The Resort’s Cristin Milioti and Luis Gerardo Méndez Tease a “Wild” Whodunnit [Interview]

The Resort is a treasure trove of genres, packaged as tropical escapism with an impressive lineup of guests checking into the project.

Cristin Milioti, known for her performances in projects like Palm Springs and How I Met Your Mother, is leading this series. She plays Emma, a woman confronted by her dwindling youth, who seeks out a cold case on vacation with her husband to avoid the truth of their crumbling marriage.

Luis Gerardo Méndez (Narcos: Mexico) plays Baltasar Frías, an unearthed suspect in Emma’s investigation that is not all he is perceived to be. Together their character’s worlds collide in a wild, often comedic, whodunnit.

At San Diego Comic-Con, I had the opportunity to speak with Milioti and Méndez about the show’s complicated relationship with time and the devious bait and switch coming later this season.

The first four episodes offer few answers to Emma and Noah’s marriage dynamic, but Milioti confirms that true-crime obsession is a coping tool for her protagonist. “It’s an excuse to talk about anything but the elephant in the room, which is that the marriage has been not been working for a very long time.”

“So I think they’re moving towards this mystery, but she’s also moving away from these feelings she’s been running away from for years,” Milioti explained.

As for addressing that marriage elephant in the room between Emma and Noah, “You’ll have to stay tuned,” says the actress. “One or two might be coming.”

Watch the full interview with Cristin Milioti and Luis Gerardo Méndez:

With so much streaming content to watch, what makes The Resort a hidden treasure for those curious enough to seek it out?

“The biggest thing that I hope people take away is how phenomenal the cast is,” Milioti said. And if she were marketing the series to potential watchers, “It would be like if Romancing the Stone met Jurassic Park, except about the disappointment of getting older.”

For Méndez, the project’s ability to be so many things and still grip its audience is what he hopes stands out. “The interesting thing about the show is it is always shifting. You never really know what the show is about in a good way,” the actor explained.

“In the beginning, it’s a comedy about the resort, and then a whodunnit, and it has this magical element to it, but is also very grounded.” And that’s just the first four episodes. According to Méndez, it explores even more territory later in the season.

“That’s what I like about a show as an audience, to be surprised every single moment of it because if I know what happens, I’m going to turn the TV off,” Méndez admitted.

The two confessed that The Resort‘s pilot is drastically different from what the rest of this chapter offers. “Whatever you think watching the first episode, the rest of the season is such a wild departure from what you think it is. It does a very good bait and switch,” Milioti teased.

So, for The Good Place and Mr. Robot fans eager to check out this show, take great joy in knowing it has some tricks up its sleeves for you.

But, don’t let the comedy and true crime aspects fool you. The Resort is just as invested in its psychological analysis of time.

For Milioti, the “disappointment of time” concept was an interesting double entendre for her character to explore. “There’s not enough of it or too much. But I think the older you get, the more you feel like there’s not enough.”

“What I got from the show is how time destroys everything but, at the same time, heals everything,” added Méndez. “It destroys relationships, it destroys your body but also heals your soul and heals relationships. So that complexity was something that I was very interested to explore as an actor.”

“All of us romanticize a period of our lives where everything seems quite golden, but actually, if you went back to it, I don’t know that it would feel that way. Not to sound twee about it, but the most golden time is actually right now,” Milioti said as her parting statement.

On that note, viewers are left to grapple with the darker nuances of time as we contemplate checking into The Resort.

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The first three episodes of The Resort are streaming now on Peacock.

And check out all of our San Diego Comic Con coverage right here, including more interviews with The Resort‘s cast!

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