From the moment Rafe Spall and Esther Smith had their first chemistry read, they were comfortable playing a loving couple desperately yearning to become parents in the Apple TV+ series, Trying.
The first two seasons of the heartwarming show found their characters Jason and Nikki pursuing several means to fulfill their dreams to have a baby, but when their chances with IVF become too slim for the high expense involved, they decide to pursue adoption—another extremely rocky and complicated path.
Trying Season 3 finds them waking up as new parents to two young children they are still getting to know. In the new season, they get thrown into the parental deep end while navigating red tape that may take their children away.
Amid the relatable chaos of their lives and hanging on to their sanity, audiences meet Nikki and Jason’s extended family members and friends who are truly a village devoted to keeping this fragile new family together.
The series also stars Imelda Staunton (The Crown), Sian Brooke, Ophelia Lovibond, Darren Boyd, and Paula Wilcox. The couple’s two children, Princess and Tyler, are played by Eden Togwell and Mickey McAnulty.
Esther Smith and Rafe Spall star as married couple Nikki and Jason in “Trying.”
Apple TV+
Trying looks at the complex issues of infertility, adoption, family, parenting, child custody, and more human frailties that are truly relatable.
The first episode of Season 3 debuted on July 22, and the eight episodes will continue to be rolled out weekly until Sept. 2, 2022.
Related: 32 Celebrities Who Adopted Kids to Complete Their Families
“Even though they are great people and it’s a show about good people trying to do the right thing they still get on each other’s nerves and they still test each other,” Spall exclusively tells Parade.com.
Smith says she appreciates Nikki’s journey. “I think Nikki finds life difficult, but it seems like we’ve watched her find a way to navigate it in a way that she’s very much in control,” Smith told us. “She is also tested quite a bit by these two new kids because you can’t control two children. The situation is out of her hands quite often with them, and I think she finds that really difficult.”
Read on for more about why Spall and Smith believe we can identify with Jason and Nikki and what we can learn about our tumultuous journey from their joys and challenges.
How have your Trying characters evolved for you in three seasons? What should we look forward to as the series continues?
Rafe Spall: This couple has been through a great deal that’s deepened them both as people and as partners. Their relationship gets tested a lot, which I think is pretty real to life. Every time their relationship is tested, they tend to come out of it with a greater appreciation for one another, which is really lovely. It’s quite aspirational, I think, when it comes to watching a couple on screen. By the end of this three-year process, being matched with children is pretty beautiful and a testament to people who adopt, who are pretty amazing people.
Related: Apple TV’s Family Comedy Best Foot Forward Teaches Us the Importance of Acceptance
Esther, what is your take on Nikki?
Esther Smith: I think individually for Nikki’s character, I feel like we see her in series one as this person who wants to become this “grownup.” She wants to have really stepped into herself. I think she has a line, “I’m 33 and I want to start taking life seriously.”
It feels like through all these things that have been thrown at them, this whole process of adoption where people have kind of come in and judged them and really looked into their world and their lives, she’s really kind of come into her own somehow. I feel like she’s matured but still has to deal with all these new things thrown at her. Now that she’s a manager at her work, I feel like she’s become a lot more organized. But it’s been nice to be with Nikki and Jason for these three seasons and see how they’ve evolved.
Eden Togwell as Princess and Mickey McAnulty as Tyler in “Trying”
Apple TV+
In making this series, what are the challenges? What are the joys?
Rafe Spall: Well, the challenge is we shot two seasons during a global pandemic, which presents obvious challenges logistically. One needs to remind themselves—and it’s what’s great about having kids around—that you’re making TV shows and that’s really fun and a really privileged thing to do.
So many people want to do what we do, and so many people grow up wanting to be involved in TV and movie-making. Even though the hours can be long and the work can be difficult, to me it’s not lost on me the privilege of being able to do what I always wanted to do for a living. It’s good to have kids around to remind you of that because they’re very wide-eyed and in awe of the whole process. So the challenges are too few to mention and the joys are myriad.
Related: Did You Know These 13 Celebs Were Adopted?
Esther Smith: I think one of the joys that comes with it is the interaction with audience members that watch the show and love it, and who are maybe going through difficulties either with fertility or difficulties through the adoption process, or go through the adoption process. There are numerous stories.
The interaction that we are able to have with fans through social media where they reach out and say how much they love the show and how much that they don’t feel like they’re on their own with their struggles, because the show’s representing something which isn’t necessarily highlighted within the entertainment industry. It is really special to hear those individual stories from people. I feel really proud that we get to tell that story.
(scroll to keep reading)
Tyler’s (Mickey McAnulty) birthday party, with Rafe Spall as Jason and Eden Togwell as his older sister, Princess
Apple TV+
How quickly did the two of you bond? You’ve been at this for three seasons now.
Rafe Spall: We had to do the dreaded chemistry read, where you need to prove to a group of strangers that you have the requisite chemistry with another stranger in order to get a TV show made in a believable way. So we met beforehand and instantly got on, and we’ve got on ever since. It’s my favorite thing about doing this show, is I get to hang out with Esther.
