Editor’s note: The below interview contains spoilers for Season 2 of Wolf Like Me.

The Big Picture

Season 2 of Wolf Like Me explores the themes of pregnancy and motherhood, delving into the fears and identity changes that come with becoming a mom. Actress and EP Isla Fisher discusses how the dynamic between Mary and Gary is filled with tension, humor, and real arguments, adding depth to their relationship. Fisher also describes the intensity of filming the birthing scene and the fun of the practical effects that were included to portray Mary’s transformation.

If you thought Season 1 of Wolf Like Me had a lot going on, it doesn’t even remotely compare to what goes down at the end of Season 2. Although the entirety of the Peacock series’ sophomore outing has been leading up to the moment when Mary (Isla Fisher) finally goes into labor with the baby that she and boyfriend Gary (Josh Gad) are expecting, there’s more than one problem for them to juggle. Not only is there the concern that said baby might be a werewolf just like mom, but Gary’s sister-in-law Sarah (Emma Lung) and her partner Ray (Anthony Taufa) have also discovered the truth behind Mary’s full-moon absences after expressing concern for Emma’s (Ariel Donoghue) safety. When the family hijacks an ambulance so Mary can have a homebirth in the privacy of her transformation basement, the new parents finally have a moment of peace with their wolfed-out newborn — but that may quickly come to an end, as the police investigation around the Season 1 outback attack and the aforementioned emergency vehicle theft has brought the cops right to their door.

In the wake of Season 2’s release, Collider had the opportunity to catch up with Fisher about leaning into her mama wolf side to play Mary this time around. Over the course of the interview, which you can read below, the actress and executive producer discusses why she thinks Season 2 is even funnier than the first, why she had trouble keeping a straight face while filming Mary and Gary’s fights, the importance of Mary and Emma’s relationship, the freedom she felt to film the birth scene as many ways as possible, and more.

Wolf Like Me Release Date January 13, 2022 Main Genre Supernatural Seasons 2 Studio Peacock

COLLIDER: Season 1 of this show is mostly about these two people who are very lonely for very different reasons coming together and then — surprise! — there’s a baby. What were you excited to get to explore in terms of the themes of pregnancy and motherhood this season?

ISLA FISHER: The human experience of childbirth, the fears around becoming a mom, the hormones changing and your identity being upended, and the fact that my character Mary doesn’t even know that she’s having a baby or a wolf, that was really fun to explore — and also for Mary and Gary to dig into their relationship more. She’s not able to run away anymore. She’s trapped, which I think a lot of women identify with when they first become pregnant. For Mary, it’s like she’s always known she could escape and now she can’t, so it brings up a lot of her shame, and her fear of commitment, and her inherent fears around the fact that she isn’t normal. Added to that, obviously, there’s the presence of Anton, her former professor, who comes back into her life, and there’s a ticking clock with the cops chasing them. I feel like all the elements came together in a more dramatic and quirky way this season, and it’s more entertaining, actually, than the first one even, and funnier.

There’s a certain melancholy to Season 1, and there are still those significant emotional moments in Season 2, but it finds a lot of room for humor and leaning into the ridiculousness.

FISHER: Yeah, exactly!

Isla Fisher Leaned Into Playing Her Inner Wolf in ‘Wolf Like Me’
Image via Peacock

Mary and Gary’s relationship is so important, and Season 2 was so good at exploring all of those emotional intricacies. I’m thinking about the scene of Gary getting trapped in the house with a shifted Mary, and the tension there, but then also there’s a lot of room for laughs, too. What do you enjoy most about getting to play through that dynamic with Josh?

FISHER: Ultimately, the best part of Mary is she’s like a hero but also a villain, and so she’s often apologizing for a crime a version of herself committed without having been present during it. It’s like she’s carrying this frightening, dangerous secret that Gary knows and he’s wanting to accept her, but yet she’s not sure what happened the night before. It’s like some sort of horrific hangover where you don’t really know what you did. But I really think that some of the arguments that our characters had in this season, particularly around another character — without giving away a spoiler — showing up, were just so real and so funny given that we were actually discussing being a wolf. It was quite hard to keep a straight face. It really was.

