{"id":351742,"date":"2026-03-18T01:17:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T01:17:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/351742\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T01:17:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T01:17:07","slug":"imperfect-women-testaments-producers-elisabeth-moss-lindsey-mcmanus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/351742\/","title":{"rendered":"Imperfect Women, Testaments Producers Elisabeth Moss, Lindsey McManus"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tThis week, Elisabeth Moss<\/a> and Lindsey McManus<\/a> are celebrating the debut of Apple TV\u2019s \u201cImperfect Women<\/a>,\u201d the first project the pair picked up after launching their Love & Squalor production banner six years ago. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe first thing that we ever discussed together as a partnership, which was months before we ever officially had a partnership, was this book, \u2018Imperfect Women,’\u201d Moss, who stars in the Apple TV thriller series alongside Kate Mara and Kerry Washington, told Variety.<\/p>\n

\n\tWith no deal in place, no contract signed and fears that McManus was going to team up with another partner (\u201cI won\u2019t say who it is, but once I heard who it was, I was like, \u2018She\u2019s definitely going to pick them. But now it seems really funny to me,\u201d Moss noted), Moss sent McManus the Araminta Hall novel in the fall of 2019 in hopes they would one day work together. <\/p>\n

\n\tMcManus \u2014 who previously ran Diablo Cody\u2019s production company Vita Vera for three years and was formerly a scripted television and talent agent at WME \u2014 read it and loved it and encouraged Moss to acquire the rights. Two months later, \u201cthat became the first thing we ever took out\u201d to studios and networks, Moss said. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt was all just based on emails and\u2013,\u201d Moss said. \u201cVibes,\u201d McManus jumped in, adding: \u201cWe were in meeting rooms together, just sort of winging it.\u201d \u201cPeople would be like, how long have you been together? Three weeks!\u201d Moss said.<\/p>\n

\n\tThis pitching process occurred during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when the TV and film industry \u2014 along with almost every other sector \u2014 came to a screeching halt. This meant a long road to the screen for \u201cImperfect Women,\u201d but lots of time for McManus and Moss to build up their producing vision for Love & Squalor, which still relies largely on \u201cvibes,\u201d or rather the importance of trusting their instincts and collaborating with like-minded individuals.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe did the thing that people did, which was, we just met with everyone we liked. Whether it was people that hadn\u2019t kind of hit yet, like Paul Mescal, or conversations with Julia Garner,\u201d Moss said. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAnyone that we thought of, we would email our reps or their reps and be like, hey, will they do a meeting with us?\u201d McManus, who serves as president of film and television for Love & Squalor, said.<\/p>\n

\n\tThat\u2019s led to partnerships and mentorships with Hollywood players including Denise DiNovi, Warren Littlefield, Lucky Chap, Simpson Street, Red Hour, Great Scott, A24 and Appian Way.<\/p>\n

\n\tBetween 2020 and now, the \u201cMad Men\u201d alum has produced or executive produced six titles, three alongside McManus: the TV series \u201cShining Girls\u201d and\u00a0\u201cThe Veil,\u201d and their first feature, \u201cShell,\u201d directed by Moss\u2019 \u201cHandmaid\u2019s Tale\u201d co-star Max Minghella. (Over the past half-decade of working together, Moss and McManus respectively took on a new kind of project: each became first-time mothers.<\/p>\n

