I first became aware of Wunmi Mosaku at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. Her feature, His House, premiered there and not only was the film itself exquisite, but Mosaku herself was a top-tier interview, brimming with passion and enthusiasm for her craft. From that point on, I’ve made it a priority to seek out Mosaku’s past work and keep up with all of her new releases, and it’s paid off big time.

Since His House’s release on Netflix, Mosaku became a scene-stealer in Lovecraft Country, she joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe via Loki, she did her first voice performance for the acclaimed animated series Scavengers Reign, and now, for the very first time, she’s at the top of the call sheet for a series, ITV’s Passenger, which is now available to stream on BritBox.

Mosaku leads as Riya, a former Metropolitan Police officer who decides to relocate to the tiny town of Chadder Vale to care for her mother-in-law. After the one-two punch of a gruesome discovery and a strange disappearance, Riya becomes convinced that something isn’t quite right in Chadder Vale. However, her Chief Constable, Linda (Jo Hartley), refuses to entertain any of Riya’s theories. She's far too focused on maintaining the town’s reputation and winning Best Kept Village. But is it all a facade? Are past troubles and recent unsettling events uncovering the sinister truth of Chadder Vale? Riya is determined to find out.

With all six episodes of Passenger Season 1 now available to stream on BritBox, Mosaku took the time to make her second appearance on Collider Ladies Night. After recapping many key credits during her last Ladies Night interview, this time around, the focus fell heavily on her growing voice and presence in film and television, and how she aims to use them.

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The pressure was on for Genesis Rodriguez in Lioness Season 2. Not only is the show, in general, a heavy lift, tackling complex subject matter loaded with hugely demanding story beats, but she also had to follow in the footsteps of Laysla De Oliveira, the titular Lioness of Season 1.

Special Ops: Lioness stars Zoe Saldaña as Joe, the head of a clandestine CIA operation — the Lioness program. Joe recruits female operatives called Lionesses to essentially put everything on the line to fight the war on terror. In Season 1, De Oliveira was an absolute powerhouse as Cruz Manuelos to say the least. There was a staggering ferocity to her performance, and it gave the show an energy that felt uniquely hers. Given that, one couldn’t help but roll into Season 2 wondering, how could they possibly do that again, but with a different Lioness? From the moment Rodriguez appears on screen as US Army Apache pilot, Captain Josephina Carrillo, it’s instantly undeniable that Taylor Sheridan and co. had done it again. They found another actor who’d give 110% of herself to the Lioness role and absolutely soar while navigating the pressure and complications of her character’s situation.

With Lioness Season 2 four episodes into its eight-episode run on Paramount+, Rodriguez joined me for a Collider Ladies Night conversation to revisit how she built her foundation as an artist, and why the opportunity to be on a show like Lioness was a long time coming, one that offered her a role that made her feel validated as an actor.

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Phillipa Soo first saw her star soar courtesy of one of the greatest successes in Broadway history, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton. Ever since scoring a Tony nomination for Best Actress in a Musical for playing Eliza, Soo’s been scooping up new opportunities on stage and screen, prioritizing being grateful and present for every single one of them, including her latest, Ryan Murphy's new show, Doctor Odyssey.

In the ABC medical drama, Soo headlines alongside Joshua Jackson, Sean Teale and Don Johnson. Johnson plays the captain of a luxury cruise ship called The Odyssey, while Soo and Teale step in as Avery and Tristan, the ship’s nurses who are well versed in both the social drama and medical challenges the ships' passengers tend to pose. Now, however, they’re led by a new head physician. It’s Jackson’s Max Bankman, an experienced doctor who thinks he knows best, but quickly learns he’ll need to lean on Avery and Tristan’s experience dealing with and caring for folks on the high seas.

With Doctor Odyssey in the midst of its Season 1 run on ABC, and streaming on Hulu, Soo took the time to join me for a Collider Ladies Night conversation to go back to her earliest sources of inspiration, and to break down her journey from stage to screen.

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