Complicated Moms Are Finally Grabbing the Spotlight in ‘Physical,’ ‘Girls5Eva,’ ‘Hacks’
Diane Garrett TV writer Annie Weisman was captivated by Don Draper and Walter White, the two very complicated family men at the heart of “Mad Men” and “Breaking Bad,” when those ground-breaking characters were introduced nearly 15 years ago. Yet she yearned for more female-centric storytelling from both shows.“I love ‘Mad Men,’ and I love ‘Breaking Bad,’ but I wanted to know about their wives,” says Weisman, creator and showrunner of Apple TV Plus’ “Physical,” starring Rose Byrne as a tormented young mother living in San Diego circa 1981.Byrne’s Sheila Rubin, a disillusioned progressive afflicted by intense self-loathing and an ongoing eating disorder, is on a par with Draper and White for sheer complexity.