THE CHAIR premieres August 20 on Netflix.
“THERE IS SOMETHING profound,” Sandra Oh says, “about moving into the mother stage of your career.” In The Chair, the actress plays Ji-Yoon Kim, the first woman and the first person of color to chair the English department at a small university. At home, Ji-Yoon is a single mother figuring out how to connect with her adopted daughter, JuJu (Everly Carganilla). The Chair co-creator and co-writer Amanda Peet spoke with Oh about one of their shared goals for the show: puncturing the taboos around motherhood that still exist onscreen. LINDSAY PEOPLES WAGNER
SANDRA OH: One of the things I love about you the most is the way you direct— it’s always straight from your vagina.
AMANDA PEET: You act from your vagina; I direct from my vagina. It’s where creativity is rooted.
S.O.: I have had such a long week. I’m a bit goofy, but honestly, when I think about where I get my power and creativity from to do all of this, that’s where my mind goes.
A.P.: When we met, something we clicked over was the idea of showing a character whose relationship with her daughter is not entirely aspirational. I can’t relate to most of the mothers I see in movies and on TV. We shared the desire to strike a different chord.
S.O.: Correct. I know classically a lot of actresses my age are upset and say, “Oh, I have to play the mother or the wife,” but there is tremendous richness in all of these experiences and relationships.
This story is from the August 2 - 15, 2021 edition of New York magazine.
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This story is from the August 2 - 15, 2021 edition of New York magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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