Widely recognized for her breakout role as Enid in Wednesday, Emma Myers now takes the helm of her own show, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, as the starring sleuth Pippa Fitz-Amobi. The new Netflix series is based on Holly Jackson’s beloved YA BookTok novel; this adaptation follows our protagonist Pip as she investigates the tragic murder-suicide that shook her sleepy town just five years ago.
The case involving popular student Andie Bell’s death may be long closed, but Pip is not convinced by its conclusion and sets out on her own to reveal the truth once and for all. The six-episode series — referred to as AGGGTM by fans — has Myers holding a spyglass up to what truths lurk just beneath the surface of her small town. She’s a modern-day Nancy Drew, a teenage Sherlock with unwavering determination and a laptop to keep track of the hunt.
The mystery-while-coming-of-age series is currently available for streaming in the UK on BBC iPlayer and will be arriving to Netflix on Thursday, August 1. Below, Teen Vogue speaks with Emma Myers about the show, becoming Pip, and how she’s been spending her time in between shoots. Small spoilers ahead.
Emma Myers: There are lots of new adventures that we all go on. I love the scripts this season, they’re so fun! I think people should be ready for a good time.
EM: Honestly, I’ve been steering clear of the internet, because I’m so nervous. But for the most part, I’ve heard that it’s had a good reaction, so I’m happy about that.
EM: I read the books a million times. Holly Jackson was always really helpful, I’d ask her questions upon questions and she answered all of them. It’s also about feeling the vibe on set and how TV Pip is going to differ from, and also be similar to, book Pip. I feel like any actor would bring their own spin to her, and that just happened to be mine.
EM: What’s funny is that while we were shooting in Bristol, there was a TV channel that would play old Murder, She Wrote episodes and me and my sister would watch them constantly, so I feel like that really got me into the mood. And I did make a Pip playlist, I tried not to take too much from other characters because I wanted Pip to be her own, but definitely making a playlist helped with creating the character.
EM: On her playlist I had a lot of Alex G, because I felt like that was her vibe, as well as Lizzy McAlpine. You know, sad girl music.
EM: I've never worked with a dialect coach in the past, but I’m so glad I had one this go around, because, honestly, nailing an accent is so hard. Especially in the UK, accents are so regionally-specific…We had Zoom calls and went over my script a million times to make sure I knew how to say every word.
EM: Occasionally, not even seriously. It’s more of a habit just to say something in a British accent.
EM: I just love that she’s determined to finish what she started, [and] I find that her need to help other people is really admirable and good for a young audience to see.
EM: I always want to be sensible when I’m dealing with hard topics, because I don't want to do them wrong or glorify difficult situations, [and] I feel like the show has done this really well. It brings light to real things that happen without glorifying them.
EM: The scene for Barney’s death was tricky, because the dog especially didn’t like that I was crying near him, and that made it difficult. [In general] Pip is so different from all the other characters I’ve played, she’s a lot more like me. People automatically think it’s easier to play a character like yourself, but in reality, it’s way harder. All around, this project challenged me with a lot of things [and] was a good exercise.
EM: Our personalities are similar. I find that I’m a lot more down to earth like she is. I also feel I have a strong sense of judgment. I hate when issues are portrayed wrong or handled wrong, it riles me up. We have a very similar drive, and I see a lot of qualities in her that mirror myself.
EM: He’s super fun to be around. Our chemistry came easily and simply, it didn’t feel strained or forced and it was great doing scenes with him.
EM: It’s scary because I wanted to get it right. The one person I really wanted to please was Holly, and as long as she was happy [with my performance], I was happy.
EM: Because I was working every single day and Pip is at the forefront of the story, I’ve carried a lot of what I’ve learned on this job into my normal everyday life.
EM: How I behave and treat others, as well as work ethic. Being around the cast and crew for days and days and days, we really got to know one another. I’m quite an introvert and it’s taught me lots about social skills and connecting with others.
EM: Our young friendship group became such good friends [in real life]. The scenes that I got to film with them didn’t feel like work, they just felt like I was hanging out with my friends, and we all became so close instantly. I love them to death, and they’ve really changed my life.
EM: Sleeping, honestly. I haven’t had much downtime because I’ve been working on the weekends, but recently it’s finally slowed down. I’ve been hanging out with my friends here in Dublin and having a good time.
EM: I would love to see the entire trilogy pan out. I love the books. I love the story. So depending on if everybody likes it, hopefully we get to do another season.
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder is now streaming on Netflix.
