<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="13138578" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="jemima-kirke" source="Orion">Jemima Kirke</keyword> said her "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reviews/out?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hulu.com%2Fseries%2Fconversations-with-friends-6ed4aee3-c8c3-48c3-8d62-87c52ef99b7e" rel="nofollow sponsored">Conversations With Friends</a>" role as Melissa felt like a "stretch" at times.</li><li>Her marriage seemed written from a 22-year-old's perspective in the book, Kirke told The Telegraph.</li></ul><a href="https://www.insider.com/category/jemima-kirke">Jemima Kirke</a> found her "<a href="https://insider.com/category/conversations-with-friends">Conversations With Friends</a>" character, a glamorous writer named Melissa, to be a "stretch" at certain points during filming, the actor told <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/conversations-friends-star-jemima-kirke-thought-marriage-written/">The Telegraph</a> on Friday. In the <a href="https://www.insider.com/conversations-with-friends-guide-hulu-sally-rooney-what-we-know-2022-4">forthcoming Hulu adaptation</a> of <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/sally-rooney">Sally Rooney'</a>s debut novel, Melissa befriends two Trinity College students, Frances (Alison Oliver) and Bobbi (Sasha Lane), who become entangled in her marriage to Nick (Joe Alwyn).Rooney was 26 years old when Faber and Faber published the book in 2017 to <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/550263/conversations-with-friends-by-sally-rooney/">widespread critical acclaim</a>."It's remarkable that someone of that age [Rooney] has so much discipline and focus, but as I was finally reading the book, I was thinking, 'This is marriage written from the perspective of a 22-year-old,'" Kirke, 36, told The Telegraph.The actor continued: "I don't think that's good or bad. Her writing is beautiful but there were moments when I struggled to make something work."<div type="image" title="conversations with friends cast" height="900" width="1200" msid="91085503" hostid="261"></div>When Kirke, an actor known for her roles on Netflix's "<a href="https://www.insider.com/category/sex-education">Sex Education</a>" and HBO's "<a href="https://www.insider.com/category/girls">Girls</a>," was approached to audition for "<keyword id="13138579" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="conversations-with-friends" source="Orion">Conversations With Friends</keyword>," she said she had not read the source material, nor had she watched the streamer's 2020 adaptation of Rooney's second novel, "<a href="https://www.insider.com/category/normal-people">Normal People</a>."Kirke said she agreed to a Zoom audition once she wrapped filming on "Sex Education" and ultimately got the role.Throughout production, which took place mostly in Ireland in 2021, the actor said she never met Rooney. "She was never on set, not once," Kirke said. According to <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/02/conversations-with-friends-first-look-hulu">Vanity Fair</a>, Rooney was heavily involved in casting "Conversations With Friends" before taking leave to write her third book, "Beautiful World, Where Are You," which hit shelves in September 2021.<div type="image" title="conversations with friends" height="900" width="1200" msid="91085505" hostid="261"></div>While bringing Melissa to life, Kirke took it upon herself to find a connection to her character, she told The Telegraph."I did a lot of writing – stream of consciousness – until I could find a link," she explained, adding that she frequently jotted down thoughts about Melissa in a notebook she carried around set.Kirke, who shares two children with her ex-husband Michael Mosberg and is currently in a relationship with Alex Cameron, said that she kept her own lived experiences detached from Melissa."If I'm playing a wife in a troubled marriage, I won't think about my own marriage because then I'm putting myself into it and that's not the job," she said. <keyword id="11931717" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="hulu" source="Orion">Hulu</keyword>'s "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reviews/out?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hulu.com%2Fseries%2Fconversations-with-friends-6ed4aee3-c8c3-48c3-8d62-87c52ef99b7e" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored nofollow sponsored nofollow sponsored">Conversations With Friends</a>" premieres on May 15.

Jemima Kirke says her 'Conversations With Friends' character felt like a 'stretch' to her at times

