‘Tell Me Lies’ Cat Missal And Tom Ellis Praise Intimacy Coordinator’s Role In Steamy Bree And Oliver Scenes: “It Makes Intrinsically Uncomfortable Stuff Slightly More Comfortable”

Tell Me Lies is back, and Season 2 is turning up the heat in unforeseen ways.

Among several new romances in the Hulu hit’s sophomore season is a student-teacher relationship between Bree (Catherine Missal) and Oliver (Tom Ellis) that crosses some serious boundaries.

The characters’ intense connection is controversial for many reasons, including their substantial age gap, the clear power imbalance, and the fact that Oliver is married to Bree’s English professor. But Missal and Ellis are such strong actors that their on-screen chemistry — coupled with Tell Me Lies‘ quintessential steamy scenes — will undoubtedly have viewers rooting for them.

When speaking with Decider ahead of the Season 2 premiere, the actors shared that one of the reasons they felt safe to explore the intense romance on set is because they worked with an intimacy coordinator.

“I couldn’t imagine doing intimate scenes without one,” Missal told Decider over Zoom. “I’m so grateful that now that’s incorporated, because I think it’s a must. Someone should be looking out for the safety of for both of us. The care around it is important. And I just think that that’s a necessity.”

“I think it’s really a must,” Ellis echoed. “I’ve worked for many years before we had intimacy coordinators. And whenever I’ve ever had to do scenes like that in the past, it’s awkward. It definitely is awkward. It’s uncomfortable. It’s not titillating in any way, shape, or form when you’re a performer in those circumstances. And often you’re left up to your own devices to have conversations with the person that you’re working with, which are innately uncomfortable. And this sort of alleviates that.”

Ellis went on to praise the presence of intimacy coordinators “for the safety of the performers and the director” and stressed how crucial the work they do and the boundaries they put in place beforehand are. “It really makes what is intrinsically uncomfortable stuff to do slightly more comfortable, I guess, is probably the best way of putting it,” he said.

The Lucifer star is also married to Tell Me Lies showrunner Meaghan Oppenheimer, which added an extra layer of comfort on set.

“I think it was great having someone that I trust in that role, because you never know when you cast someone — especially with the power dynamic and with someone so much older than our actor playing Bree,” Oppenheimer told Decider. “It was nice that I knew Bree was safe with this person; that he was a good guy.”

After some hardcore flirting and kissing in the two-episode premiere, Season 2, Episode 3 concludes with Bree and Oliver having sex for the first time. While we’ll have to wait and see what Season 2 has in store for them, viewers get an early sense that a lengthy affair awaits.

New episodes of Tell Me Lies premiere Wednesdays on Hulu.