[theme music plays]
♪♪♪
The morning light suits you.
[Yasmin] I told you I'm not interested.
I understand.
Can I ask you a question?
If you must.
What do you do all day?
I make lemon preserves.
[chuckles] Funny.
No, really. The lemons are delicious this time of year.
I make lemon preserves.
[in Farsi] Idle hands are the devil's hands.
[in English] That part of my life is over.
I'm married now. I have a kid.
We're not talking field.
Actually, I'm busy, okay? I'm writing a book.
You could work from home. You could do both.
Look, I told them I had a candidate
with unsurpassed linguistic and analytical skills.
No, I--
[in Farsi] This will break your father's heart, mine as well.
[in English] This manipulation thing, it's--
it's not gonna work on me anymore.
You know, I'm not just your naive little cousin.
Yas, you are a fiercely intelligent woman,
but you're making lemon preserves.
Yeah, I--I think we're done here.
Take a little time.
Think about it.
Maybe you will feel different once
the lemons are not quite so delicious.
Fuck you, Darien.
[in Farsi] I'm tired.
[in English] I'll just help myself out.
[Darien] Nice house.
♪♪♪
I just don't like raisins in my cereal, Mama.
Shh, Kai, come on. Keep it down.
We've gone over this a million times.
You just pretend they're Skittles. It's called substitution, remember?
It's what all the great actors do.
[woman] Kai?
-Ah. -You want to come in with me?
Yeah. I love you.
Love you.
Right this way, buddy.
Can you give that to her over there?
Thank you.
"Ell Horowitz Management."
Never heard of them. Is that a law firm?
-Now? -Now what?
Do I say it now?
Oh, well, stand over there.
You ready?
-[camera beeps] -Whenever you're ready.
Mmm. Raisin Charms.
Great choice.
I love me those juicy raisins.
That was great.
Let's try it one more time, okay?
But this time, try it like you would say it in real life.
Like if you were having breakfast with your family.
My dad doesn't live with us.
-Oh, okay. Well-- -Mmm!
Raisin Charms!
Great choice!
I love me those juicy raisins!
-Donut time! -How did he do?
-Great. -He's good, right?
His lisp makes it challenging to understand what he's saying.
Oh, no, don't worry about that.
He only lisps when he's nervous.
-So when will we hear? -In a couple of days.
-And we call you? -We'll call you.
-Thank you. -No problem.
Come on, sweetie.
-Come on. -Hey there. Come on in.
Kai?
Ka--Kai? Has anybody seen my son?
I'm so--Kai?
Don't do this to us, baby. I love you.
Rebecca, she works for a friend. I barely know her.
Can't you tell how much I love you when I kiss you?
When I smell your neck?
When I caress your skin?
Okay, I'm sorry. This is too hard for me right now.
I can't--I can't do this.
I gotta call you back when I'm more calm.
All right, I love you. Bye. Bye.
[sighs] So what's up?
Uh, no, no, I just want to know
if I can use the space in the back.
I--I need to write.
There's construction next to my house.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a little messy right now, but…
I just need a space. I'm suffocating.
-[blows nose] -I just can't write. I--
You want me to close the door?
Why?
[blows nose again]
[sighs]
[Derien] Yas, you are a fiercely intelligent woman,
and you're making lemon preserves.
[dramatic orchestral music plays]
♪♪♪
Fatima?
[in Arabic] Yes. I'm Fatima.
-Welcome. -Welcome.
-Sit down. -Thank you.
[PA announcer, in French] Mind the gap when stepping off the train.
[in English] Please mind the gap between the train and the platform.
Sandrine?
[in French] It's me. How are the lemons?
Preserved.
[dramatic music ends]
[sighs]
[Justine] Some of us have had the good fortune
of eating octopus near the Aegean Sea.
If you cannot find live octopus
that you are ready to beat up yourself,
make sure you use frozen octopus from the Mediterranean.
It will most likely have been beaten to death
by a beautiful, hairy Greek fisherman.
[sighs]
[bouzouki music plays]
♪♪♪
[alarm beeping]
[alarm tone holding]
[alarm beeping continues]
-[phone button beeps] -Hello, it's Martin.
Leave a message. Thanks.
[in French] Hello, Martin, it's me.
I received an alert message from school, it's an emergency.
I don't know what it is. Call me back.
[woman, in English] Thank you for calling Grand Oaks Middle School.