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="12137443" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="joe-alwyn" source="Orion">Joe Alwyn</keyword> was promoting Hulu's "<keyword id="13138579" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="conversations-with-friends" source="Orion">Conversations with Friends</keyword>," which premieres in May.</li><li>Based on the Sally Rooney novel, it focuses on a college student having an affair with a married actor.</li></ul><a href="https://www.insider.com/category/joe-alwyn">Joe Alwyn</a> has said he is "happy in a monogamous relationship" with <keyword id="11930593" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="taylor-swift" source="Orion">Taylor Swift</keyword> while promoting Hulu's "Conversations with Friends."The Hulu series, based on the Sally Rooney novel, follows college student Frances (played by Alison Oliver) as she embarks on an affair with an actor in a relationship (played by Alwyn).During a media presentation at CTAM (Cable and Television Association for Marketing) for "Conversations with Friends," Alwyn discussed the possibility of being in an open relationship."I think people can do what they want and makes them happy. I'm obviously happy in a monogamous relationship," Alwyn said, adding that an open relationship "seems exhausting.""But I think one of the interesting things about Sally's writings and what she explores is happiness, love, desire, and intimacy outside of those constructs that we create for ourselves, whether that's friendships or families or relationships.""So I think as a conversation it's endlessly fascinating, and one of the reasons why people love her books, and our refusal to — without giving things away — tie things up at the end of her stories in a neat bow. It's just constantly thought-provoking."<div type="image" title="taylor swift joe alwyn" height="2250" width="3000" msid="89457359" hostid="261"></div>Alwyn stars alongside <keyword id="13138578" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="jemima-kirke" source="Orion">Jemima Kirke</keyword> who said: "Because of the nature of an open relationship, it's just a lot of talking. You have to do so much talking with your spouse or whatever, maybe on a weekly basis about what's OK and what's not OK, then reestablishing grey areas. It's just exhausting, at least for me it would be."Alwyn has <a href="https://www.insider.com/taylor-swift-joe-alwyn-relationship-details-timeline">been in a relationship with Taylor Swift</a> for five years and <a href="https://www.insider.com/joe-alywn-wins-first-grammy-award-taylor-swifts-album-folklore-2021-4">won a Grammy Award last year</a> when he collaborated with Swift on her album "Folklore."Under the pseudonym William Bowery, Alwyn cowrote "Exile" and "Betty." He was later added as a coproducer on six tracks: "Exile," "My Tears Ricochet," "August," "This Is Me Trying," "Illicit Affairs," and "Betty." "There's been a lot of discussion about William Bowery and his identity 'cause it's not a real person," Swift revealed during the "Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions" documentary. "William Bowery is Joe."

Joe Alwyn says he's 'happy in a monogamous relationship' with Taylor Swift in response to question about open relationships in 'Conversations with Friends'

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Jameela Jamil was a special guest on the podcast "Podcrushed," cohosted by Penn Badgley.</li><li>Jamil said she was planning to audition for season four of Badgley's show "You" but pulled out. </li></ul>Jameela Jamil recently said she planned to audition for season four of the Netflix series "You" but pulled out because she did not want to film intimate scenes. "I don't do sex scenes," Jamil said on last week's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5zp079IcZY&amp;ab_channel=Podcrushed">episode</a> of the podcast "Podcrushed," cohosted by Penn Badgley, who plays the protagonist Joe Goldberg on the show.Jamil addressed Badgley, saying: "I was supposed to audition for the most recent season of your show, and the character was supposed to be quite sexy, and I pulled out of the audition because I'm so shy about anything sexy that I can't."Jamil, who is perhaps best known for playing Tahani Al-Jamil on the comedy-fantasy series "The Good Place," went on to reference comments made by Badgley on his podcast about <a href="https://www.insider.com/you-penn-badgley-fewer-sex-scenes-season-4-fidelity-important-2023-2">requesting fewer sex scenes for season four of "You."</a> He cited a desire to maintain fidelity in his marriage to Domino Kirke, the sister of the "Girls" star Jemima Kirke. "I didn't even know that was a boundary that we could draw," Jamil said of Badgley's request, adding: "But then I was like, I should have gone and done the fucking show."Jamil said she did not enjoy watching sex scenes on TV: "Even on my own, I have to fast-forward through sex scenes because I've become so shy about watching other people." <div type="image" title="joe on season four of you looking through window" height="1872" width="2496" msid="100077871" hostid="261"></div>The actor also briefly talked about her approach to sexual relationships after Badgley asked her to expand on <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/the-view-today-jameela-jamil-b2306426.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">previous</a> <a href="https://www.stylist.co.uk/people/meghan-markle-racist-bullying-tabloids-prince-harry-wardrobe-malfunction-duchess-difficult-examples/342213v" target="_blank" rel="noopener">comments</a> she'd made in interviews about her romantic history. For instance, she's said she does not tend to kiss or have intercourse with a romantic partner until after three months of dating."I don't think I've ever been someone who would have enjoyed objectifying myself, personally, but that's also because I have so much deep childhood sexual-trauma stuff, so I think that was never in the cards for me," she said."I still wear the, like, the little skirt or the busty top occasionally, but generally, I feel quite protective of myself in that way," she added. Jamil <a href="https://graziadaily.co.uk/fashion/news/jameela-jamil-sexual-harassment/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">previously told Grazia</a> that she had been sexually assaulted and harassed on multiple occasions from the time she was 6 years old."You," an American thriller series in which Badgley stars as a hopeless romantic with sinister inclinations, premiered on Netflix in September 2018. Badgley's remarks about the numerous sex scenes on the show were met with some backlash when he first made them this year as online users began to debate whether on-screen sex could be equated to unfaithfulness to a partner.In an <a href="https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/penn-badgley-interview-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview with British GQ in March</a>, Badgley said his comments were "blown out of proportion," adding that his requests "didn't change the trajectory of the season at all." He added that his character was "naturally ready to not be in that position" of being involved in multiple intimacy scenes anymore.

