Variety spoke with Meghann Fahy about the emotional core of Netflix’s genre-blurring limited series Sirens, in which she stars as Devon DeWitt—a woman determined to “rescue” her sister Simone (Milly Alcock) from the gilded grip of Julianne Moore’s controlling heiress, Michaela Kell. The tension between the DeWitt sisters erupts in a pivotal early scene where Devon, having swum to the estate in a borrowed wetsuit, confronts Simone in a moment that swings from absurd comedy (“I think she’s doing satanic animal sacrifices!”) to gut-punch drama.
“What’s so special is that we shot the entire eight-page scene in one take, like a play,” Fahy reveals. Series creator Molly Smith Metzler’s writing thrives on hidden emotional pivots, and the uninterrupted approach allowed the actors to navigate each turn organically. “When Simone throws Devon’s life choices in her face—that she stayed stuck in their hometown—Devon fires back, ‘I did leave. I just came back because I’m a good sister.’ That line destroys her because part of her knows it’s true,” Fahy explains. “There’s nothing more vulnerable than being seen by your little sister as less than heroic.”
The scene lays bare their fractured bond: Simone’s relief under Michaela’s demanding rule versus Devon’s self-sacrifice for a family that never reciprocated. For Fahy, the theatrical execution—rare in TV’s typically fragmented shooting style—heightened the rawness. “It felt like we were uncovering something real between these women, not just hitting marks.”
With Sirens weaving dark humor, family secrets, and Gothic intrigue, Fahy’s performance anchors the chaos in something deeply human: the messy, merciless love between sisters who know exactly how to hurt—and heal—each other.
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