Anna Konkle Talks Hulu’s ‘The Drop’ And Future ‘Pen15’ Seasons: “There’s More To Say”

Anna Konkle was three months into being a new mom when she signed on for The Drop, a Hulu comedy in which her character drops a baby on the concrete, which began streaming today.

“I was used to seeing the more saccharine side of motherhood,” Konkle told Decider in a recent interview. “After pregnancy, birth, and being a new mom, I was craving something that was talking about things that we’re trained not to laugh at.”

Don’t worry, the baby is fine. The group of millennial friends, however—who are all gathered in Mexico to celebrate the marriage of the baby’s mothers, Mia (played by Aparna Nancherla) and Peggy (Jennifer Lafleur)—is not so fine. Tension builds, and relationships start to unravel, including the relationship between Konkle’s character, a flighty woman named Lex, and her family-loving husband Mani (Jermaine Fowler). Lex and Mani have been trying for a baby of their own, but the whole “dropping the infant on the concrete” thing raises doubts.

For Konkle—who brought her then-three-month-old daughter Essie on set to Sayulita, Mexico—the film was a challenge for more reasons than one. Konkle, who is 35, had just wrapped up three years of the Emmy-nominated Hulu series she created with Maya Erskine, Pen15, meaning she had to shift gears from playing a prepubescent tween to playing a sexual, adult woman considering motherhood. And then there was the added stress of mothering an infant on a movie set. “I was breast pumping in the jungle between takes,” Konkle said with a laugh.

But, Konkle said, she wanted to know that it could be done—that a new mom could say yes to a gig, and receive the support in the workplace she needed. Konkle spoke to Decider about receiving that support from director Sarah Adina Smith (who was eight months pregnant herself, at the time), why she was drawn to this darkly comedic take on motherhood, how she approached the film’s sex scenes, and her hopes to someday return to Pen15.

Decider: I laughed out loud when I read the logline for this movie. What was your reaction when you first heard the pitch?

Anna Konkle: Same! I read the logline and I laughed out loud. Then I read the outline, which was our guide to improv as we did the movie. I was three months post-partum at the time, and I was used to seeing the more saccharine side of motherhood. It was exciting to see to read an R-rated, comedic take on motherhood. After pregnancy, birth, and being a new mom, I was craving something that was talking about things that we’re trained not to laugh at—that we don’t give the layered complexity we give to other things.

Did you know you would be in this early stage of motherhood while filming when you signed on for the movie?

Yeah, it was pretty crazy. I was hired a week-and-a-half before [the shoot]. The rest of the cast was set. It was a really wild moment. I look back and think, “What was I thinking?” To say yes, as a new mom! I was breast pumping in the jungle between takes. Angel was a PA who was in charge of the breastmilk and getting it from the candle-lit hut to where [Konkle’s daughter] Essie was. But it intrigued me to explore whether this would be possible—and it should be possible. This production was into hiring a new mom. That meant stopping every three hours so I could breastfeed. That’s a really unusual thing, and it needs to happen more. That made me feel more confident about doing something so crazy.

How did you work with director Sarah Adina Smith on creating a set that allowed you to also be a new mom?

Sarah, from the beginning, was so supportive. My first reaction [to the job offer] was, “This is really funny, but I couldn’t possibly do this right now.” Sarah, at the time, was eight months pregnant. I don’t know how she did it—she was in Birkenstocks, walking a mile uphill to get to set, through rocky terrain. She was such a force through the entire thing. We had each other. Jennifer Lafleur [who plays Peggy] was also breastfeeding. There was a lot of motherhood, around the story of motherhood. That was exciting—the idea that this was something we all agreed was funny, and that a studio was interested in making. It feels like we’re on the precipice of change. There’s a lot farther to go, but knowing that productions are starting to go in the direction of, “We will live in the practicality of you feeding your child and support you, even if it slows down production or affects the budget.” That is equality in the workplace, and it needs to happen more.

I appreciate that this movie plays with the idea of a woman who is not a natural caregiver, but rather than making that a villainous trait, it’s just funny.

Yeah! And that can be funny, too. Women’s issues are things that are important to be talked about, and they’re funny. Comedy is the great equalizer. Lex starts with just going through the motions—literal thrusting motions—of trying to have a baby. Then dropping someone else’s baby sends her on this journey of evaluating that. “Do I really want this? Maybe I don’t?” It’s a nice journey that we’re all going through with the character, that reminds us we’re allowed to grapple with that. And most of us will grapple with that.

