probably with Joy, her character, is definitely the most interesting to me, and we had the most amount of time that I had with an actor for sure,” explained Flood about which member of the Delaney family was the most interesting for Savannah to interact with. She also took time to congratulate Annette Bening on her Oscar nomination for Nyad. “I have seen Nyad, I think she’s luminous, hilarious, incredible, grounded. She’s amazing. I’m so proud of her and I still can’t believe I’m working with her, but I’m so excited for her. This is wonderful.”

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