Jameela Jamil said she pulled out of an audition for season 4 of 'You' because she didn't want to film sex scenes: 'I'm so shy about anything sexy'

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Warning: There are some spoilers ahead for season four of the Netflix series "You."</li><li>Speaking on "<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/podcrushed/id1622070205" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Podcrushed</a>," Penn Badgley explained why he requested fewer sex scenes.</li></ul>Season four of "<a href="https://www.insider.com/you-season-four-cast-and-who-they-play" target="_blank" rel="noopener">You</a>" was released on Netflix on Thursday and viewers that have already hit play may notice that the new episodes have turned the tables on Joe Goldberg (<a href="https://www.insider.com/who-is-penn-badgley-fun-facts-2019-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Penn Badgley</a>) as this time around, he becomes the victim of a mysterious stalker.However, it's not the only way that the show's fourth season <a href="https://www.insider.com/jenna-ortega-you-season-4-wednesday-scheduling-conflicts-2023-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">differs from its predecessors</a> as there are fewer intimate scenes this time around, something lead star Badgley said he pushed for."I asked Sera Gamble, the creator, 'Can I just do no more intimacy scenes?'" he recalled to his "<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/podcrushed/id1622070205" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Podcrushed</a>" cohost Nava Kavelin in a bonus episode of the Stitcher Studios podcast released on Friday.Badgley explained that doing fewer sex scenes was "actually a decision I made before I took the show," in 2018.Prior to that, Badgely played "Lonely Boy" Dan Humphrey in "Gossip Girl" and also starred in another teen drama, "The Bedford Diaries," both of which had required him to strip off multiple times."I don't think I have ever mentioned it publicly, but one of the main things was, do I want to put myself back on a career path where I'm always the romantic lead?" he questioned.<div type="image" title="Tilly Keeper as Lady Phoebe and Penn Bedgley as Joe in season for of &quot;You.&quot;" height="1884" width="2513" msid="97801113" hostid="261"></div>The 36-year-old actor added that his marriage to Domino Kirke, sister of "Girls" star Jemima Kirke, also factored into his decision. The couple, who wed in 2017, have one child together, a son named James, 2."Fidelity in every relationship, including my marriage, is important to me," he explained. "It's got to the point where I don't want to do that."Badgley recalled that he told Gamble that his "desire would be zero" sex scenes in the new episodes, but said he was aware that Joe's romantic entanglements form a huge part of the drama's appeal to audiences."I signed this contract. I signed up for this show. I know what I did. You can't take this aspect out of the DNA of the concept," Badgely said. "'So how much less can you make it?' was my question to them." However, he was surprised that Gamble "didn't even bat an eye" at his request."She was really glad that I was that honest. She was sort of almost, I want to say empowered, she had a really positive response," he recalled. "They came back with a phenomenal reduction," he said, resulting in the fourth season of "You" featuring Joe getting trapped in country manors for the weekend, rather than failed <a href="https://www.insider.com/how-does-you-season-three-end-where-everyone-ends-up-2021-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">foursomes</a> with his neighbors.<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-69Tg3xwLZs" frameborder="0"></iframe>

Penn Badgley says he requested fewer sex scenes in 'You' season 4 because fidelity is 'important to me'

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Netflix's hit series "<keyword id="40166" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="sex-education">Sex Education</keyword>" is <a href="https://twitter.com/NetflixUK/status/1309145737700298757?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1309145737700298757%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.themarysue.com%2Fcast-sex-education-expands-jason-isaacs%2Fs%2F">adding a non-binary character</a> to its cast for Season 3. </li><li>Dua Saleh, a non-binary artist who uses they/them pronouns, will star as new student "Cal." </li><li>According to Netflix, Cal is a new student at Moordale Secondary who "instantly clashes" with the new headmistress. </li></ul>"Sex Education," the hit Netflix show <a href="https://www.insider.com/best-sex-and-relationship-lessons-from-netflix-sex-education-season-2-2020-1">known for pushing boundaries</a> in the sphere of teen romance, has announced the addition of its first non-binary character for season 3.Cal, a new student at Moordale Secondary who "instantly clashes" with the school's new headmistress, will be played by 24-year-old Sudanese-American recording artist, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CFhgzlplsGw/?igshid=8yuj69xpeq48">Dua Saleh,</a> who uses they/them pronouns."Girls" actress Jemima Kirke will play the new headmistress, Hope, and <a href="https://www.insider.com/jason-isaacs-wishes-tom-felton-harry-potter-happy-birthday-2020-9">"Harry Potter" actor Jason Isaacs</a> will play the older brother of former headmaster Michael Groff. <blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" style="background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px); data.width~540;"><div style="padding:8px;"><div style="background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:62.4537037037% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"><div style="background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CFhgzlplsGw" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">joined the cast of @sexeducation on @netflix as CAL, a nonbinary student at Moordale. see me on season 3 </a> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by DUA SALEH (@doitlikedua) on Sep 24, 2020 at 8:04am PDT<time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2020-09-24T15:04:02+00:00">Sep 24, 2020 at 8:04am PDT</time></div></blockquote>While this is Saleh's television debut, this isn't their first time performing. Their first EP, "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWyVZWBEQzovk5kprhNkWKQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nūr,"</a> released in 2019, was <a href="https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/dua-saleh-nur-ep/">lauded by music critics.</a> This year, their song <a href="https://hypebeast.com/2020/6/dua-saleh-body-cast-single-release-minneapolis">"Body Cast" was released to raise money</a> for Minneapolis-based social justice organization, Women for Political Change. <h2>The (belated) rise of non-binary roles on-screen</h2>"<a href="https://www.insider.com/janelle-monae-what-does-non-binary-mean-2020-1">Non-binary" is an umbrella term</a> for people who don't identify as men or women, and can identify anywhere along or <a href="https://transequality.org/issues/resources/understanding-non-binary-people-how-to-be-respectful-and-supportive">outside of the gender binary.</a> Some non-binary people are also transgender, but not all.Genders beyond "man" and "woman" have existed in cultures all over the world for centuries, like <a href="https://www.ihs.gov/lgbt/health/twospirit/">Two Spirit people in Native American Nations</a> or <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/21/vogue-cover-features-transgender-muxe-from-mexico-for-the-first-time">muxe of Zapotec tradition</a>, and <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/local/gray-matters/article/u-s-increase-trans-gender-nonconforming-people-13054716.php">more people are openly identifying as non-binary</a> in the US. However, non-binary people remain underrepresented in film and television, with roles few and far between. Shows like "Sex Education," <a href="https://www.insider.com/star-trek-casts-first-trans-nonbinary-roles-in-franchises-history-2020-9">"Star Trek: Discovery,"</a> and <a href="https://www.thecut.com/2019/06/asia-kate-dillon-billions-john-wick.html">"Billions"</a> are breaking the mold by including their first non-binary characters in recent years. Read More:<a href="https://www.insider.com/best-sex-and-relationship-lessons-from-netflix-sex-education-season-2-2020-1">The 11 best lessons season 2 of Netflix's 'Sex Education' teaches you about real-life sex and relationships</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/watch-new-trailer-season-2-netflix-sex-education-video-2020-1">Netflix just dropped the trailer for season 2 of 'Sex Education' and it teases a chlamydia outbreak and some dramatic returns</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/review-netflix-sex-education-season-2-doesnt-disappoint-2020-1">Netflix's 'Sex Education' is the honest teen drama I wish I'd had growing up</a>