We're sorry no one is available to take your call at the moment.
Shit!
[line ringing]
[Anne] Please leave a message after the tone.
-[beep] -Anne, it's me.
I received an emergency, like, an alert
on my phone about the school.
Can you please call me back?
[alarm beeps again]
Yasmin, it's me! There's an alert from--
I know, shit! Orion's out of town! I forgot! Shit!
I was inspired by the house in Le Mepris.
when I designed, uh, this staircase here
leading to the upper terrace.
Uh, the vibe is very much end of the '60s, South of France.
And, um, for the kitchen,
the light will pierce through a small waterfall,
allowing the space to have this unique feeling
of both being rainy and sunny at the same time,
because who doesn't miss the rain in Los Angeles?
-[cell phone rings] -Uh--
[phone rings]
[sighs]
I mean, uh, who isn't sick of this beautiful endless sunshine?
Right?
Cool. [chuckles]
Thank you for coming in and doing all this work.
Uh, we're really still in the preliminary stages,
so we'll keep this conversation going
and, uh, we'll let you know when we know more.
Sounds good.
All right. Thank you for having me.
Yeah, of course. Anything for Jerry.
-Right. -Hey, speaking of which,
it's my wife's 35th birthday on Sunday.
I was gonna call Jerry, but now that you're here,
we'd love to get a table.
Sure. Yeah.
You don't mind, do you?
No, no, no. No, no, of course.
I'll, uh, text Justine right now.
All right, I'll text her as soon as I…
get outta here.
-Great. -All right?
Thank you for your attention.
-Thank you so much. -Have a good one.
-Goodbye. -All right.
So how's the family? Everybody good?
-Everybody's great. -That's what I like to hear.
All good with the pool.
Yes. Finally.
That did take forever.
And it ended up costing twice as much as you thought it would, right?
Well, yeah. Something to do with the soil in Venice.
Venice. Geez.
When your mother told me how much she paid for that house…
-Mm-hmm. -I just…and I hear you guys
have a homeless problem there, too.
Yeah, well, they need somewhere to live, right?
Well, they picked some prime real estate.
[both chuckle]
So I've, um--
I've started to design some styles for women,
and the response has been amazing.
Which led me to think that now
would be a great time to expand.
Did you get a chance to look at the numbers
that I--I sent over?
Looking now.
Wow, you've got a really nice thing going on here.
[sighs] Thank you.
You know, we set off your business losses
against your dividend income and you end up
with a significantly reduced tax bill.
Um, I'm sorry, I--
-The more money you lose… -Mm-hmm.
the less you pay in taxes.
So, as your business manager, I say yes.
Expand and expense as much as you want.
And thank Trump.
-Mmm. -Oh, no.
See, I know your crowd.
You like to hate on the guy, but…[inhales]
what he has done for our economy.
Wow, I really thought I was doing well.
Oh, yeah, you just gotta stop thinking of this
as a--as a "business," you know.
And just have fun with it.
You know, just be creative.
You can afford it.
[fast bouzouki music resumes]
What's going on?
Where's my son? Is he okay? Where is he?
-Please, please, calm down! -Tell me the truth!
-Who is your child? -Albert! Albert!
-Oh, hi.
I'm Duncan the PE teacher. We're doing the moulage drill.
But that was two weeks ago!
It got cancelled and moved to today.
-[school bell rings] -I sent out a bunch of emails.
The emergency test you got was a test.
Why do you send so many emails?
Shit. They're fine.
I can't believe I just showed up like that, like an idiot.
If Albert finds out, he's gonna be so embarrassed.
He's not gonna find out.
Even if he did, he's a great kid. He'll understand.
-[sighs] -He's special.
You know that.
Yes.
Every time a little argument breaks out in the yard,
he is the peacemaker.
[chuckles] That's nice.
You're doing a great job.
-Thanks. -Personally…
I adore the kid.
[ominous music plays]
♪♪♪
-So, how was that moulage drill? -It was strange.
I didn't like having to play one of the victims.
You played a victim?
-How--how do they pick the parts? -Random.
Like if it happened in real life.
Uh, your coach, you know, Duncan?
He told me that you're very nice other kids.
I just don't like it when people are mean to each other.
Um…
you know, you should never go to the bathroom with a grown-up.
Like, alone, you know.
When you're in the bathroom, you should…
not be alone with a grown-up.
Albert, I'm not kidding.
