The actress talks to ET about the anticipated new seasons of the Showtime and Apple TV+ series.
The new year may have just started, but Lauren Ambrose is already the biggest star of 2023 thanks to her starring roles in the anticipated new seasons of Showtime's Yellowjackets, which returns with new episodes in March, and Servant, which ends its run on Apple TV+ starting in January.
When it comes to the former, Ambrose has been added to the ensemble as the adult version of teenage plane crash survivor (and fan favorite), Van Palmer, played by Liv Hewson. The news of her joining the cast came after many fans, and even Hewson, suggested that the Six Feet Under star would be a perfect addition to the series.
However, when ET's Will Marfuggi asked Ambrose about the fact that fans have been dream casting older versions of the survivors, she revealed she wasn't aware that her name was at the top of the list. "No, [I] didn't know that. But I definitely had the experience of watching the show and being like, 'Well, gee, can I be on this show or what?'" she recalled.
"And then they asked me to do [it]. So, that was a different experience for me. I've never watched something and loved it and then [went] on it. So… that has been cool," she continued. "I am very excited about it."
And with season 2 still filming in Canada, Ambrose has been working with Hewson on integrating their two versions of Van together. "I mean, it's all happening right now," she said. "It's a process that is happening as we speak. And Liv created a beautiful character that wasn't even necessarily meant to stick around. And because of Liv's very cool, beautiful performance, I get to be part of it now, too."
While fans have to wait a few more months to see how Ambrose embodies Van on season 2 of Yellowjackets, they will get to watch her close out Dorothy Turner's journey in the fourth and final season of Servant.
Although her turn on the hit psychological horror series executive produced by M. Night Shyamalan has garnered her some of the best reviews of her career since Six Feet Under ended in 2005, many viewers were left wondering if she was actually coming back after season 3 ended on such a shocking note.
"It's funny. After people saw it, they were like, 'What's happening? Are you done with Servant?'" Ambrose said of the reaction to the cliffhanger, which saw Dorothy fall to the ground floor after the railing on the stairs gave out while she was trying to run away with her son, a reborn doll named Jericho.
"I knew that I still had a job and [that] it would be fun figuring out what happened," she continued, noting that the scene "was a fun thing and a crazy moment to film" while addressing theories about what happened. "We are sort of toggling between, you know, the very real world explanation of the house falling apart [because] it's old and the banister gave way or is there something supernatural at play that has to do with Leanne [Nell Tiger Free]."
Of course, what that means for Dorothy moving forward remains to be seen. But Ambrose teased that her character is now in "a slow, painful recovery process in season 4."
Servant season 4 will premiere on Jan. 13 on Apple TV+, with episodes debuting weekly on Fridays.
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