Linda Cardellini was the catalyst for No Good Deed, according to show creator Liz Feldman.
Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE about her new series, Feldman, 47, says she was in the midst of filming her other show, Dead to Me, when Cardellini, 49, gave her the idea to write No Good Deed.
“We were shooting the third season of Dead to Me when I was starting to develop this idea,” Feldman says of the new series, which premiered on Netflix Dec. 12. “I was already kind of ruminating on who would be in this world of buying and selling a house. And she happened to say to me one day, after so many years of playing Judy, who was such a sweet, angelic kind of doormat of a gal, she was like, ‘Gosh, the next thing I do, I just want to play a badass bitch.'”
“Something inside of me just went, ‘That could be interesting,'” Feldman recalls. “And what would that look like and who would that person be in this world that I’m already creating? Because Linda and I became really good friends over the course of shooting Dead to Me. And so I’m like, ‘Well, it’s a no brainer. Why wouldn’t I try to write something for her?'”
Despite Cardellini’s desire to play a fierce role, Feldman notes she wasn’t entirely sure if things would pan out.
“I didn’t know that she would a hundred percent do it,” she admits. “We didn’t know if our schedules would line up and everything, but I’m thrilled that she did because she absolutely nailed it.”
In No Good Deed, Cardellini plays Margo Starling, the neighbor to Lisa Kudrow and Ray Romano’s Lydia and Paul Morgan who is one of the potential buyers of their home. Margo is married to JD (Luke Wilson) though they are clearly mismatched and holding onto secrets in their marriage.
Margo is calculated, manipulative and dishonest — a far cry from her Dead to Me character, who she portrayed for three seasons from 2019-2022.
In Dead to Me, Cardellini plays Judy Hale, a soft-spoken, positive woman who befriends Christina Applegate’s Jen Harding. The two initially bond at a grief support group before secrets are uncovered and they become entangled in a twisty adventure.
Cardellini, who was nominated for an Emmy for her role in Dead to Me, also raved about working with Feldman, saying she “couldn’t feel luckier” to team up again.
“It’s the best. I love Liz. Like, I’m so grateful that I have her as a friend. I’m so grateful that I know her creatively, personally. I just feel very, very lucky,” the actress told Buzzfeed. “It’s just wonderful to have a collaboration with somebody that you just really care about.”
“Liz has such a specific vision but is always open to other artists collaborating, and it just makes it such a fun place to be,” she added.
Cardellini also told the outlet that she was honored to have Feldman write characters specifically for her.
“To have somebody as talented as Liz write for you and especially ask you what it is you would like to do next is just such a gift. It’s an honor,” she said. “And to then get that and know that even whatever I think of, whatever I could dream of, it’s gonna be twistier and more layered than I ever imagined. And so it just is delicious.”
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No Good Deed is now streaming on Netflix.
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