You can't go to the bathroom with, like, someone's dad.
Or, you know, or like a--a coach.
Or a priest or a movie producer or--
Mom? Coach Duncan has three kids.
He's not a pedophile. Okay?
[stammers] You can have three kids,
-and still-- -Mom!
How can I end up going to the bathroom
with a movie producer or a priest?
Okay, you're right.
[Martin] So, what do you think?
Oh, I think it's really great. What an amazing design.
Oh, it's such a cool design.
Oh, and did you see the waterfall?
Oh yeah, the waterfall is beautiful. I think it's cool.
But it's not cool enough for us. Let's just go stuff our faces
at the wife's restaurant!
[yells]
[sighs]
- There's water bottles in there. -Okay, great.
-Have a great time. Love you. -Thank you!
-Love you! -Oh, I'm so sorry
I didn't pick up my phone.
I had a brutal meeting with my mom's henchman.
You got my text, though, right?
Yeah, ten minutes after I showed up at the school
and made a fool of myself.
-Oh, no. -I called you like ten times!
You couldn't pick up?
Imagine something serious was happening?
-Sorry. -Yeah, you know what you are?
A pervert narcissist.
-[laughs] Thank you. -Yeah. That's it.
-Like Trump. Yeah. -Even better.
Well, maybe you should just check your emails.
-You know, I'm not your assistant. -Okay, that's nice.
-Roger, wait up, dude! -Go get 'em, tiger!
Hi, guys. What's going on?
-Okay, you guys fighting? -No.
Okay, great, 'cause I have some great news,
and I don't want anything to ruin it.
You are looking at the new CEO
of Ell Horowitz Youth Talent Management.
Mm-hmm. And check this out.
You're incorporated in Delaware?
-[laughs] Yes. I am. -Where is that?
Del-a-ware.
Two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies
are incorporated in Delaware, so I'm not kidding around.
I'm doing this the real way. I'm doing this legit.
-Wow. Impressive. -Anne, if you saw
the way these agents treat these kids, it's just horrific.
And I'm like you, I'm not gonna stand back and watch child abuse
and child labor. I just can't.
-Good. You shouldn't. -Thank you.
So I have this great plan,
and I want to start small in the beginning,
and, you know, really build my clientele.
But I was thinking on the way over here
that Albert's look, his whole, like, romantic, poetic, you know,
Rimbaud vibe, that would be a great sell,
-especially in the international market. -Wait…
And then Seb, you know his whole, you know, his whole "thing."
You know, that's very current right now.
-All the kids are doing that, like… -What do you mean by his "thing"?
I don't mean anything by his "thing."
I mean, that he's a really cool kid and I would love to represent him.
-Oh. [chuckles] -Okay, and I'm gonna talk to Yas
about Orion, because you cannot take a bad picture of that kid.
-Right? Isn't that right? -So basically,
the good news is that you're gonna pimp your kids.
-No. -And then you're asking us
to pimp our kids, too.
You're so mean! I'm not pimping my kids.
My kids are super happy about doing this, okay?
-Uh-huh. -I'll have you know.
Hey, kid, can you play a little further away, please?
-Thanks. -Come on, please.
-What? -I just--I need you.
I can't just have my kids' pictures on the website.
It's not gonna look legit.
-I have to ask Martin. -No, you don't,
not if I'm not sending him out, man.
Of course I need to ask him. It's his--he's his son.
-What am I gonna do? -You don't.
Wait, so what do your kids' dads think
about your new business enterprise?
-Yeah, what do they think about it? -Yeah, what do they think?
Okay, guys. I'll be right back.
I gotta make a call.
She didn't ask them.
Ow!
What?! What?!
You--you hit me in the eye!
What are you doing, you little--
Yeah, yeah, you're running away without apologizing.
I mean, where are your manners, you little…pigs?
-Oh, huh? Who raised you? -[Anne] Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
You cannot talk to kids like that in this country.
-Oh, really? -I mean, maybe in France, but…
-Incredible! -Oh, my God.
-You just need to sit down. -I'm blind from one eye, you know?
I can't even see from this one anymore.
-Oh. -It's so blurry now.
Hey.
I'm the one raising that little pig. That one right over there.
You got a problem with his manners?
-Well, good job. -Okay, no, no, no, no, no.
No, no, good job. Because you know what?
Where I come from, when you kick a ball in a lady's face,
you apologize. Is that too much to ask?
