Kerry Washington fights for agency on Imperfect Women

Kerry Washington says steering Apple TV’s “Imperfect Women” from behind the scenes—down to writers, casting, edits, post-production and marketing—has been essential to creating a set environment she can stand behind. She also describes the show’s structure thr

The first thing Kerry Washington returns to isn’t acting. It’s control—over the work, over the people, over the choices that decide what a show becomes.

For Apple TV’s psychological thriller series “Imperfect Women,” Washington insisted production take place in Los Angeles. She’s aware how rare it is to get a dream project greenlit in an industry she describes as being in a challenging moment. “This is a challenging time in a lot of ways,” Washington said. And when she talks about making the series. her answer keeps circling back to one belief: if you’re going to build something. you should be able to build the environment around it.

Washington has been working as more than a lead. She emphasized that being a producer matters to her because it gives her a voice in decisions that shape a project long before an actor steps onto a set. “It allows me to have agency and an opinion from everything from who’s hired. who are the department heads. who’s being cast. edits on the writing. post-production. the marketing plans. ” she said.

She also framed her approach as a partnership, not a solo command. Even when she signs onto projects she isn’t producing. she said those commitments are only for work “at a very high level” with partners she trusts to collaborate with—even if she’s not producing. She pointed to her work with Rian Johnson on the Knives Out film and her involvement in “Animals” with Ben Affleck as examples of directors she respects and believes she could learn from while staying open to other leadership.

On “Imperfect Women,” Washington said the project was developed with a communal model built around production companies and shared leadership. She was brought into the show after Elisabeth Moss “bought the rights to the book and brought me in.” From there. Love & Squalor and Simpson Street “have really linked arms to bring this show to life.” When asked whether she and Moss are “the top of the ladder. ” Washington pushed back on the framing. She said she and Moss are “much more communal partners,” and that their production companies are the lead production companies.

The series itself drew her in through its source material by Araminta Hall. Washington described the story’s structure as something the show tried to honor. She said the narrative enters through one character’s point of view. then switches to the perspective of the dead woman. and then switches again. The result. she said. is a framework that feels “so spectacularly creative. ” while also becoming a reminder about how limited understanding can be when you refuse to step into someone else’s shoes.

Those perspective shifts matter to the performances, too. Washington said she was acutely aware of how Eleanor changes depending on whether the episode centers on Eleanor. Nancy (Kate Mara). or Mary (Elisabeth Moss). “We were very aware of it,” she said. She described how her role inside the story changes with each stretch of episodes: by Episodes 4 and 5. she said she knew her job was to support Kate Mara because “now she was holding the show.” In Episodes 6 and 7. she said (with Episode 7 shared) the focus was to support Lizzie—Elisabeth Moss—“because now she’s holding the show.”.

Washington also described how the show makes room for multiple leading roles while still feeling cohesive. “For each of us to step into the leading role. but then also very comfortably serve each other as we pass the baton. right until the end. ” she said. adding that it “does really feel like Lizzie and I cross that finish line together.”.

When the conversation turned to why those subtle character changes land, Washington credited writing first. She said a large part of the work is in the scripts. and pointed to showrunner Annie Weisman as well as Kay Oyegun. who she said was with them on every episode. Washington emphasized the writers’ room and said Simpson Street pushed for “real inclusivity in the writers’ room. ” including “several perspectives and voices of color in the room.”.

She said producers also shaped the tone by hiring different directors so each character could carry its own slight directorial adjustment. The show, in her telling, is unified—but also differentiated as it shifts from one character to another.

A key theme in Washington’s description of “Imperfect Women” is that the forces the characters battle are not only outside the frame. She called it an “intimate complexity” and said the stakes stay high even when the antagonist is internal—“your own jealousy. envy. or desire”—rather than the White House or Gilead. In the show, she said the big bad is “really on the inside of all of us.”.

