‘Imperfect Women.’ Courtesy of AppleTV+ 
By Okla Jones ·Updated April 7, 2026 < /> Getting your Trinity Audio player ready… Apple TV+’s Imperfect Women opens with an unfortunate premise—a group of close friends fractured by tragedy. The murder of Nancy, played by Kate Mara, sends shockwaves through a decades-long friendship, forcing the two women left behind to confront not only what happened, but who they have been to one another. Starring Kerry Washington as Eleanor, alongside Elisabeth Moss, the show is technically a mystery, but it also leans into the emotional aftermath of loss.
Washington’s Eleanor is introduced as the most outwardly composed of the trio, a career-driven woman who appears to have built a life on her own terms. As the story unfolds, her sense of control begins to crack. “I loved playing a character who really put her work first,” Washington said. “And who wasn’t like her two best friends, who hadn’t kind of found her life partner and was having kids.” Though refreshing at times, however, Eleanor’s independence comes with its own cost.
“A lot of that was coming from the fact that she was denying and suppressing a lot of her own personal needs and desires,” Washington added. “And kind of using her professional career to keep her mind off of the thoughts she was afraid to have and the feelings she was afraid to have.”
As Eleanor searches for answers, the investigation becomes entangled with unresolved emotions, secrets, and shifting loyalties. The series uses those themes to explore how different perspectives can alter the meaning of events. Washington points to that as one of the story’s most compelling elements. “The show does something that I think is so needed in the culture right now,” she said. “Which is to force you as an audience member to pause and to consider the facts of the story from another point of view.”
Elisabeth Moss, who serves as both star and executive producer, was drawn to the project after reading Araminta Hall’s novel years before production began, and she remained focused on preserving its structure as the story moved to the screen. “The book goes Eleanor, Nancy, Mary,” Moss explained. “You get fully invested in Eleanor at the beginning, and then you turn the page and it says Nancy. And that blew my mind.” Seeing the story from each character’s viewpoint became a guiding principle for the series.
Moss also found a special kind of appeal in her character, Mary. After years of immersing herself in heightened roles, she was interested in a role that was a bit more reserved. “I was very attracted to the idea of playing an everyday heroine,” she said, describing a woman whose life is defined by responsibilities that often go unseen. “The idea of the heroism in the simple act of preparing lunch, making sure that you tell the right bedtime story even when you’re exhausted—those acts are acts of true heroism for me.”
The dynamic between Washington and Moss is paramount to the show’s movement, because while Eleanor pushes forward, Mary becomes increasingly consumed by the details surrounding Nancy’s death; drawing her into a cycle of suspicion. Washington also found unexpected resonance in her scenes with apple tv Kerry Washington
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