Oh, okay. Lady. What lady?
-I don't see no lady. -[mocking laugh]
Okay, lady, let me get this out of the way for you.
You do not have the right to scream at children
-under any circumstances, okay? -Really?
I can't say anything?
Even when they kick me in the face?
In fact, if you don't go over and apologize to these kids,
I'm gonna report you to the AYSO.
Well, go ahead. Do you think you scare me
with your big voice and your big whatever?
Threats? You know what, I'm not scared of you,
and I'm not scared of any man. I'm not scared of any man.
Mm-hmm.
I cannot believe you are someone's mother.
Oh, that's--you want to fight?
-You want to fight me? -Okay.
-Yeah, you want to fight me? -All right, you're out of control.
[Justine] You're scared!
Yeah, go away.
Look at him run away. He was scared.
-[scoffs] Oh, my God. -He was scared.
-That was scary. -…50/50 on anything.
I'll see you in September for school supplies.
-What an asshole! -What a bunch of cheap jerks.
They all want a piece of their kid.
-What's going on? What's going on? -Jesus Christ, I am so stressed out.
I wish I could take a baseball bat and hit him in the head
until his brain comes out of his nose.
-What happened? -Major drama
-with that dad over there. -Which one?
Oh, my God! That's where I recognize him.
-He goes to our school, Justine. -The bald guy?
Yes!
I don't care.
[Anne] This is not good.
Come on. You okay?
[voice breaking] I have a lot on my mind lately.
That's why I told you, you should call that shrink.
-[groans] -I gave you the number, right?
Yeah. I'll call.
-I'll tell you my secrets. -[Ell] Watch.
Watch him. Look how he's doing almost nothing
and how that makes his performance so intense.
It's all in his eyes in this moment.
KAI: Why is he so white?
I want to be so white like that.
Don't worry, it's just make up.
Just focus on his performance, Kai. Come on.
He's about to reveal that he sees ghosts.
[gasps] Ghosts?
[Lynn, in movie] …ghosts, Cole?
-[cell phone ringing] -They want me to do things for them.
Mom, please pick up or mute your phone.
-This is a critical moment. -What? You're right.
Jeez, I didn't think of it. It could be casting.
Sorry, sorry.
Do you think I'm a freak?
[phone ringing]
Oh. Kai, I think it's casting.
Fingers crossed. Ell Horowitz Management.
Ell, it's Linda Sherman. How are you?
Oh, hi. Hi, Linda. How are you?
I hear Kai just auditioned for a Raisin Charms commercial?
[Ell] How did you hear that?
It's a very small business, Ell.
It is? Okay. [chuckles]
You know, Ell, I wanted to remind you
that you signed a contract with the agency.
No, actually, Linda. I didn't sign anything.
-[sent text notification] -I just texted you.
[cell phone chimes]
That's from the sign-in sheet, actually.
There was fine print on the bottom,
stating that if the agency chooses to move forward,
we are entitled to 20% of all
and any monies earned by the client.
Linda…I have to call you back.
Can I call you back, Linda?
-[slams phone on table] -Damn.
-Shit! -[loud thump]
[sighs] Oh, my God.
Uh…Mom?
-Yeah? -You okay?
Yeah, yeah, I'm just having a shitty day.
Tomorrow will be better. No worries. What's up?
Okay, but you always say that.
I mean, maybe you would have less shitty days
if you, I don't know, got a boyfriend.
Amy's mom just got one, and I think you should get one, too.
I mean, you're not that old.
Okay, you know what? I'm really happy for Amy's mom.
That's fantastic, but, you know,
what I'm trying to do right now, Sarah, is focus on my career.
Okay? And you know what?
Nothing good in my life's ever come from having a boyfriend, anyway.
-So there's that. -Weren't all our dads your boyfriends?
Obviously I'm not talking about your dads.
You guys are the best thing that's ever happened to me.
You know that.
Can I ask you a question?
Why would you have three different kids
with three different color dads?
I mean, every single time we're out as a family,
everyone thinks we're adopted, except Oliver.
Your clone. Your favorite.
That's bullshit, okay? I love you all equally.
-I have no favorites. -I think
that you just wanted a dysfunctional family
because you're dysfunctional
and you wanted your kids to be just like you.
You love that word-- "dysfunctional," "dysfunctional."
I want to tell you something-- I didn't choose anything.