'Sex Education' is adding a non-binary character to its cast for season 3

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The soundtrack for "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reviews/out?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hulu.com%2Fseries%2F32cf6ac2-4e63-475b-bf3e-b7f9ea88b267" rel="nofollow sponsored">Conversations With Friends</a>" includes artists like Pillow Queens and Phoebe Bridgers.</li><li><keyword id="11898471" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="music" source="Orion">Music</keyword> supervisor Juliet Martin told Insider how she set out to "create a sense of the girls' world."</li></ul>Within the first minute of <keyword id="11931717" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="hulu" source="Orion">Hulu</keyword>'s "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reviews/out?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hulu.com%2Fseries%2F32cf6ac2-4e63-475b-bf3e-b7f9ea88b267" rel="nofollow sponsored">Conversations With Friends</a>," the main character is introduced as a baby-faced woman who listens to the singer <a href="https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-radar/cmat-dublin-cowgirl-turning-shitposting-into-americana-bangers-2782408">CMAT</a> — a self-described "hot mess" who hails from Dublin — as she walks alone to the library.It's the first concrete piece of information that viewers receive about Frances (Alison Oliver) before we even learn her name. Naturally, selecting the perfect song for that meeting was no simple feat.Music supervisor Juliet Martin told Insider that she spent about 10 hours sorting through potential tracks before landing on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maxmLGDbqBQ">"I Don't Really Care for You"</a> from CMAT's 2022 album "If My Wife New I'd Be Dead" to open the first episode."We originally had something there that was much more whimsical, that was more '<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reviews/out?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hulu.com%2Fseries%2F57048262-2ca5-41ee-9b57-53bb9b9e1596" rel="nofollow sponsored">Normal People</a>,'" she said, referring to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/17/arts/television/normal-people-hulu.html">Hulu's moody adaptation of Sally Rooney's second novel</a>, on which Martin also worked."The note we got back was like, 'No, we don't want to set that tone yet. The characters haven't really earned this feeling,'" Martin continued. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/maxmLGDbqBQ" frameborder="0"></iframe>"<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Conversations-Friends-Novel-Sally-Rooney/dp/0451499050" rel="nofollow sponsored">Conversations With Friends</a>" is the saga of Frances and Bobbi (Sasha Lane), best friends and ex-girlfriends, who become entangled with an older married couple. It was Rooney's first novel to be published. However, as Hulu's newest limited series, it faces the challenge of following "Normal People," which <a href="https://www.insider.com/normal-people-review-hulu-sally-rooney-2020-4">whipped up a mild frenzy</a> when it premiered in April 2020.The comparison is easy to make. Both stories are set in Ireland's capital city; both follow the secretive loves and lusts of messy young people. But according to Martin, the crew was passionate about painting Frances and Bobbi's realm as separate, unique, and interesting in its own right.And as with <a href="https://www.insider.com/euphoria-music-supervisor-interview-songs-season-two-soundtrack-2022-2">other shows that prioritize emotional impact over plot structure</a>, music played an important role in that process.<h2>'What we were definitely trying to do was create a sense of the girls' world and their place in it' </h2><div type="image" title="conversations with friends bobbi and frances" height="1980" width="2640" msid="91671444" hostid="261"></div>For "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reviews/out?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hulu.com%2Fseries%2F32cf6ac2-4e63-475b-bf3e-b7f9ea88b267" rel="nofollow sponsored">Conversations With Friends</a>," Martin said she tended to prioritize artists who felt more "current" and "electronic" than her previous selections for "Normal People," which skewed towards folksy singer-songwriter music.The resulting soundtrack includes an array of emerging artists that specialize in hypnotic indie-pop, many of whom hail from the UK, such as <a href="https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-radar/cosha-interview-2021-2891380">Cosha</a> and <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-59733291">PinkPantheress</a>."We didn't go into it saying, 'Right, we must use lots of Irish music,' for example. But it worked," Martin said. "What we were definitely trying to do was create a sense of the girls' world and their place in it."The soundtrack also features a new song by Phoebe Bridgers, titled <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3c-wRm0_0bY">"Sidelines,"</a> written exclusively for the show."I know she's a <keyword id="12298356" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="sally-rooney" source="Orion">Sally Rooney</keyword> fan, so I think she was really open to the idea from the outset," Martin said, adding that an executive from Hulu made the request."She watched the episodes and just responded immediately to it," the music supervisor added. "It was actually a very straightforward process.""Watch the world from the sidelines / Had nothing to prove / 'Till you came into my life / Gave me something to lose," Bridgers sings in the chorus, echoing the book's narration by Frances, who understands herself as a cold observer and Bobbi's less intriguing other half.