I got to do more of the transformation piece, which was just fun to research. I didn’t really know anything about wolves, and I just had to think about what kind of wolf I would be, [and] where I was in the wolf pack. Am I an alpha or beta? Because I guess they have all these different ranks. Then I got to do a lot of the physical stuff instead of just having an animatronic or a puppet, or using effects, and that was really awesome to do that. It’s really physical, but you have to really commit to it. I don’t want to give away the story, but it was definitely a lot more silly, in a way, and equally more fun.

Isla Fisher Loves Working With the ‘Wolf Like Me’ Cast
Image via Peacock

Season 2 really dials the Mary and Emma relationship up in a lovely way. They have their music bonding moments and Mary gets to have her mama wolf scene at school. I wanted to ask you about developing that onscreen rapport with Ariel [Donoghue], because the two of you have such an important relationship that we get to see deepen even further this season.

FISHER: This cast, we just got lucky. All three of us. It sounds simplistic to say, but it’s like we speak the same language. Josh, Ariel, and I can look at each other and laugh. If we’re improvising, we don’t interrupt each other. We sort of understand each other’s rhythms, and she’s just such a brilliant actress. I feel like she runs a gamut of emotion just in her eyes in every moment. Mary gets so much confidence and security from the fact that she feels she can mother Emma, and that is what gets her through, ultimately. The experience of being pregnant is trusting that she’s done it before as a stepparent, and for anyone that’s got a step-relationship, it’s a really special bond because it’s chosen. It’s not something that is taken for granted, and they both work on their relationship, and it’s very sweet. And I just love working with that kid. She’s just so special.

There are these great body horror moments in the birthing scene with Mary starting to shift during the labor. It seemed like there were some more practical effects involved, too, with the wolf being partially transformed at some points, so, from your perspective, what was that experience like to film?

FISHER: Those are really tough days, particularly in the labor ward — because, I think just on a cellular level, my body’s been through labor three times. Just the act of wearing that gown, lying in that bed, and sort of pretending, it brought back… not the trauma, that’s too dramatic, but the intense and beautiful, but mind-opening experience of childbirth. So, on the set that day, I just kept my iPod in and I just concentrated on breathing and just really focused in on what that experience was like. But the stuff in the ambulance was a lot of fun because they made a special set of teeth for me, fangs that I got to wear, prosthetic ears. And of course, I got to just play around with the types of panting that a wolf would do in labor, and to play around vocally and physically with the character.

What’s great about working with a filmmaker like Abe, who is honestly the most brilliant storyteller and a genius — I know everyone uses that word, but Abe has just got such a unique perspective on story and character, and he’s just so clever. But anyway, what was fun is that I know I can give Abe anything on set. I could go into labor 17 different ways for him, and I totally trust that he’s not gonna pick the take that’s too much or edit me in to look like I’m taking it too far. I just feel really safe. He’s got a very delicate touch in the edit, so I really do offer him all the options when I’m playing Mary in those heightened scenes, and so far he’s never let me down.

‘Wolf Like Me’ Is a “Dream Job” for Isla Fisher
Image via Peacock

I talked to Carly Lane Abe [Forsythe] about that cliffhanger ending, and he mentioned that he’s always envisioned this show as having a three-season arc. Now that Gary and Mary have officially become parents, more people know about Mary’s secret, and everything is coming together, what’s on your personal wishlist for them now? Or are you just trusting in Abe and the process and wherever the story is going potentially go?

FISHER: Listen, we don’t have a word yet [about] whether Season 3 will definitely happen, but obviously, I just enjoy the journey of these characters. I would love, love, love, love to see a wolf cub, and I’d love to see how that impacts the family. There are so many elements. Abe and I have already brainstormed for fun, just talking about the future of the characters, so I don’t really want to comment just in case we’re lucky enough to make it. But fingers and toes crossed that we do because it really is such a special experience. Everyone who works on the show is so dedicated, and everyone just gets along really well, so it’s a dream job.

Both seasons of Wolf Like Me are available to stream on Peacock.

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