Q&A: Sandra Oh on Killing Eve’s Return and Why She Won’t Host the Golden Globes Again

It’s been quite a year for Sandra Oh, thanks to her hit series Killing Eve, about an MI5 operative (Eve Polastri, played by Oh) tracking an assassin (Villanelle, played by Jodie Comer) around Europe. Oh was nominated for an Emmy and won Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards for the role, which also led to a co-hosting gig with Andy Samberg at January’s Golden Globes. Killing Eve, the BBC America drama, which was Adweek’s best new TV show of 2018, built on its 18-49 and 25-54 demo audience each week during Season 1. The network said it was the first new scripted series to do so since Nielsen’s live-plus-3 measurement began more than a decade ago. As Killing Eve returns for Season 2 on Sunday, it has become too big for just one network. AMC Networks will be simulcasting it on both BBC America and AMC. Oh spoke with Adweek about returning for Season 2, taking on new responsibilities as a co-executive producer and why you won’t see her hosting the Globes again. Adweek: When you were on Grey’s Anatomy, you had that experience of being on a show that became a freshman hit, and then, you were under a much bigger spotlight for Season 2. Did you feel prepared more for going through that on Killing Eve this year? Sandra Oh: That’s many, many years ago, and I feel like I’m just deeper into my own confidence as an artist. Because as you further go along, you get better tools to keep the noise out. It’s a distraction, and you can’t control it, except for what’s exactly in front of you. So I felt I got deeper in the creative process of it. You said last year that one of the big draws for Killing Eve was showrunner Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Has Season 2 felt different now that she has stepped away? Living and breathing these characters in your bones for two seasons, you’re really the one who is carrying the story because you’ve lived it. So the following of that and the following of the character is always what is going to draw me. It has shifted, but I do feel strongly that Emerald [Fennel, who took over as showrunner in Season 2] and Phoebe come from the same place. They have similar sensibilities, so it was a natural transition. The voice continued, and then, of course, Emerald has her own voice. And I feel like the entire cast really got deeper engaged with the dynamics between the characters. Eve and Villanelle are separated early in this new season. The chemistry between those characters is so great, but it would make no sense storywise for them to continuously keep meeting up. How do you walk that line and make the most of the moments between the two of them? That’s definitely what we try to explore in the second season: How do you be together? What I’m interested in continuing is if you’re in an impossible situation, and this can be where we are in a relationship or where we can be geopolitically, where do you go? How do we still “be?" Those are the questions I’m deeply exploring in this character and that I hope that the show will go on with. You’re a co-executive producer this season. Why was that title important to you and what new duties did you have? I felt it was really important to me because it’s the way that I want to collaborate now and the way that I feel I work the best. This is the great thing I love about television that is not the same as film and not necessarily the same as theater. You’re making it as you’re going along. Like my hair—when Phoebe was writing the pilot, she wasn’t planning on having plot points based on my hair. But because you’re doing that, you get to have something that’s happening immediately as you get to move it along that way. I wanted that collaboration to be able to continue, and I felt like I had a lot more to say. Two years ago, you did that great spot for National Canadian Film Day. Are you open to doing more partnerships? It just has to make sense. I did the Canadian Film Day because I’ve made Canadian films and I wanted to promote that. It was also our big anniversary. It just has to make sense to me. It just has to feel right to me. [kickout id="1"] Since Eve premiered, have you been approached with opportunities that didn’t feel right to you? Not really. I also have a great team who know me and that things that just have to feel right for me. What was the easiest and toughest part of hosting the Golden Globes? The easiest part of it was just being onstage with Andy. The toughest part of it were the five days prior to it, which was so stressful. And I was terrified. I was petrified. Because it was so new to me. Would you do it again? No, I would not. Why not? I had never thought about it, so when the offer came, I just thought, that’s crazy! And then I thought, that would be amazing. I couldn’t pass up that opportunity. But just to feel that I accomplished that is enough. I did what I wanted to do. Now that you’re on this streak with Killing Eve, what else would you like to do? Between Grey’s and Killing Eve, I was working on a bunch of things. I did a couple plays, two indie films, I did American Crime [on ABC], but I was really actively waiting and I’ll probably be doing the same. Having said that, my interest and my confidence to help usher in projects is growing. It just has to be the right thing. So your co-executive producer credit on Killing Eve is a stepping stone to you doing more producing? Sure. I’m learning a lot and want to continue carrying that confidence into other arenas that speak to great stories, good characters and also the Asian-American community. Speaking of that community, between Killing Eve and Crazy Rich Asians last year, there was lots of discussion about how Hollywood was finally changing with regard to representation. A year later, was that just talk, or does it feel like it’s really happening? One of the things I was trying to express at the Globes at the end of the monologue was that I do feel like there was a moment of change that I could actually see, that I felt was real in my career. And that was the moment to celebrate. And also, that doesn’t guarantee anything. We need to continue on in a much more interior and community-based way for change to really happen. [kickout id="2" label="Killing Eve"]