Brooke Shields’ latest project is a prime example of art imitating life.
On Acorn TV’s You’re Killing Me (new episodes weekly through June 22), the beloved actress plays bestselling novelist Allie, who’s entering a new era of her life.
“She was a woman of my age who had still so much to offer and so much to experience and create,” Shields, 60, who also executive produces, exclusively told Us Weekly in our latest issue, on newsstands now.
Despite her boundless possibilities, Allie is “met with… this message that she’s done,” she said. “She hit a certain age and she has no value anymore… I wanted to be able to highlight that, then bring in a younger generation where [the two] can combine and communicate and be better than the sum of their parts.”
Enter Andi (Amalia Williamson). The characters form an unlikely partnership to solve murders — including the mysterious death of Allie’s friend — in their small New England town, much to the chagrin of local police detective Jack (Ed’s Tom Cavanagh).
“There’s so much that’s layered into how these two women communicate, who come from very different ages and different experiences,” Shields said. “That was the heart of it.”
“They don’t realize that they need each other to get things done,” Williamson, 26, whose Andi is an ambitious podcaster, explained to Us. “Allie is the people person. She gets the interviews, she finds out what makes people tick, she’s the motive queen. Andi’s the forensics.”
Throughout the six-episode, twist- and cliffhanger-heavy drama, the duo have plenty of fun with the generational gap, too — something Shields is used to in real life. “[It’s] what I experienced with my two daughters in my very home,” Shields said about Rowan, 23, and Grier, 20. “We’re able to explore those emotional moments and feelings, and we’re balancing it with mystery and comedy.”
And just a little bit of murder.
