EXCLUSIVE: Rafe Spall and Esther Smith Dish on Season 4 of ‘Trying’

The fourth season of AppleTV+’s hit show, Trying premieres today, May 22 with a six-year time jump! To celebrate the premiere, we got the chance to sit down with the leads of the series, Rafe Spall and Esther Smith.

During our chat with the stars, we talked the time jump, how they have changed over the past four seasons, laughing during filming, and so much more. Check out the full interview below!

You have played these characters for the past 4 seasons; how do you feel you have personally changed from Season 1 to Season 4?

Esther Smith: “A lot of life happens in, but really, it’s been five years, I guess, that we’ve been doing it.
Rafe Spall: “Yeah. We first met to audition for this show in, I want to say October ’19.”
Esther Smith: “Yeah. Which, actually, a lot has happened in the world in that time as well. Bloody hell. It’s amazing that this has been, that we get to carry on doing this show, which feels like a real, I don’t know, anchor point as well. And to be with the same family and see how that develops whilst at the same time everyone’s going through their own personal growing and changing.”
Rafe Spall: “A lot can happen in four years and I’m definitely a different person, older, probably not wiser. But I am really grateful for the contribution that this show has had in my life. It’s been incredibly important, massively, and I hope we get to do it for a few more years going forward.”

We’re time jumping this season. Were you surprised when you read that in the first script from Season 4?

Esther Smith: “Well, we knew beforehand. Andy [Wolton] had floated the idea with us in series three that should we get a series four, this was where it was going to go to. I think it’s such a positive thing because you’re basically seeing how these parents navigate being parents of older children and particularly teenagers and how different that is and all the challenges that come up with that.
But also because of that, Princess [Scarlett Rayner], who is 15 now in series four, is starting to want to figure out where she’s come from, which is completely valid. And that creates a tension within the series, which has been really interesting to explore. Yeah, yeah.”

For both of you, what would you say was the most challenging part of this season?

Rafe Spall: “Well, you had to get in the ocean in the freezing cold ocean.”
Esther Smith: “Oh, my gosh, yeah.”
Rafe Spall: “In Majorca.”
Esther Smith: “That was the very first day of filming. There’s nothing like coming back to a show and then you think you’re in a nice warm country, beautiful Majorca, and the first scene you’re spending hours in, the sea is not warm. I don’t know why I thought the sea might be warm. I was like, ‘Oh, that’s going to be so lovely.’”
Rafe Spall: “Well, it was, like, April.”
Esther Smith: “I know. But Majorca’s so sunny and vibrant. And the sea is freezing, freezing cold. So that was a real like, ‘Oh, okay, we’re at work. Okay.’”
Rafe Spall: “That was a challenge. The challenge often for me in this show is to just not laugh during scenes. That’s very, very difficult, especially when you’re surrounded by such a fantastic caliber of fellow actors. People are seriously funny.
And I always find that a challenge because you get to a point on a shoot where, oh, it’s funny if you laugh a few times, but then everyone starts to get really annoyed. You got to really pull it together. But it’s a bit like when you’re stressed and someone tells you to calm down, it never works.
If you’re laughing and someone tells you not to, it has the same effect. It makes you want to laugh more. So, that’s always a challenge for me when shooting, trying.”
Esther Smith: “There’s two people that revisit us from a past series later on in the season. And they are so funny and I’m not going to give too much away, but that is so hard to just get through that scene. It is such a naughty joy when that happens. When you shouldn’t be laughing, you can’t help it.”

But sometimes you need to laugh when you’re dealing with emotional things. Sometimes the best thing to do is just laugh and even maybe try not to laugh through it.

Esther Smith: “Yeah, totally.”
Rafe Spall: “But that’s one of the reasons this show is great, the show deals with very hard-hitting, real affecting issues. And the way the characters deal with it is humor. That’s very, very relatable to the audience. When very difficult things happen in our lives, what we have to rely on is trying to have a laugh.”

For my final question, why should fans tune into this new season?

Rafe Spall: “I think that fans should tune into this new season because it’s funny as hell, it’s relatable. I think that the characters of Nikki and Jason are really aspirational, not because of their material wealth, but because of the love that they have for each other.
And their whole life is full of love. They fail and they get things wrong, but they keep trying. To me, that reflects the experience of probably most people watching the show. It’s about good folks trying to do the right thing and kind people in an environment and a world where we need kindness. This is what this show’s about. And the two leads just super attractive.”
Esther Smith: “With great hair.”
Rafe Spall: “Terrific hair. So, tune in folks.”

*This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Photo credit: AppleTV+