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It was not just a narrative puzzle to solve; it was a structural problem.
Sam Neill as Stan, Annette Bening as Joy inApples Never Fall.
Then you also have the complexity of a crime….
It was really, really rigorous story-breaking in the room, which was covered in whiteboards.
We have to laugh; we have to have fun, Marnich says.
From left: Sam Neill as Stan Delaney, Georgia Flood as Savannah, Annette Bening as Joy Delaney
It cant be just this harrowing thing the whole time.
But you never want the funny to undercut what is scary.
That would really be a mistake.
Annette Bening as Joy Delaney, Jake Lacy as Troy Delaney
And as with any book-to-TV adaptation, some changes are going to surprise viewers more than others.
In aGlamourexclusive, Marnich and Moriarty break down the biggest changes and explain their reasoning behind the choices.
Were warning you now: Spoilers ahead.
Georgia Flood as Savannah, Annette Bening as Joy Delaney in the first episode
However, to confuse you even more, the series filmed in Australias Gold Coast.
I love that Liane set the book in Sydney, Marnich says.
But I dont know Sydney or that community.
Paula Andrea Placido as Gina Solis, Essie Randles as Brooke Delaney
What I did have a sense of was South Florida; I had spent time in West Palm.
I was also always really fascinated in West Palm Beach at its juxtapositions proximity to Palm Beach.
Those two places felt a world apart.
From left: Dylan Thuraisingham as Detective Ethan Remy, Jeanine Serralles as Detective Elena Camacho, Essie Randles as Brooke Delaney, and Sam Neill as Stan Delaney
I thought it was really important for Stan Delaney to have had a tennis academy that was successful.
And one of his students lives in Palm Beach but never made it.
Marnich says that decision was really about maximizing the mystery and parceling it out in the most effective way.
From left: Conor Merrigan Turner as Logan Delaney, Essie Randles as Brooke Delaney, Jake Lacy as Troy Delaney, and Alison Brie as Amy Delaney
Think of the Delaneys as a bucket of gasoline, and Savannah drops the match, she says.
The mystery of who she is can give us more story, so that was the choice.
She tells the family [in the book] that Joy had her dad fired.
That needs to be Joy.
For the maximum impact, we had to give that to Joy.
That is essential; Joy owes that to Troy.
Shes been ignored, shes unseen, shes unappreciated, and shes had it.
I wanted it to be an active decision on Joys part.
It was just a way of bringing a certain muscularity to her choice.
That is, until Brooke questions Ginas faithfulness and sleeps with Savannah.
That was fun, Moriarty says with a laugh.
I loved that change in storyline in the series.
Moriarty says she actually loves seeing scenes that she sort of recognizes but are new to her as well.
Now I think, Oh, its actually my show.
But because of the parts that I dont know, I really love watching them.
(Its a very different story.)
She diagnosed Brookes [weak spots] and made herself available to that, Marnich says.
No one quite knows how to love or be loved, and they have damage.
As a result, you had one of the most jaw-dropping moments of the series.
She says the decision to have him get arrested in the series was just about adding more drama.
Thats the other thingeach episode has to have its own arc, she says.
Marnich explains that she wanted Stan to be brought to his lowest point with the arrest.
He just wasnt guilty.
I think he has to go to the point of, Oh my God.
The world thinks Im guilty, and I gave them the reasons for this.
In the series Savannah unleashes her anger at Joy and nearly kills her in a car crash.
So with Joy, we didnt want it to be about injury.
Marnich also says she didnt want Joy laid up in bed or people running to her in the hospital.
I wanted her to walk into her own house of her own volition.
This way, she comes in whole.
Shaken up, but whole.
There were a lot of conversations about it.
I know, Marnich says.
She wipes out pretty good on the bike.
Because shes on blood thinners…well, its harrowing.
After the car accident, Savannah disappears into thin air as the focus returns to the Delaney family.
This was about the story staying light on its feet, Marnich says.
Savannah literally runs away.
There were different versions, and it just felt like the air went out of it.
We wanted to live with this slightly pressurized emotional through-line of the Delaneys and their progressive revelations and discoveries.
Her basically saying that stuff to Joy in the car, I forgive you.
I hope you forgive me.
Thats a phenomenal change for Savannah.
Do I think that shell change her ways?
But ironically, the car accident started her healing.
That what-if question was answered.
As much as I would love to see them all, it wouldnt be right.
