On Sirens, Meghann Fahy Heads Back To The Beach

Meghann Fahy knows her resume has a sandy throughline. “I love a beach, and I love a dead body,” she tells Bustle, joking about her turns in The White Lotus and The Perfect Couple, two buzzy series that revolve around mysterious deaths in paradise.

The 35-year-old actor is beachside once again in Netflix’s Sirens — which (spoilers ahead!) isn’t a murder mystery, but is steeped in intrigue. It follows Fahy’s Devon as she tracks down her estranged sister, Simone (Milly Alcock), to request she return home and help care for their ailing dad. Only... Simone is quite happy where she’s at, working for an enigmatic billionaire (Julianne Moore) on her sprawling island estate. It’s against this stunning backdrop that Devon and Simone reckon with their shared family trauma.

It’s heavy material, but the shoot in North Fork, Long Island, made room for the light — literally. “It was really special to watch the sunrise before work and take that into the day with you,” Fahy says. “And watching the sunset from that area — none of us had ever seen an entire crew of people stop what they were doing on set for 10 minutes because what was happening to the sky was so insane and so gorgeous.”

Below, Fahy opens up about the ending of Sirens, working with Julianne Moore, and wanting a Bold Type revival.

What do you imagine for Devon and Simone’s relationship going forward? In their last meeting, Simone seems hopeful, but Devon is more resigned to reality.

When we meet Devon, she’s very unwilling to accept her sister’s wants or needs or truth — which is that she wants nothing to do with their dad or that life and never will change her mind. At the very end of the weekend, when we see Devon accept that, like, I have to let her go and be OK with that, I think Simone is surprised. When she’s saying, “We’ll see each other again, we’ll get pedicures,” it’s dawning on Simone — she’s saying the words as she’s realizing that’s not going to happen, and my sister’s not fighting me on it anymore. That’s when you really know somebody’s done.

Julianne Moore starts the show as this enigmatic, oppositional force. Then, through your interactions with her character, I feel like she’s really humanized. Was there a moment she surprised you as a scene partner?

All the time. She is an unbelievable talent. For as long as I can remember, it’s been a dream of mine to work with her. So every time I watched her work, I was in awe of the subtlety of her choices. She really is one of the most effortless actors I’ve ever had the privilege of being across from. The way that she carries herself, the way that she interacts with other people, she’s just a true class act and really advocated for Milly and me.

Between The White Lotus, The Perfect Couple, and Sirens, is there a beach you’ve deemed your favorite so far?

Well, Sicily is hard to beat. It’s just so magical. But I will say, I grew up in Massachusetts — I’m an East Coast girlie — and I think the East Coast American beaches are so nostalgic. There’s just something rustic about them, something beautiful about that water and sand. So it will always be my favorite. My family and I go to the Cape every summer, and we look forward to it all year long.

I love that the show includes those very chilling, siren-y vocals.

I don’t know if anybody knows this yet, but [that] thematic sound that repeats at certain points and is a siren-y song — that is me! That’s my voice, and Milly and Julie did some of it as well. The three of us lent our voices to that. I actually haven’t heard it yet, but I did go into the studio and record it not too long ago.

That’s so cool! If a siren song is this thing that lures you to it, what would your metaphorical siren song sound like? Whether it’s a food, drink, place, thing...

Food would definitely be cacio e pepe. Love that dish. My friends will tell you, if we go to a restaurant and they have it on the menu, I just have to get it. That feels very siren-y to me, like, I don’t even have a choice.

Drink, probably an Aperol spritz. When is that not appropriate to drink? You can have it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

I’m a big Bold Type girlie, and I hope you know that every time you’re cast in something, there’s a hive of people just being like, That’s our girl! Almost five years after the series ended, do you ever imagine what Sutton might be up to today?

First of all, that’s so sweet of you to say. I love that show so much, and I love meeting people who love the show, too. It was just such a special time in my life. And the girls and I are down, we’re like, “Let’s make the f*cking Bold Type movie. Let’s go Sex and the City on their ass.”

We need it!

But yeah, I like to imagine that Sutton and Richard are still going strong. Hopefully, she’s in a higher position in her field — homegirl was working as an assistant for a long time. I hope she has risen up her ladder in that respect. I think about her all the time.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.