Heading into FUBAR Season 2, Aparna Brielle is ready for audiences to see a different side of NSA data analyst Tina.
Spoiler alert! At the end of the Netflix hit’s first season, Tina was revealed to be hiding a secret or two, namely that she’s a double agent working for Russia.
It was a jaw-dropping reveal and one that completely changed the trajectory of the second season, as Tina is fully immersed in the CIA team and also in a relationship with the tech-savvy and all-around solid guy, Barry.
Tina is played by the lovely Aparna Brielle, who rose to fame on the criminally underrated comedy A.P. Bio.
In FUBAR, she gets to flex those comedic skills, and so much more, as FUBAR is one of the true action comedies on television these days, that does well to lean into both genres to tremendous effect.
Ahead of the full second season release, we chatted with Brielle about what we can expect from Tina, as well as some of her favorite moments, alongside some teases of what’s to come.
To speak with Brielle is to know that she’s a passionate and dedicated performer, which is truly exemplified in her work in the upcoming season. This chat gives great insight into both Tina and the woman behind her.
My favorite part about FUBAR is that there are these super intense action sequences that are always broken up by something that makes me laugh. I think this is a great way to watch an action show, as it can be too much action; I love the balance between the action and the comedy.
Oh, that’s my favorite part about action movies, for sure. It’s like when you’re laughing so hard and someone’s dying, you’re like, “I shouldn’t be laughing right now, but y’all did it.”
Exactly. So, coming out of season one, what was the reception like for you after everyone found out that Tina was not exactly who she said she was?
It’s so funny, the reception I got. I caught COVID after the premiere last time, and so I was at home. And I remember getting all these comments, and the first one that I saw was, “No.” A lot of people were like, “Oh, we were rooting for you. Tina was so sweet, and now you might be a bad guy. I hope you’re not a bad guy.”
So there’s definitely that heartbreak for the audience, which I was excited to play with. I’ve always played these good girls, or sweet girls, or someone whose secrets are out there for the audience from the beginning. It was different, playing a character where I had to keep a secret the whole time.
Heading into season two, how conflicted do you think Tina is as she navigates being a double agent?
Tina is not going to show it, but I do feel that she is conflicted. This is a group of people who have welcomed her in like family and are very loving to Tina and kind to her. And being a Russian double agent and being from this very cold, very transactional world of spycraft, it’s different for her.
It’s like trying to do what she’s good at and what she’s there to do without making things worse for everyone. That’s a really tricky line to be walking if you’re a double agent. And there’s a bit of internal struggle, but she’s doing her best not to show it to anyone.
So, she’s putting on a brave face and just trying to go with it.
Yeah. Like, “Keep the training, be an agent first.” And then, with all the research I’ve done about spycraft in general, it’s like once you’re in one of those fields, that’s your first priority. Everything else is second. And so she’s very much going through like, “Do what you were trained your whole life to do.”
Speaking of that, because you just said that you did a lot of research. Did you create any backstory for Tina that the audience might not have seen? Or were you told some more about Tina’s background?
I’m a total nerd, and if I have a role where I get to research something new, I’m all about it. I love learning anything. One of the first conversations I had with our showrunner was actually to ask about what Tina’s background is because I was like, “I’m not having an accent in this show. I’m playing it American and showing this person who very seamlessly blends in.”
So, how did she become a Russian agent, all of that? And they do talk about it, actually. In the second season, they do break down some of her backstory, which was really helpful for me to know. And I did end up filling in a lot of the blanks myself.
I knew things like she was raised as part of a program, and they’re trying to pick people who are even less noticeable and specifically put in the NSA because the intelligence about power grids and things like that are valuable to Russia.
They discuss the program in more detail on the show, so I won’t spoil it. However, I will say it informed many of the choices I made regarding how she blends into her disguises. And how much of herself does the Tina we know bring into it, how she fights, how she sneaks around? It was exciting to figure out some of that.
The biggest thing I learned from her was that she’s been a lone wolf this whole time because I wanted this interaction with the CIA gang to feel new and fresh to her, too, outside of just being the newbie in the group. It’s like, “Oh, no, this is new. People genuinely care for one another in this group. That’s weird. I don’t know what that’s like.”
And that goes into the whole Tina and Barry of it all, right? They’re sweet, but obviously, their relationship is built on dishonesty. What can you tease for the audience about what they should expect to see from the pair in season two?
Get ready for some heartbreak, and get ready to be rooting through that heartbreak. As a viewer, whenever I’m watching a show, it’s the will they/won’t they of it all that gets me. I’m like, “Oh, are they going to get together?” And this relationship makes you work for it as an audience. You really want them to work.
They’re so sweet. And you see how genuinely they actually care about each other. She will put herself on the line for him and vice versa. And so that makes it even harder. It’s like it’s heartbreaking knowing that she’s harboring this huge secret, and what relationship built on a lie goes great?
So, you really feel the struggle on both sides of navigating this new, fun little detail about Ms. Tina.
FUBAR boasts a robust cast, which I believe is its greatest strength. And because of Tina’s role, she’s not always in the thick of the action. Who would you want Tina to pair up with more if you could pick?
Let’s say you get a third season, or maybe even somebody this season that you don’t usually get to pair up with, that you enjoyed working with.
Absolutely. I really enjoyed getting to work more with Monica Barbaro one-on-one this year. Outside of filming, we have such good chemistry and camaraderie. And she’s such a phenomenal actress, and we both come from a dance background.
For us, doing action and comedy, it’s been fun to play with it and discuss choreography in that way. But someone I’d really love to pair up with, and I’ve talked about it so many times on set as Fortune Feimster. Our characters have such a hilarious dynamic. She’s always picking on Tina. But Tina’s also like, “I kind of like you, so let’s make this work.”