Related: Amber Brown Star Carsyn Rose Wants All of Us to Seek Kindness in Our Lives
Talk about the idea that it takes a village to make a family.
Esther Smith: I think it’s about a support system, isn’t it? On a journey that is probably “not normal.” I think we’re so often given this blueprint of what our journey should be. Shows like this highlight the important conversations that we need to have about different types of journeys because essentially, we’re all individuals living our lives and we can’t all have the same journey. Nor should we have the same journey. Sometimes they are hard and sometimes they are easy.
It takes a village for Nikki and Jason, for their story. I think their journey has been hard but it’s just because it’s been different. I think having that support network to help them through a really difficult time and the way they are constantly tested by this process is one of the reasons the show is so compelling to watch.
Related: 100 Heartwarming Adoption Quotes that Celebrate the Beauty of Adoptive Families
Rafe Spall: I see the beauty in everyday moments in ordinary lives, these ordinary people, normal folks with regular jobs, and their parents both come from working-class backgrounds. My character’s father, played by Phil Davis, is a traditional sort of blue-collar Englishman who’s not very good at expressing himself through words, but he shows love through fixing a door or a dripping tap.
I think that’s really beautiful that there are all these folks who aren’t necessarily able to articulate their love [verbally], but they show it by being present and by showing up. I think that’s really gorgeous because people aren’t always able to articulate how they feel. But the fact that they’re there says more than a million words.
Rafe Spall (Jason) and Eden McAnulty (Tyler) in “Trying”
Apple TV+
Did you learn any parenting tips from the show?
Rafe Spall: I think the key is just being there, being around and being present. Children want to feel safe and secure. If you are brought up in a bedrock foundation of security, that continues through your life. I think that’s extremely important. These characters are always willing to be there, they want to be there, and their parents want to be there.
Esther Smith: Also, I think because the whole series, essentially, is about they might not be able to keep these two siblings together because they don’t have enough space, and they’ve only been approved for one child because of their financial means, they are so present as people, which feels so lovely.
What kind of life lessons do you take from Trying?
Esther Smith: I think something that resonates with me is to throw away that idea of what you think your life is going to be. That’s the thing that’s in [Season 1] about Nikki, who says you need to get away from the idea of what you think your life is going to be, otherwise, that’s when things get hard, is if you’re trying to control that.
Rafe Spall: I think along those lines I read this great quote recently which I think speaks to these characters’ experience, and also just life in general, which is that “life is defined by loss.” Loss is unavoidable. We all deal with loss on a daily basis.
What more do you want to explore in the series and your characters?
Rafe Spall: I’m looking forward to seeing what they’re like as parents, and looking forward to seeing what they’re like with maybe older kids. I think there’s life in these characters. Nothing’s guaranteed about whether we’re going to do another series or not, but there are some great ideas floating around. They’re like old friends, these characters. I’d happily play Jason for years to come.
Esther Smith: I wonder what they’d be like with teenagers. It’d also be interesting to know and see where Princess and Tyler have come from and see what that story kind of has to offer. As Rafe said, there is so much that can be explored still. It’d be great if we got to explore it more in future seasons.
Is there something specific that you’ve learned about yourself from the role, the ensemble, and the whole overall experience?
Rafe Spall: I’ve learned how much I love what I do, and how lucky I am to get to do it. Yeah, it’s made me feel very grateful that I get to do the thing that I always wanted to do as a kid. I guess it’s not made me fall in love again with acting because I always loved it, but it’s given me a deep appreciation of what I do.
Esther Smith: I think in terms of just adoption as a thing that’s in our world, just what that means. I didn’t really know about the adoption process before we started this job … You just hear the word “adoption” and you don’t really understand what that truly actually means. That word is filled with so much, and it’s a process that so many people have to go through and a story and a journey that I didn’t fully understand until we did this. So I’ve got a lot of respect for people who decide to take that journey. The word family can come in many different forms and different shapes and sizes. That’s beautiful.
Esther Smith as Nikki, Rafe Spall as Jason and Eden Togwell as Princess in “Trying”
Apple TV+
What’s the best part of Trying Season 3 and the show as a whole?
Rafe Spall: If you’ve seen the show before and you’re a fan of it, I think that this season will be deeply satisfying to you because it will give you what you want whilst also compounding your expectations by presenting lots of twists and turns, things that you perhaps didn’t expect.
If you’ve never seen the show before then it’s a show about two people trying to do the right thing, trying to be good, trying to be honest, and trying to give back. I think all of your readers will probably identify as good people, and that’s why watching the show is a pleasurable experience for people because they identify with these guys. They’re good people trying to do the right thing, as I’m sure most Parade readers are.
Esther Smith: I think that’s perfectly said.
Seasons 1 and 2 of Trying are streaming on Apple TV+. Season 3 of Trying premiered July 22; the Season 3 finale will drop on Sept. 2, 2022.
Next, find out the biggest and best life lessons from Best Foot Forward star Logan Marmino!
