Why Love Me is more like theatre than television

For actor Bojana Novakovic, the filming of Love Me has replicated elements of theatre, more than television.

For starters, Season 1 was shot in Melbourne during the harshest lockdowns, meaning the ensemble were forced to stay with one another in a bubble, whether at work or socialising.

By the time Season 2 was underway in late 2022 restrictions had lifted considerably, and with it the production intimacy that was a shared experience.

“Shooting season two out of COVID was great. The only thing that wasn’t so great about it, I guess, was we didn’t all stay the same hotel and stay in our bubble. Other people got to hang out with Hugo (Weaving) on the weekends, or Heather (Mitchell)!” she tells TV Tonight.

“This one day, I wanted everybody to come to my place. But everyone was like, ‘Can’t we just go out to a bar?’ I never invited anybody to my place again. I was so upset.

“So first season was probably a little bit more like theatre.”

Novakovic, who had recently filmed Instinct with Alan Cumming in the US, also welcomed the shift from procedural work to a more introspective work.

“Most of our cast is theatre trained. So we have a very good understanding of dramaturgy. I’m not saying that means we should shape stories, but you do definitely know how to speak about your character in a dramaturgical way.

“It’s very collaborative., I had never worked like that, because I’ve worked on procedural shows where you just come to work and if you don’t like something… there’s no beating around the bush. (Alan Cumming and I) are quite honest people. So we’ll come to work and if something isn’t working it’s ‘cut this, cut this, change this.’

“Whereas on something like Love Me, you want to have a conversation to explore. (You ask the writers) ‘What did you guys think when you wrote this scene, because I’m not quite understanding it, here’s my perspective. ‘And then you up with what’s best. It’s so refreshing.”

Novakovic is secretive about new cast joining this season, but returning cast include William Lodder, Bob Morley, Celia Pacquola, Shalom Brune-Franklin, and Mitzi Ruhlmann.

She’s also not giving much away about the storyline.

“I can only tell you that Aaron (Lodder) has a baby and Clara (Novakovic) wants to have a child. So she has to sit there and watch her kid brother -who didn’t ever want this kid- have a child while she desperately wants a baby, and is struggling to have one,” she reveals.

“Clara is definitely opening up more in this season. We see who she is when she wants something and how she goes about getting it. But she can’t control how that makes her feel when that’s a baby.”

Love Me, which centre around the Mathieson family nine months after S1, had quite the impact on its audience if random strangers are any indicator.

“Every day somebody stopped me on the street on my way home to tell me how much they loved season one asking, ‘Will there be another season?'” she explains.

“There were these deep conversations every frickin’ day. Sometimes I had to run away from people because I don’t have time! One woman was so intrigued by how we used Melbourne and she was obsessed with it.

“But it’s not my life. It’s the character’s life. So I didn’t have to talk about my own experiences whereas the people who I met on the street really seem to want to share their own experiences.

“For it to elicit these actual deep, profound conversations with complete strangers was really delightful.”

Yet it also represents the kind of work Novakovic most desires in Television: a quality drama with roles that require real commitment.

“This kind of television has a similarity to theatre because it’s an ensemble cast,” Novakovic acknowledges.

“That’s all I want. I want one TV job a year, that goes through several seasons, and I can come and see those people again. Where it’s consistent for six months and we’re developing themes together.

“We as the cast come from it from the inside of it. So we have communal discussions on weekends when we’re together, with character choices and things like that. That’s not that common. That’s why you do it. You do it for that sort of commitment and that depth of exploration.

“So the show is very special, is what I’m trying to say.”

Love Me returns Thursday on Binge and  8:30pm Sunday on FOX Showcase.