Caitlin FitzGerald, Ella Purnell, and Stephanie Danler Talk ‘Sweetbitter’ [Video]

STARZ is offering up a new drama called Sweetbitter that dives into the world of fine dining from the perspective of a new backwaiter.

The thirty-minute drama follows Tess, a 22-year-old woman who is new to New York City and ready to pursue a new life. She thinks she’s found a steady income and a safe place to wait, but Tess is soon intoxicated by the chaotic world behind the scenes.

We recently sat down with Ella Purnell and Caitlin FitzGerald, who play Tess and Simone, along with writer and executive producer Stephanie Danler about the new show and what it was like to adapt a book into a television series.

Danler had the unique experience of adapting Tess’ story for the silver screen by writing Sweetbitter Season 1 Episode 1, “Salt.”

“It was like taking on an entirely new project, which I think is the reason I was able to do it,” said Danler. “I really thought about this television show from the world of Sweetbitter and I felt fidelity to the characters, and I felt a ton of freedom to do whatever I wanted.”

All of the actors had to go through server training to give the skills that would bring the restaurant to life. We asked them which was the hardest skill to master before filming.

“Oh, the three-plate carry!” said Purnell. “Impossible!”

“The very patient woman, who was helping me learn, basically put like red wine on the plates so we could see how we were distributing our weight,” explained Purnell. “Red wine everywhere! It’s so hard those plates are heavy!”

Purnell was also wearing white at the time. “I was actually wearing a white silk shirt, now that you mention it, it’s now a pink silk shirt,” laughed Purnell.

“Never wait tables in white silk,” Danler joked.

“Now we know,” said Purnell. “We learn a new thing every day.”

For Fitzgerald, her character of Simone had a different set of skills to master being the restaurant’s resident wine expert.

“I would say the hardest thing for me was opening wine,” said FitzGerald. “There’s a really specific way to do it at a restaurant like this, and it really requires just having done it a thousand times. So for a while, I was just opening wine everywhere.”

You can watch the full interview with Caitlin FitzGerald, Ella Purnell, and Stephanie Danler here:

For more interviews where we talk with leading cast members, check out the rest of our coverage of Sweetbitter right here.

Additional reporting by Caralynn Lippo. 

Sweetbitter premieres Sunday, May 6th at 8/7 c on STARZ.

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