Minx’s Lennon Parham Breaks Down Shelly and Joyce’s Brutal Episode 6 Clash
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Move over, Minx‘s Joyce: It’s Shelly’s turn to shine.
This week’s episode of the Starz comedy found the Prigger sisters making a trip to Joyce’s alma mater, Vassar. While Joyce nattered on in self-centered fashion about how excited she was to see her favorite professor and court her to write a blurb for her book, Shelly tried to share an update on all of the changes — read: her sexual awakening — taking place at home. But every time her older sibling attempted to steer the conversation toward the very intense upheaval in her life, Joyce found a way to bring the topic back to herself and her recent successes. Meanwhile, Shelly’s frustration grew.
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The situation didn’t get any easier when the professor in question barely remembered Joyce… but took a distinct interest in Shelly. And the sisters came to verbal blows after Joyce walked in on the female professor performing oral sex on Shelly in a hotel room.
The confrontation that followed was electric — both for the viewers and for Lennon Parham, who plays Shelly. “A lot of the stuff that comes out in [Episode] 6, the Vassar trip, was really enlightening to me as an actor playing this woman and trying to get to the truth of why she’s made the choices she’s made,” she tells TVLine.
We loved the scene, and Parham in it, so we were very happy to check in with her about Shelly standing up for herself. (Note: This interview was conducted prior to the start of the SAG-AFTRA strike.) Read on to hear what she has to say about taking on a more dramatic side of her character, and how Bambi and the rest of the Minx crew figure into her rebirth.
TVLINE | I find Shelly very brave.
Yeah.
TVLINE | Because so many women of that era did everything they thought they were supposed to do, and it takes so much courage to be able to say, “This is not what I want. This is not who I am.” Do you think being in the mix at Minx was a catalyst for her?
Yeah, maybe it sped up the process. I mean, I have to think that, you know, if Shelly made it into the ’80s or ‘90s, there would’ve been like some Ani DiFranco song that was [the catalyst to her awakening]. She was like wait, wait, wait, you know, what’s happening to me? You know, or a Lilith Fair moment or something, you know? [Laughs] I don’t know. But yeah I think definitely being front-and-center in a place where it’s celebrating female desire and the female gaze — and obviously a lot of times through a heteronormative lens — but just being in a space, especially with someone like Bambi who is like no judgments, like whoever you are, however you show up, like, you’re fully loved and embraced unconditionally? I have to believe that unlocked something in her and kind of allowed her the exploration. I mean, at the beginning of the season you see her running back fearfully away from the thing that she thinks is her kryptonite…
It’s not an option in her mind. It’s just not as safe. It would really upend the stability that she’s created in the family, and it might cost her quite a bit to lean into that. So, it’s like not even something she’s allowed herself to feel deeply.
TVLINE | It was so interesting to me that, it’s almost more socially acceptable in her circle to be a swinger than to be a lesbian.
Isn’t that funny?
TVLINE | I think this partly is a testament to how well you and Rich Sommer work together, but every time I thought Lenny is going to zig this season, he zags.
Listen, Rich Sommer is the best of the best. We’ve known each other many, many years. We haven’t always been in the same circle, but like we started out in the same place doing like theater school and then improv in New York and kind of in that same circle. We’ve known each other since our little comedy selves began to grow. And I think we both think the same things are important in terms of bringing a comedic character to light, or to life.
We’re just always excited to see each other. I think one of the first scenes we filmed was him going down on me. And [beforehand] I was just like, “So, what’s up? You got kids now?” [Laughs] We got thrown right into the fire and thank God it was like, “Oh, it’s my friend.” You know, “Yes, let’s talk about this scene. How are we going to do this”? But also, thank God it’s someone I know and not a rando, you know? [Laughs]
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