<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/d07nkoUt-tU" frameborder="0"></iframe>Martin also took care to differentiate Frances and Bobbi's audiovisual vibe from that of Nick (Joe Alwyn) and Melissa (Jemima Kirke), their seemingly sophisticated, grown-up counterparts.She was especially mindful that two college-aged queer women like Frances and Bobbi, who perform anti-establishment slam poetry in their spare time, would likely gravitate towards expressive queer music.In one scene, Martin noted, the duo dance to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lp9GgdCgMXk">"On the Regular"</a> by nonbinary artist <a href="https://www.out.com/hot-list/2015/5/04/hot-list-shamir">Shamir</a>. In another, Bobbi's headphones bleed the "attitude-y" music of <a href="https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/features/interviews/queerness-is-in-pillow-queens-dna">Pillow Queens</a>, an Irish band comprised of four queer women."For Melissa and Nick, we had a reference of Fleet Foxes although we didn't end up licensing any of their music," she explained, humming a few soothing bars from the band's single <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2E2DpWO3-Y">"Can I Believe You."</a> "But that would be the music of their world, you know?"<div type="image" title="conversations with friends cast" height="3575" width="4773" msid="91671447" hostid="261"></div><h2>Martin's personal favorite song placements include James Blake, Joanna Newsom, and Loah</h2>Although securing a song's clearance can take several months, Martin said the process for this production was much quicker than she's experienced in the past. "I don't know if that was because people knew the success of '<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reviews/out?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hulu.com%2Fseries%2F57048262-2ca5-41ee-9b57-53bb9b9e1596" rel="nofollow sponsored">Normal People</a>,'" she said. "But we did have a lot of artists who were delighted to be included."One such artist was Sallay Matu Garnett, an artist of Irish and Sierra Leonean origin who records music under the stage name Loah.Garnett actually joined the cast as Nick and Melissa's friend Evelyn. In episode four, she joins the group on holiday in Croatia and treats them to an acoustic cover of Tim Buckley's "Song to the Siren."Frances and Nick, who would soon rekindle their illicit affair, cast each other furtive glances as Garnett gives a voice to their yearning: "Here I am, waiting to hold you," she sings in the episode."She just performed that live. We didn't do a prerecord," Martin revealed. "She's just got this amazing voice. I was really involved in picking a track that she would perform, and she just does that so well."<div type="image" title="conversations with friends frances and nick" height="3438" width="4584" msid="91671449" hostid="261"></div>When sourcing a song for a specific scene, Martin said she actually pays "less attention to the lyrics than you might think.""I wouldn't necessarily pick it for the lyrics, and you particularly don't want to be too on the nose with lyrics, either," she explained, adding, "Often it's just about the feel or the vibe."For instance, at the end of episode five, Bobbi discovers Frances and Nick naked in bed together. To capture the couple's vulnerability and ambient dread, Martin employed James Blake's haunting cover of Joy Division's "Atmosphere."The right song can also offer compelling juxtaposition if it doesn't match the mood of a scene, hinting at a future shift or alerting viewers to a character's ambivalence — as when Frances storms out of Nick's house to the tune of Joanna Newsom's "Peach, Plum, Pear.""Frances has left Nick's house, and they've had this argument, and she's being really despairing," Martin detailed. "It's almost a little bit counterpoint, in that it's almost a happy song, but it's scoring something incredibly heavy."To score a show defined by emotional conflict, crippling indecision, and so many things left unsaid, Martin's team had to get creative. But after whittling down a playlist with more than 400 songs, she said she's incredibly proud of the result. "I wouldn't say that I could specifically nail down, 'Right, this is the tone of the music.' We very much treat it on a scene-by-scene basis," she said, adding later: "It's all about finding the music the script connects me to."