Tell me about working with Jermaine Fowler. You two have such a natural chemistry, which made that relationship feel very real.

Jermaine is a wonderful actor. We all know that he’s really funny. His background, as far as I understand, is more comedic roles, so this was a more emotional role for him to take on. I was intimidated, because, same. But also, having played a 13-year-old [on Pen15], this was one of the first adult characters I’ve played in a long time. Before, I was playing someone who was prepubescent—my breasts were strapped down; I hadn’t had my period yet. Now, this character is grappling with motherhood, and what womanhood means to her. It was a big swing. [Jermaine] and I bonded because there was a vulnerability to both of us doing the project. It was really fun to watch him bloom in every aspect. He’s also just an amazing human being. He’s really kind and so caring.

A big part of this movie is the intimate scenes you have with Jermaine. How did you approach the sex scenes, and what’s important for you on a set to feel as comfortable as possible?

I like to feel like I can go as far as I want in those situations, and that the director and, most importantly, co-actor is comfortable with it. I want to go to places that I wouldn’t necessarily feel comfortable with a lot of people seeing, which is ironic, because I know it’s going to be on screen. But the comedy, to me, often comes from the moments that are really, horrifically embarrassing. I wanted to bring that to the sex scenes. There’s a moment that you can’t really see—it’s behind that curtain—but it’s doggy-style, or whatever people call it, and I’m just tired, on my elbows. I want to feel free enough to do a bunch of stuff that won’t be used. I’m pretty private in the moment, where I’m like, “Can it be a closed set?” so that I can feel more free to be the weirdo that we all are.

Some of my favorite scenes are the hilarious moments you have with Aparna Nancherla, from her glaring at you in the hospital to punching you in the face. Tell me about working with her.

She’s just brilliant. I remember one of the scenes where she’s a little drunk, I was blown away. The movie is based on an outline and improv—sometimes lines were written into [the outline], and sometimes they weren’t. She’s a writer as well, so the things she was coming up with were brilliant. And she’s such a legit actor and played drunk so brilliantly. And then she punched me. I don’t know how that turned out so well! The fist basically went past the camera, and it works really well. She scared me in those moments! It was perfect.

Wait, did you not know she was going to hit you?

No, I did know it was going to happen, but I was surprised at how Sarah directed the moment—I was trying to imagine the cut. And it worked so well, I thought. Aparna is so wonderfully scary.

Pen15 had such a beautiful conclusion, but I miss it! Would you and Maya Erskine ever do anything in that universe again? Maybe a flash-forward season or movie?

We’ve definitely talked about it. The intention was always those three story arcs. It’s nice to explore adult situations, but I think that 13-year-old reject-ness that stays with all of us, and informs adult stories, is so visceral and raw. It has the same arms and legs as adult stories, but it’s so honest in a funny way. If I had to guess, it does feel a bit unfinished still. There’s more to say on some level.

So… Season 4?

At the moment, there’s not more. Maya and I have other things, and it’s been really nice to not run a business together. It’s been nice to just go to K Spa, talk shit, and not be like, “What do we have to do tomorrow!?” We need that. And creatively, we need an outlet to do something else for a bit. But I hope that someday, if it’s the right time, we get back to more Pen15 stories.

I know for myself and other fans, it was touching to see you and Maya enter motherhood at the same time. Have you been doing any of that parenting stuff together—introduced your kids to each other?

Oh, yeah. Maya and I are best friends. At this point, we’ve been through so much on a personal journey of meeting in college, running a writers’ room, and learning so much about life and each other. Any true relationship goes through a lot of different stages and experiences, but we’re real best friends. Our kids love each other.

COVID threw a weird wrench in the pregnancy part, because there was so much unknown, and there weren’t vaccines yet. We, unfortunately, had to stay very separate, just physically. That was kind of strange, to be going through that at the same time—which wasn’t planned, it was very serendipitous. Like everybody, there was loss during COVID, and the grief of not seeing and being with people that you love. But it’s amazing to still be going through the same things, the highs and lows. We get to bounce off each other and relate. It’s a crazy life that we all have!