THE IRRATIONAL: Molly Kunz on Phoebe’s New Season 2 Role and an Unlikely Partnership in ‘Formal Ties’

After working with professor of behavioral science Alec Mercer (Jesse L. Martin), and leading his RA team, as he taught classes and helped some crimes, Phoebe (Molly Kunz) decided to take a new job, working with a different professor, at the end of season 1 of THE IRRATIONAL.

The new experience has been a mixed bag for Phoebe, though, with Rachel (Jennifer Lines) crossing ethical lines…and Phoebe unsure what she should do about it.

Here, Kunz talks with Give Me My Remote about playing Phoebe in a new environment, and her unlikely investigative partner in the Tuesday, October 29 episode.

Normally, going into season 2—after being a regular in season 1—you have a pretty firm idea of what to expect from the show. But for you, in many ways, you’re in an entirely different world this season because of Phoebe’s job change. What conversations did you have with the writers about that?  
I had a lot of questions, because I was like, “Wait a minute. So, what is Phoebe doing? Where does she think she’s going?” I was really curious to see what Phoebe[‘s] storyline was going to be. And, you know, we have such wonderful writers; they let me in right away. They’re like, “Hey, here’s our plan over the season. Here’s where we see Phoebe going.” And so I had a little bit of an idea of where she would end up starting the season, which helped. 

But, yeah, it was cool to get the chance to figure out who Phoebe is in a different context than we’ve ever seen her in. And like, who is she outside of Alec’s office…in a different work environment? And what does she discover about that choice and whether or not it was the right choice?

What surprised you the most about what you learned about Phoebe in this new environment?
What I liked to discover, and what we’ll see as the season goes on, is Phoebe has to figure out what it means to really listen to yourself and listen to your gut. And especially what that means when it comes along with defying an authority figure. We see in episode 3…her kind of tiptoe around that with Marisa, that conversation she has, like, “Hey, what would you do if someone above you was doing something wrong?” 

I think Phoebe struggles to see herself as a courageous person. I don’t think that is something that she, particularly in season 1, believed about herself. Partially as a result of her anxiety—[and] later in this season we learn a little bit more about her past and choices that she made as a younger adult and as a kid that, I think, inform that view of herself that maybe she’s not very courageous, maybe she’s not very brave. And I’m excited for audiences to see her … have that internal dialogue in that battle and take a look at herself and say, “Do I need to keep believing this story I’ve been telling myself? And do I need to keep believing that I’m maybe not a badass?” like she says to Marisa. Or can she find it within herself to take the actions that would be more brave? Maybe.

If Phoebe ever returns to her old job, in a hypothetical world, what might that dynamic be like now that Rizwan has spent months as the #1 RA for Alec?
Yeah, that’s an interesting question. Well, of course, I think it would be difficult for her to return if she’s not the head RA now that Rizwan is in charge. He was the new kid on the block last year. And I think she would probably have to adjust, and have to figure out what that means to relinquish some control to Rizwan, and does she trust him to do everything right? Yeah, I think that’d be an interesting hypothetical. [Laughs.]

In “Formal Ties,” Phoebe does a bit of investigating into the mess with Rachel, her new boss. What can you tease about the hour—including who she partners up with? 
Phoebe, of course, finds herself in a situation where she’s not sure what to do about her new professor and what she thinks might be an ethical conflict there. And she kind of develops an unlikely friendship with Kylie, and decides she’s going to go to her. [As] Phoebe said, who is somebody who lives unapologetically, which is sort of the opposite of Phoebe, who I think has maybe tended to live apologetically? [Laughs.] And I think she’s like, “Okay, if I need to do something out of character for myself, or I need to be more brave…this is going to require something different of me.” I think Kylie is someone she sees as someone very unafraid to speak truth to power and to be bold. So I think she maybe tries to go gain a little courage and inspiration from Kylie. Which was really fun to shoot, just such an odd couple of a friendship. [Laughs.]

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

THE IRRATIONAL, Tuesdays, 10/9c, NBC

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