The 'Conversations With Friends' music supervisor explains how young, queer, and Irish artists help Frances and Bobbi come to life on-screen

<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58eff272cf6d8f28008b45ff-1778/undefined" alt="girls final season" />Mark Schafer/HBO"Girls" stars, from left, Jemima Kirke, Zosia Mamet, Allison Williams, and Lena Dunham.I'm under no illusion that I can easily convince someone who has never watched "Girls" to tune in now that the HBO show is about to air its series finale on Sunday.But I know the show has lost some viewers over the years - and I get why - and this is my appeal to those viewers to come back on board for season six.Every season, I approach "Girls" having prepared myself to be annoyed by Hannah (Lena Dunham) and her similarly self-obsessed friends. There's clueless Marnie (Allison Williams), who's obsessed with becoming famous, and has left a trail of broken hearts along the way. And self-destructive Jessa's (Jemima Kirk) antics were starting to get really old. And when were they going to realize that Shoshanna (Zosia Mamet) was the smartest person in the crew?I have been greatly surprised and moved by this season, though. Here are the reasons you should you come back to watch the final season of "Girls":

Why the final season of 'Girls' is a heartbreaking must-watch

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/59e7759f90992428008b4c66-929/screen shot 2017-10-16 at 11816 pm.png" alt="strangers" data-mce-source="Facebook Watch/Refinery29" />Facebook Watch/Refinery29"Strangers" starring Zoe Chao as Isobel, and Meredith Hagner as Cam.</div></div></div><ul><li>Facebook Watch's best new show is Refinery29's "Strangers."</li><li>Business Insider spoke to the creator of "Strangers" Mia Lidofsky about her new series.</li><li>Lidofsky got the idea for the series after having an interesting Airbnb experience, and has a lot of hope for Facebook's new Watch platform.</li></ul><hr />So far, Facebook's <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/facebooks-new-watch-shows-review-more-youtube-than-tv-2017-9">new video platform Watch</a> is full of mostly forgettable, mediocre content, but the platform is also home to one of best scripted series out now: Refinery29's "<a href="https://www.facebook.com/StrangersSeries/">Strangers</a>.""Strangers" follows a freshly single Isobel (Zoe Chao) as she explores her newly discovered sexuality, while Airbnbing her spare room in order to make ends meet. As new people enter Isobel's home and life, she's forced to confront and explore new aspects of herself. The scripted series produced by Refinery29 is a poignant, heartbreaking, and tenderly told coming-of-age tale, sure to resonate with anyone who has ever felt uncertain about what they want in life.The series also has some impressive guest stars like Jemima Kirke ("Girls"), Shiri Appleby ("UnREAL"), and Jemaine Clement ("Flight of the Concords").Business Insider spoke to the creator of "Strangers," Mia Lidofsky, to learn what inspired her to make the series, and what her hopes for the Watch platform are.This is what Lidofsky had to say about her new series "Strangers":

Refinery29's Facebook series 'Strangers' is as compelling as anything you'll find on traditional TV

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/560b03c1bd86ef1d008bdd80-1000-750/gettyimages-lena dunham.jpg" alt="GettyImages lena dunham" data-mce-source="Getty Images" />Getty ImagesLena Dunham won a Golden Globe for "Girls."</div></div></div>"Girls" creator and star Lena Dunham hasn't changed her mind on the end of "Girls." She says Season 6 is still probably the HBO show's last hurrah."Never say never, but that is the way that we're thinking about it right now and we're starting to think about sort of how to wrap up the storylines of these particular young women," Dunham said on <a href="http://www.ew.com/article/2015/09/29/lena-dunham-girls-season-6?hootPostID=6856365d6aa0fafd039e2c42955abf38" target="_blank">"Elvis Duran and the Morning Show"</a> on Tuesday.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/52f11a1f6bb3f71b30aad56a-900-675/girls-show-hbo-comedy--2.jpg" alt="Girls Show HBO-Comedy-" data-mce-source="Jojo Whilden/ HBO" data-link="http://www.hbo.com/girls/index.html" /><a href="http://www.hbo.com/girls/index.html">Jojo Whilden/ HBO</a>From left, "Girls" stars Allison Williams, Jemima Kirke, Lena Dunham, and Zosia Mamet.</div></div></div>"Girls" followed Hannah (Dunham) as she dated her way though Brooklyn, New York and tripped over herself trying to find a literary life after college. Her friends all have their share of romantic lessons and life decisions to make, as well. "I started working on this show when I was 23," Dunham pointed out. "And now I'm going to be 30, so it kind of feels right that this show kind of sandwiched my 20s and then I go off into the world!"In April, Dunham explained to <a href="http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/lena-dunham-girls-hbo-production-company-girls-a-casual-romance-1201476138/" target="_blank">Variety</a> that she appreciated a tightly told story. "I think America has a tendency to push shows past their due dates," she said. "I like the British model - in and out.""Girls" is currently shooting its fifth season and returns to HBO in January 2016. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/hbo-kurt-cobain-nirvana-documentary-2015-4">New HBO documentary reveals what controversial singer Kurt Cobain was really like</a></h3> <div> <div> <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="o3YzRqdDoGPXsvUmEhHuX9THKFIKeKjn" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> <script> if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; } RunFunctions.push(function() { var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'o3YzRqdDoGPXsvUmEhHuX9THKFIKeKjn',{ autoplay: 'false' }); }); </script> <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div> </div> <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script> </div>

