“This One’s Special”: Melissa Fumero Dives into NBC’s “Grosse Pointe Garden Society”

Discussing her involvement with the series, Fumero called the Pilot script a “page turner”, sharing “I wanted to know more about these characters and what happened next. I was immediately like, ‘ooooh, this is a good one. This one’s special.’”

Birdie, a dramatic departure from Fumero’s previous roles, offered new challenges as a best-selling author and socialite with a troubled past and multiple divorces. “I was intimidated by her at first. She felt very complicated and layered,” she explained. “I was like, oh, there’s a lot to crack here, to figure out how and where her humanity lives. It was such a rewarding and satisfying experience.”

A New Set, A New Vibe -- and Snow in Atlanta?

While the story takes place in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, the series was filmed in Atlanta, a popular production hub with typically ideal weather for winter shoots. The well-known “Hotlanta” decided not to come out this fall through spring when the series was being filmed, as a blizzard slammed the Southeast back in January, shutting down production.

“[That] really threw us for a loop. It was so cold,” she recalled, an especially difficult challenge as one of the series’ two timelines takes place in the spring as the Garden Society works outdoors. “It snowed like three times and [Atlanta doesn’t] get snow, so it shut us down. I’m from Jersey, so I was like ‘what do you mean four inches is shutting us down??’ I’ve been to a Starbucks in the middle of a blizzard!” she laughed.

Despite the weather challenges, Melissa Fumero said the experience was “insane but so much fun”, recalling seeing locals skiing down the unplowed streets of Atlanta. 

Balancing Intensity with Levity on Set

With its mix of murder, secrets, and scandal, Grosse Pointe Garden Society is packed with drama. Yet Fumero played a key role in keeping the set environment light and fun.

“I am fully aware that I am like the silly one on set that sometimes has to rein it in when we’re doing serious scenes,” she laughed. “And I’m like, ‘Oh, people have to focus like I should stop.’”

She embraced that energy, often lightening the mood for the crew. “I kind of come in hot, like all loud and like, you know, making jokes.”

Her close bond with her co-stars was key to maintaining that balance. “The four of us especially got so close and we had such a good time. And even with Felix… sometimes we would rehearse our scenes with stupid voices and then it would be like a serious scene like an argument or something.”

She continued, “God, we must’ve been so annoying to some directors because we were just goofing around all the time. But we both knew we could click into it when it was time to say ‘action.’”

Words of Wisdom for Aspiring Actors

When asked to offer advice for young actors, Fumero didn’t hesitate to share a deeply personal mantra: “Protect your confidence at all costs,” she said. “That’s what I would tell myself when I was younger, and that’s what I like to tell young people.”

“There’s a lot of things when you’re young that try to knock that confidence out of you. But if you can just hold it like a precious gift and protect it, it will help you so much.”

Don’t miss Melissa Fumero in the season finale of Grosse Pointe Garden Society tonight at 8pm ET on NBC, available to stream next day on Peacock.

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