Sisterhood takes center stage — both on- and off-screen — in the new limited series The Better Sister, premiering May 29 on Prime Video. Stars and executive producers Jessica Biel and Elizabeth Banks talk to emmy magazine about the strong, smart women behind the show and the camaraderie on set. The award-winning official publication of the Television Academy is on sale May 8.
The gripping, eight-episode series is centered on estranged siblings forced to reunite after a shocking murder. Biel is cast as Chloe, the successful editor-in-chief of a popular women’s magazine with a stable home life, while Banks stars as Nicky, who struggles with sobriety and a traumatic past.
A powerhouse team of women guided the project behind the scenes, including executive producers Olivia Milch (Bupkis; Ocean’s 8) and Regina Corrado (Mayor of Kingstown; Tulsa King), who set the tone for production. Although the story includes plenty of emotionally challenging material, the cast and crew agreed it was a blast working on the series. “It’s a strong group of strong women, and we got on like a house on fire,” says Banks. Biel adds, “It was not a rigid place to work at all; it was so warm and fuzzy and wonderful.”
In “In This Together,” Milch and Corrado tell emmy that they considered themselves honorary sisters. Corrado had helped Milch’s father, acclaimed writer and producer David Milch (NYPD Blue; Deadwood), write his memoir. So, when Olivia was offered The Better Sister, she asked Corrado to join her. Both women had learned from “Big Dave,” and they found working together effortless. “We’d be like, ‘What would David do right now?’” Corrado recalls.
Based on Alafair Burke’s 2019 novel, the series explores the complexity of siblings’ relationships with their parents and with one another. “The cruelty among siblings is very real,” says Corrado, who is the youngest of nine children. “If you’re lucky enough not to cut them out of your lives, you can go forward; and how you go forward together always interests me.” Milch adds, “The sort of love story between the sisters coming back and finding each other and putting the pieces together, that for us was always the North Star.”
Biel and Banks also felt an immediate kinship. “She just started big-sistering me right away,” says Biel. “We fell into our roles. She has boys that are older than mine, and she was like, ‘This is what you do.’ She’s like the big sister I’ve always wanted.”
Additional feature highlights from the new issue include:
In “A New Direction,” former Disney child star turned pop-music sensation Demi Lovato talks to emmy about the Hulu documentary Child Star. In her directorial debut, Lovato explores the perils of child stardom through both her own experiences and those of other former child stars, including Drew Barrymore, JoJo Siwa, Raven-Symoné and Christina Ricci.
With live events, compelling content and rising viewership, the free, ad-supported streaming service Tubi has been a win for Fox, which acquired the startup in 2020. In “Up Stream,” emmy talks to Tubi chief content officer Adam Lewinson about what’s driving the success of the platform.
Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, cocreators of the Apple TV+ Hollywood satire The Studio, talk to emmy about pulling back the curtain on the tension between creativity and commerce in “Picture Show.”
Download the press release here.
For issue/coverage contacts:
Stephanie Goodell
stephanie@breakwhitelight.com
818.462.1150
breakwhitelight for the Television Academy