That interior battle is also how she describes Eleanor’s most defining moments. Asked where Eleanor becomes most authentic from Eleanor’s point of view. Washington pointed to the scene where Eleanor admits to her brother that she has loved Robert (Joel Kinnaman) for as long as she has. She said Donovan (Leslie Odom Jr.) becomes the first person Eleanor risks being honest with to see if she’ll survive the truth. Washington called that leap into truth “very edifying.”.

She also spoke directly about a “terrible friend decision” Eleanor makes with Robert. describing how the writing provoked debate between performers. Washington said she and Kate Mara argued about it—Washington calling it “such a horrible thing she does. ” while Mara responded that “she’s dead. who gives a sh*t.” Washington then moved into her own method for understanding damaging choices. “No. every choice has to be grounded. ” she said. arguing that people don’t do bad things to be bad and that characters make difficult choices because they feel like they have no other options. She described the questions she asks: “What broken place is this decision coming from?. What longing am I trying to feed or what wound am I trying to heal?”.

For Washington, compassion isn’t about excusing behavior; it’s about staying inside the character. She brought up the idea that “hurt people hurt people. ” and said if she’s judging. it means she’s outside the character “looking down on her.” The point. she said. is not to excuse everything. but to understand it “with a level of compassion and empathy.”.

The topic of female-led production came up too, and Washington didn’t pretend the landscape is fully equitable. She said she understands why people think female leadership is now more common. but she doesn’t think it’s as common as it seems. “We still get asked about it a lot. ” she said. adding that the fact it’s still “not unnoticeable” is proof it remains unusual. Washington referenced earlier actor-producers such as Reese Witherspoon and Drew Barrymore. while still insisting that the industry hasn’t reached a place of equal opportunity in production.

She also described why “complex” women in “Imperfect Women” land differently than older templates that often pushed female characters toward extremes or toward serving male arcs. Washington said she and Kate Mara and Elisabeth Moss have had long careers playing strong. complicated women. but too often those women were facing external “larger-than-life forces.” In this show. she said. the biggest conflict is internal denial. fear. and the willingness—or refusal—to admit who they are. what they want. and who they love.

Washington’s work doesn’t stop at “Imperfect Women.” She was asked what drew her to “Animals. ” the project she described as a director she admires. with Ben Affleck and “the writing was great” and “the whole cast is great.” She also tied it to producing opportunities. including working with Artists Equity and seeing what it’s creating “under the hood.” She said “Animals” was “one of the most emotionally rigorous jobs I’ve had. ” while also calling the group of artists fun to work with.

And she pointed to what’s next. Washington said she is on her way to work on Netflix’s “An Innocent Girl. ” and that she is filming “right now in New Jersey.” She also said that this summer. Simpson Street is producing “The Whoopi Monologues” at Lincoln Center. Washington described it as a restaging of Whoopi Goldberg’s one-woman show from decades ago. now “with a cast of five actresses to honor Whoopi’s legacy and that groundbreaking material.”.

Being able to do that theater work, Washington said, matters to Simpson Street. She said the company loves cultivating work in the theater space and supporting artists. and she described meeting actresses who told her they wouldn’t be where they are without Goldberg’s original one-woman show. She named Tracee Ellis Ross. Robin Thede and Anika Noni Rose as examples. and she said she recently heard Pedro Pascal quote Whoopi Goldberg’s one-woman show and its impact on him as a child.

Washington said she’s excited to honor Whoopi by bringing the material to new audiences, especially because much of it remains “sadly still resonant and relevant.”

Whether she’s talking about psychological thrillers, emotionally rigorous directing collaborations, or a theater production centered on Goldberg’s legacy, Washington’s through-line is the same: the work matters most when she’s not only inside the story, but helping choose how it’s made.

Kerry Washington Imperfect Women Apple TV Elisabeth Moss Kate Mara Araminta Hall Simpson Street Love & Squalor Annie Weisman Kay Oyegun Los Angeles production The Whoopi Monologues Lincoln Center Netflix An Innocent Girl