I fell in love with three different-colored men,
and I think that we have a beautiful family, okay?
We're like M&Ms or Skittles, you know?
We're, like, different on the outside. We're like a different shell,
different color, but inside, we're all the same.
We're all this yummy, delicious, yummy candy.
-Just tell Kai that, not me. -Okay.
Do you even know what it's like to be me?
-To be half black? -You're also half white,
and I don't understand why you have to choose.
Why can't you just be both?
Of course you don't understand, because you've never understood.
You literally sent me to school with ashy knees once.
Oh, my God, are you ever gonna let me live that down?
-You think this is funny? -No, I just…
I'm trying my best, you know? I was trying my--
Mom, it's finished. Can we watch something else?
Oliver, can you please put on Scooby Doo for your brother?
-Yeah. -All I'm saying Sarah--
[Kai] No, I want you to do it, Mama.
Come on.
One minute, Kai.
[Kai] Mom!!
-I'm coming! -Just go. Just go.
-Your captor is calling you anyways. -Okay!
What, Kai?
[sighs heavily]
[mutters in French]
[in French] Hey, why didn't you call me back yesterday?
I left you a bunch of messages.
I was worried with the emergency at school.
[in French] It was the drill. We got 25 emails about that.
Plus, I was in a meeting.
I know it was the drill, but still, you could have…
I would like for us to see someone, Martin.
See someone for what?
For our problems. You know. Our problems…
Our relationship problems.
There you go again with that stuff.
Okay, if you want. Let's do that, let's go see someone.
Thanks, Martin.
What's wrong?
Nobody understands my work.
What do you mean?
Nobody understands my work. Actually, I'm not working.
I can't find work, I'm just going round and round. I feel like shit.
I don't feel like a man.
Yes, you are a man, Martin. You're my man.
A man who doesn't work, isn't a man.
It's not true, that's nonsense. We're in 2020, Martin.
Martin. I'm so sorry. Martin.
It's so unfair.
I'm so much more talented than you.
♪♪♪
Ah, excuse me. Do you have the, uh,
Green Amazon?
We are actually out of Green Amazon,
but we still have the Green Beauty.
It's pretty much the same, just without the sweetness.
-All right, thanks. -You got it.
[man] I was looking for the Green Amazon, too.
So frustrating. They always run out.
Yeah. Must be their zero-waste policy.
Which I totally respect, though I think
that's more about their packaging.
I'm Adam.
Um, I'm Anne.
-Nice to meet you. -Nice to meet you.
Do you mind if I ask you an odd question?
No. No, go ahead.
What scent do you have on?
Um…[sniffs]
I don't think I'm wearing anything, really.
Okay, well, whatever you got going, you should bottle it.
-It's intoxicating. -[chuckles]
-Gotta go. -Okay.
Uh, wait. Do you, um-- do you have an email?
Who doesn't have an email?
Yeah, there's a couple of gallery openings coming up
that I'm going to and…
you look like you appreciate art.
Are you in the art world?
Yeah, I'm in many worlds.
But yeah, that's one of them.
Well, why don't you give me your number
and I'll text you and, um…
Yeah, I really don't have an easy email to remember.
I don't have a phone.
I don't believe in phones.
It takes me away from living in the present.
Do you mind?
That's really cool.
All right.
Can you read that?
Yeah. I can.
Okay, great. Don't be a stranger.
-All right. -See you soon, Anne.
-Bye, Adam. -Bye.
[suspenseful music plays]
♪♪♪
[man] Come in.
So, how was your flight?
Good.
First time in LA?
I'm here to ask the questions.
Right, of course. Sorry.
Is your maiden name Yasmin Diana Sharifi?
It is.
How would you describe your family life?
Stable.
Do you keep secrets from your husband?
Of course.
Does he know about your past?
He knows I worked as a translator.
You ever had an extramarital affair?
No.
Do you have close friends?
A few.
But they don't know anything.
Do you have enemies?
None that I know of.
You certain about that?
Hi.
Yes.
How do you handle challenges?
With equanimity.
-You came here alone? -Of course.
-Anybody know you're here? -No.
How do you respond to danger?
I assess the situation before I engage,
and then I act quickly.
Yet you came here without knowing what this was really about.
I trust my cousin.
-Unequivocally? -Yes.
How would you describe your mental health?
Pristine.
[suspenseful music plays]
♪♪♪