Lena Dunham says 'Girls' will probably end after 6 seasons

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="Christopher Polk / Getty" title_caption="Rihanna deactivated her Instagram account" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54887190ecad0458768b4567-960/rihanna-mtv-movie-awards-1.png"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54887190ecad0458768b4567-710-532/rihanna-mtv-movie-awards-1.png" border="0" alt="Rihanna mtv movie awards" /></a>Christopher Polk / GettyRihanna deactivated her Instagram account</div></div></div>Public figures, celebrities, and brands will soon be able to get their Instagram accounts verified like they can on Twitter or Facebook, the company <a href="http://blog.instagram.com/post/104847837897/141210-300million">announced via blog post</a>.
These badges will start rolling out in the next few days. 
Verification on Instagram makes sense. Earlier this year, after Rihanna deactivated her Instagram account, a fake profile turned up purporting to be her new one. The singer had to post on Twitter to tell its nearly 50,000 followers that it wasn't really her. 
Lena Dunham used her own Instagram account earlier this year to post that a profile of fellow "Girls" star Jemima Kirke wasn't really her. 
"In the initial rollout of verified badges we are focusing on the public figures and brands that have a likely chance of being impersonated," an Instagram spokesperson told Business Insider.
Instagram also vowed to increase its efforts to delete spammy or fake Instagram accounts, warning users that they could see their follower numbers go down as a result.
Here's the excerpt from <a href="http://blog.instagram.com/post/104847837897/141210-300million">the blog post</a>: 
As Instagram gets bigger, we're focused on helping you discover photos and videos from people who you care about, whether it's a friend or your favorite musician. <a href="http://blog.instagram.com/post/102294612077/discovery-and-caption-editing" target="_blank">Last month</a>, we launched a People tab on the Explore page, which highlights interesting accounts to follow, and we also launched improvements to search. Yet people ask, 'When it comes to public figures and brands, how do I know that the people I discover on Instagram are really who they say they are? How do I know that this person really is <a href="http://instagram.com/tonyhawk" target="_blank">Tony Hawk</a>?'
Today, we're excited to announce verified badges for celebrities, athletes and brands, making it easier for you to connect with the authentic accounts you're looking for. These badges will start rolling out over the coming days.
Finally, as more people join, keeping Instagram authentic is critical-it's a place where real people share real moments. We're committed to doing everything possible to keep Instagram free from the fake and spammy accounts that plague much of the web, and that's why we're finishing up some important work that began earlier this year.
We've been deactivating spammy accounts from Instagram on an ongoing basis to improve your experience. As part of this effort, we will be deleting these accounts forever, so they will no longer be included in follower counts. This means that some of you will see a change in your follower count.
Most of you won't see any impact. If you're one of those who will see a correction, you will receive a notification in the app directing you to additional information.

