Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
AMC’s quirky new anthology series Dispatches From Elsewhere jolts to life the moment actress Eve Lindley‘s Simone appears onscreen. It’s not just that Lindley is a raven-haired beauty, but she seems to vibrate with electricity. It’s in the way her whole face lights up when she smiles or how she can make a slouch look like a dance. Her spirit feels fresh and unguarded. From the moment Jason Segel’s Peter sees her, you can see that he’s bewitched by her, and with good reason. Eve Lindley is one of the most charismatic actresses to show up on television in a while, and she’s the core reason you should tune into Dispatches From Elsewhere.
Created by star Jason Segel, Dispatches From Elsewhere is a ten-hour series about a quartet of characters who find themselves pulled into a mysterious adventure. Starting with Episode 1, “Peter,” we watch as Segel’s listless everyman struggles to find meaning in his passionless life. When Peter’s eye keeps stumbling upon fliers put up by a mysterious organization called the Jejune Institute, he puts in a call and then answers another one to show up for “induction” into the group. However, while there, he also finds messages telling him to run. He falls in with the Jejune Institute’s rival organization, the Elsewhere Society. Peter teams up with the beautiful Simone, and later conspiracy theorist Fredwynn (Andre Benjamin) and sweet housewife Janice (Sally Field). Their mission? To follow a series of bizarre clues — and to honor the idea of “divine nonchalance” — in order to locate a missing woman named Clara.
Clara might be the MacGuffin of Dispatches From Elsewhere, but Eve Lindley is its heart and soul. Simone is initially introduced from Peter’s perspective, giving her a slight “Manic Pixie Dream Girl” vibe. After all, she is the quirky beauty who lights a man’s soul on fire. But Dispatches From Elsewhere shifts the show’s perspective to Simone by the episode’s end. While Peter sees Simone purely as a beacon of light, she has her own pain, struggles, and fears. In tonight’s episode, “Simone,” we learn that Simone is haunted by a crushing sense of loneliness. She feels like she doesn’t quite fit in with the world around her.
Part of the reason Simone feels that way is because, as Episode 2 confirms, she is a transgender woman. The 27-year-old Lindley is also transgender, and told journalists during the show’s panel at Winter TCA, that Simone was unlike any role she had played before — or seen on screen.
“I think that the story is unlike anything that I’ve seen on TV. I hadn’t really seen a trans woman be portrayed as like a love interest and lovable, and a full well-rounded character,” she said.
Though Lindley feels like a revelation in Dispatches From Elsewhere, it’s far from her first role. Lindley has appeared in Season 2 of Mr. Robot, the WGN America series Outsiders, and an episode of High Maintenance. Previously, her splashiest role came from a standout performance in Katie Holmes’s directorial debut, All We Had. You can follow Lindley on Instagram and Twitter.
Dispatches From Elsewhere Episode 1, “Peter,” premiered last night on AMC, and tonight Episode 2, “Simone” will premiere after Better Call Saul. Future episodes of Dispatches From Elsewhere will air Mondays after Better Call Saul.