And now she’s probably, especially like, “I hate Tina.” Having that dynamic between two characters when they’re interacting is so much fun to play with. And she’s just a riot on set. And any pair-ups that I get with any of these people would be fantastic.
Getting to work with Arnold every time is such a blast. And who wouldn’t want to do more scenes with him?
I love that you brought up the dance background because that choreography is really what action scenes are about, isn’t it? Making sure your body is in the right place and your hands are in the right place. I would assume having that dance background was helpful for you.
It totally changed the game. Dance has really informed so much of my acting process in general. I do think so much about how movement affects how I present a character. But this is my first time doing full-on fight sequences, which I was dying to do. I was so excited.
I went in there and practiced so much more than I needed to because it was just fun – the best workout ever. But it was interesting. It really is choreography, and it’s like having a one-on-one dance with someone, where you step here, they step there, you twirl here, they twirl there.
Having the opportunity to do that with someone who also shares that background made it feel like an even deeper kind of collaboration. It was really interesting and made me a fan of doing action scenes for life. I would love to do all of them. They’re so much fun.
This is a two-part question. What are you excited for the audience to see in season two in general? Additionally, what are you excited for people to see and take away from Tina’s journey in season two?
Totally. The show goes to really ridiculous places with some of the guest baddies we have, and we have a pig this season named Dexter, who’s fantastic. It’s just so silly that they were able to up the ante of the action so much. Carrie-Anne Moss is so dynamic. I’ve always been a fan of hers.
And people are going to have a lot of fun with her character, as well as Chips, the other new character. They’re going to have a lot of fun navigating the show with these two, as they bring a wickedly funny edge to the show. Carrie is a born-and-bred action star. It’s so fun seeing her in this role.
For Tina specifically, though, I’m excited for people to realize that there’s so much more to this girl than just what we’ve seen over the first season and this season. And I think by the end of it, they’re genuinely going to be wondering, like, “Who is this person, and why am I rooting for her?”
And I think there’s something to Tina’s journey that forces you to look within and examine your own complexities a little bit and be like, “We all kind of live in a gray area.” So this is someone who does it for a living. I’m excited for people to get a peek at what this girl can do.
What’s a moment from filming this season, season two, that stands out to you? Action, an emotional moment. You don’t have to go in-depth about the moment, not to spoil it. But is there anything that stands out to you that was special?
Yes, I’ve referenced it a couple of times, but I have a big fight this season that I had jokingly wish-listed at a dinner or something the year before with the team. And I was like, “Man, I’d really love to do this fight scene and just get a peek at it.” And it was such an interesting new set of storytelling skills because you’re telling a story through your fight.
It was a brutal day of filming. I mean, we were fighting in the sand, which is really hard to do, and we’re also in heels, in the sand, and doing kicks and doing all these things. But my gosh, it was such a fun expression of self. I’m excited for that.
There are a few scenes after everyone knows Tina’s secret that really require me to completely change how I present myself to people because now the secret’s out – the cat’s out of the bag. And getting to play with the coldness of that and the secrecy of that was fun.
There are a few interrogation scenes that I’m excited for the audience to experience; again, I keep coming back to it; they’re going to keep asking, “Who is this person that we’ve been watching?”
In FUBAR, you get to do action, you get to do comedy, it’s dramatic, everything like that. You get a bit of all these different worlds. But what for you is a role that you haven’t gotten to play yet, outside of those genres, that you would love to do or love to play one day?
Totally. I am really, really interested in cerebral psychological thrillers — I can watch those all day, and it doesn’t have to be a big, scary horror movie, but I love the idea of watching someone as they process the world they’re in and going on that journey with them.
And you’re also wondering if everything they’re experiencing is real or not. Anything that allows you to descend into that chaos with the character would be really interesting to play. And I love a good, tear-jerking drama. I just do. I love to schedule a cry by watching one of those at least once a week.
So I feel like something like that would allow me to flex those muscles because once you’ve worked on a comedy, I feel like you can get to those high places emotionally, and it’s fun to plug that into something more realistic and see what that feels like.
Those are great choices. I was thinking of a psychological thriller. I love those, too. You’d be amazing in that.
Oh my gosh, I just watched Nine Perfect Strangers, which came out a few years ago, but I just watched it, and the whole time, I was like, “This is so crazy. This is the kind of weird stuff that would be so fun to play with.”
Since this is TV Fanatic, what shows are you currently watching? You just mentioned Nine Perfect Strangers. But what else are you currently watching? And then what’s your comfort show? What’s the show you put on when you’re having a bad day, and you’re like, “I just want to watch my show.”
Oh, lately, I just finished watching Sirens, which my friend Glenn Howerton is in. We worked on A.P. Bio together for four years, and it was so fun seeing him in such a different role than anything I’ve seen him in. He was so funny.
It was so interesting and weird, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. And I’m a big, big reality TV fan. I love my Bravo TV. My mom actually got me into The Real Housewives and Vanderpump Rules, which is probably my comfort show, which is funny. It’s not the most comforting thing. There’s a lot of people fighting, but I love it. It’s so fun.
Outside of that, though, a show I will always go back to is Parks and Recreation. It’s a classic. It always makes me feel good. It’s so funny. The jokes still hold up to me. That block of NBC comedy when it was out, I remember that was when I would be in school, and I’d come back, and I’d be watching those all night.
So whenever I’m having a long day, that’s what I like to put on the TV and zone out too with my cat.
***This interview has been edited for length and clarity.***
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FUBAR Season 2 will premiere on Netflix on June 12th.
Watch FUBAR Online
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