Instagram Is Introducing 'Verified Badges' For Public Figures  

<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58f52574f40daebe628b47ca-1848/undefined" alt="girls finale lena dunham hbo" />Mark Schafer/HBOLena Dunham on the finale episode of "Girls."After six seasons, HBO's series about Hannah (Lena Dunham) and her friends, "Girls," came to an end on Sunday.Though the show decided to say goodbye to most of the characters by its penultimate episode, the finale found that Hannah still had some battles involving her one remaining friend, Marnie (Allison Williams); her mother, Loreen (Becky Ann Baker); and her new baby, Grover.The decision to use motherhood as the catalyst for Hannah's break from her selfish ways and into adulthood wasn't free from criticism. But the show is pretty used to that, and many credit the creators for not letting the public uproar affect their vision."We never did that on purpose," Jenni Konner, one of the showrunners and writers behind "Girls," told Business Insider over the phone on Monday. "We just kept making the show we wanted to make. [Executive producer Judd Apatow] is very, very good at helping to shut things out. So we just tried to not let that affect us and the stuff we did. We just tried to move in a more positive direction."Jenni Konner, who also directed the finale, talked to Business Insider about the controversy over the episode, some of the criticism thrown at "Girls" during its run, and whether there's potential for a spin-off or movie.Jethro Nededog: What's your response to those who believe the motherhood storyline was too traditional a route for the show?Jenni Konner: I don't have any response. Again, I'm just so happy that people are still talking about us. I love the debate. I'll miss it so much.Nededog: What were the considerations in casting the baby?Konner: It's two babies, it's twins. They're our Olsen twins. They are the cutest babies ever. The mother was lovely. I didn't know this when we wrote it, but the amount of time you have with infants when you're shooting them is something like 20 minutes a day. And let me tell you, these two were not professional. They would cry all through the shoot. They would want to eat while we were shooting. So what are you going to do? They were so adorable and the look in their eyes. The idea that Hannah could look at them and think, 'That baby hates me,' was so funny to us and sad. That baby doesn't hate anybody, you know?Nededog: Was there some negotiation around breastfeeding them on-camera?Konner: Babies don't have any interest in nursing off prosthetic nipples, so that was never a problem, getting the baby to reject Hannah. And the mom seemed fine with it. She was standing two feet away the entire time. And they were very sweet babies. I held them a ton, too, because I hadn't had babies for a while.Nededog: There's a series of men trying to help Hannah in the finale and she writes them off. But that last policeman wouldn't take no for an answer. Is that a "Girls" statement on men?Konner: I think that it helped the character to feel more alienated. You know, her normal doctor was a woman and she was on vacation. And the cop was a man. I think it made her feel even more removed from her own sensibilities when those are the people talking at her. It puts her in a more lonely place.Nededog: Were other endings considered? And If so, why did this one win out? Konner: I don't think we ever had any other actual concrete ideas. We threw around ideas, but I can't even remember them. This is the one Lena wanted to do from the beginning. So she just fought her heart out and we did it.Nededog: What was the most challenging scene you directed in the finale?Konner: The scenes with the babies were pretty challenging. I loved shooting the fight between Becky Ann Baker and Lena. I set up four cameras and just ran it through like it was a play four, five times. And to make sure we had momentum, we rehearsed it a lot. I'm really proud of that scene, because I think it feels incredibly real and heated in a way we couldn't have gotten if we chopped it up.<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58f52608f40dae60008b4f24-1778/undefined" alt="jemima kirke and lena dunham girls hbo" />Mark Schafer/HBOJemima Kirke, left, and Lena Dunham on the penultimate episode of "Girls."Nededog: The show ends with a pretty bleak take on friendships.Konner: You may call it bleak, I call it truthful.Nededog: Do you believe the finale may have balanced out that last episode when it came to the last word on friendships?Konner: Absolutely. I think the two core people, Marnie and her mother, will remain in her life in some form.Nededog: Looking back on the season, is there anything you would've done differently?Konner: There's nothing more I would've done. I think we did the final season exactly the way we wanted to do it. I feel so fortunate that people seem to be really responding to it positively in a way that's moderately new for us. We started thinking about it in season four. When we decided we were going to end with season six, with the help of [former HBO programming president] Mike Lombardi and [HBO Chairman and CEO] Richard Plepler being so generous with us and letting us finish it when we wanted to finish it. Judd was like, "Okay, now we pick our end," and we went straight there. I think that's also why last season was pretty well-received. We had a straight arrow, this direction we were going in. And it helps with storytelling to know the end.Nededog: Was there a character or actor who was the hardest to say, that's a wrap?Konner: The last day with the girls was very, very heartbreaking obviously. But every time someone left, it was very heartbreaking - when Gaby Hoffman left, when Jon Glaser left. These are all people we spent six years with. And we're a really sensitive, close family, so it was hard on the crew, hard on everybody. But we all knew it was coming.Nededog: There was some discussion online of how improbable it was that Hannah would get that college teaching job upstate. How do you feel abou the fact-checking of "Girls"?Konner: I don't know what to say about that. We're a television show. If you don't believe it, then buy it as Hannah's happy ending. I've seen weirder things happen at colleges and weirder people get jobs. I have to tell you at this point to have them still caring, I feel really, really lucky.Nededog: Lena has said that she based a lot of Hannah on herself. At what point did Hannah split from being Lena?Konner: It's always going to be personal stories to Lena, to all in the writers' room. But certainly when Lena became famous and got into a serious relationship with [musician Jack Antonoff], there were less stories from her life. She didn't have anymore date stories. She didn't have anymore terrible sex stories. We had to get them from other places. But she always put a personal spin on it.Nededog: Since the beginning of "Girls," you've been called the millennial "Sex and the City." Had that always been in the back of your mind and informing your choices for the show?Konner: What I always said when people make those comparisons is that the women in "Sex and the City," they met each other as adults. They didn't just randomly get assigned someone's dorm. They met each other as adults with careers and lives behind them. And they chose their chip in a way that our characters didn't. It's much more random the way that our characters became friends. It was at such a different time in their lives that their ending made perfect sense for them and our ending makes a lot of sense for us. It's a very different type of show.Nededog: There's certainly some potential for a "Girls" spin-off or movie. Where do you land on that possibility?Konner: I know! I would do any of them. The thing is I don't think spin-offs are in HBO's DNA, really. I mean they haven't really done it before. I'm down for it. I'm into a movie, too, but no one's asked. We're down for it all.This interview was edited for length and clarity.<iframe src="http://www.hbo.com/data/content/global/videos/embed/data/1460304.html?width=800&amp;height=450" width="800" height="450" style="overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/hilarious-twitter-memes-inspired-by-the-young-pope-2017-1">HBO's 'The Young Pope' is inspiring lots of hilarious memes - here are the best ones</a></h3> Please enable Javascript to watch this video

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