\n\tWith several more projects on deck, Moss says she and McManus \u2014 who have a first-look deal with Hulu and Disney\u2019s 20th Television through Love & Squalor \u2014 aren\u2019t just adding EP credits for kicks.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cFrom the beginning of \u2018Handmaid\u2019s,\u2019 I really wanted to be a real producer and really be involved in things and really learn,\u201d Moss said. \u201cAnd so I really wanted somebody who\u2019s going to do that; that wasn\u2019t going to be considering it as just helping this vanity title out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFor Moss\u2019 part, she\u2019s been doing the job of an executive producer since before she was officially credited with the title, according to \u201cThe Handmaid\u2019s Tale\u201d EP Warren Littlefield, who says Moss was heavily involved in production aspects well beyond her scope as an actor during the first season of Hulu\u2019s Emmy-winning adaptation of the Margaret Atwood novel.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cNever underestimate Lizzie, because her hunger to learn and to grow is amazing,\u201d Littlefield told Variety. \u201cAfter that triumphant Season 1, I remember at the Producers Guild Awards and I accepted the award on behalf of the show, I remember looking out at that crowd, and I said, \u2018So Lizzie Moss actor, not bad. Lizzie Moss producer, look out.\u2019 And there was such a sense of applause and a sense of understanding and admiration and that meant a lot to her. But she earned those words and it was clear in Season 1. And then we could have had her be a co-EP for another season, and we just went to MGM and said, \u2018No, you know what? She\u2019s an EP. She\u2019s absolutely an equal, and we should just accelerate that for year two, in terms of credit for her. And everyone agreed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFollowing years of working closely with Moss as an actor, producer and eventually director on \u201cThe Handmaid\u2019s Tale,\u201d Littlefield has now teamed with her and McManus for the sequel series \u201cThe Testaments,\u201d premiering April 8,<\/a> and another upcoming Hulu project, \u201cConviction.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cLindsey brings her own knowledge and experience into each discussion about material and its execution and yet somehow manages to also be completely in sync with Lizzie,\u201d Littlefield said. \u201cI guess that\u2019s the definition of a partnership.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWith Love & Squalor\u2019s multiple projects in development and some already released since the company formed, McManus and Moss see the debut of \u201cImperfect Women\u201d six years later as symbolic of their company\u2019s commitment to patience in the name of quality.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThere\u2019s always the creative side of it, which is the book is so good, and it has a really specific structure where it\u2019s told from these three different points of view, and figuring that out, or finding the person who could figure that out with us, and finding the home that wanted that version of it, that was something we had to figure out,\u201d Moss said, noting that Apple was \u201con board very, very early\u201d in the process.<\/p>\n

\n\tComplicating matters for \u201cImperfect Women\u201d was Moss\u2019 commitment to starring as rebel handmaid June Osbourne in the final seasons of \u201cThe Handmaid\u2019s Tale,\u201d which ate up her schedule until it wrapped in February 2025. Then McManus and Moss\u2019 attention could turn to completing \u201cImperfect Women,\u201d which Moss stars in alongside Kerry Washington and Kate Mara.<\/p>\n

\n\tAs McManus and Moss promote the launch of \u201cImperfect Women\u201d on Apple TV Wednesday, they\u2019re prepping for the April 8 release of the Chase Infiniti-led \u201cThe Testaments.\u201d For this \u201cHandmaid\u2019s Tale\u201d project, Moss has been overseeing aspects of production she\u2019s become an expert on over the years, like Hulu\u2019s version of the dystopian world of Gilead.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cEven though \u2018The Testaments\u2019 is so new in so many ways \u2014 it\u2019s much more YA-geared \u2014 as much as you can be in that world,\u201d Moss said. \u201cIt\u2019s obviously almost an entirely new cast, it has a slightly different look, too. There are definitely things that are super different intentionally, but because there was this prior existing IP and a lot of the same crew, it was kind of easy to just be, like, \u2018You guys are good, right?. The best part for me about having a partner is me getting to do less sometimes, because I do have the acting job to do, and on \u2018Imperfect Women,\u2019 I had this other job to do to be able to go like, \u2018I am going to let you have that prep call. I\u2019m gonna let you be in that meeting, I don\u2019t have to be.’\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThat mindset has extended as Love & Squalor has grown, with Moss and McManus adding Maura Towey as director of development and Carlota Pino as director of operations.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cOur goal is to get to keep making stuff and have ownership,\u201d McManus said. \u201cLike, if there was something above the doorway, it\u2019s \u2018Make Stuff.\u2019 We are so lucky \u2014 not lucky, because that\u2019s actually the wrong word \u2014 we are so grateful to have been in business so consistently since starting. We have not stopped being in production since starting this company, and we know that that is rare.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This week, Elisabeth Moss and Lindsey McManus are celebrating the debut of Apple TV\u2019s \u201cImperfect Women,\u201d the first…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":351743,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[40798,93,61,144295,60,160034,160035,282],"class_list":["post-351742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-elisabeth-moss","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-imperfect-women","tag-ireland","tag-lindsey-mcmanus","tag-love-and-squalor","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=351742"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351742\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/351743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=351742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=351742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=351742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}