"I was generally shocked!" - Esther Smith talks about Nikki's storyline in season 5 of Apple TV's "Trying"
Mark your calendars: On July 8, 2026 season 5 of the Apple TV comedy series "Trying" is back! Fans can look forward to new stories about Nikki, Jason, their two adoptive children Princess and Tyler, and their extended chaotic family; full of emotion, bizarre but heartwarming situations and chaotic development that make the characters just so much more endearing. In an exclusive interview with myFanbase, series regular and executive producer Esther Smith spoke about Nikki's storyline in season 5 and offered fascinating insights into the unique collaboration on set, which now feels like coming home to her.
© Apple TV
Watch the video for the exclusive interview with Esther Smith or read the full transcript below. German translation here: Deutsche Übersetzung des Interviews mit Esther Smith..
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Hello, Esther. So nice to see you again after two years!
Esther Smith: It goes so quickly, doesn't it? It feels, yeah, just goes those two years.
Yeah, and in your life a lot has happened since then. Now entering the fifth season, how much has your approach to filming "Trying" changed? Do you have a specific method to getting back into character or into the family dynamics and everything? Or does it feel more like coming home?
Yes, it's exactly that! It feels like coming home, which is so lovely to experience that on a job. From the moment that I get the script through... Actually from the moment knowing that we're going to do a new season and then hearing what the storyline is going to be, it's just so exciting and they always seem to surprise me which direction they're taking it through and then when we get the scripts through... I just want to stop everything and sit down and just read and read. And then the next layer on top of that is being around everyone and all of, you know, our director, writer, producer, cast, crew... And then it feels like putting on a nice pair of shoes.
Or a nice sweater.
Yeah!
© Apple TV
You already said it's always surprising to see the new scripts or where the story is going. You already took my next question so I'm trying a little bit of a different approach. You are also an executive producer on the show, do you have any say in what kind of storyline Nikki's going to have or what way she's going?
Well, it's interesting because I feel like we've always been able to have that. They've always checked in with us about their storylines and if we're happy or... Even before that, where do we... have we got any ideas or any thoughts of where we think they might go? It feels like that really, that's kind of always been there. So that's really lovely to now formally be like: Oh, okay, well formally I could say: "I think it should be this or that..." But we've got such a brilliant creative team of people around us that it's, I'm often like: "No, that sounds great, that's a nice idea, I trust that idea." I feel like we're so embedded in it and with the people. You know, Andy's been the same writer from series one to this series which is amazing really. Every single episode is essentially his work, his brain. So it just feels nice to be involved in something that we just really know. We really know the world and we really know the people. And what is lovely is the surprises of where these people are going. That’s a nice surprise.
© Apple TV
Nikki has a new job this season, one of the main stories for her and that also brings new colleagues, a little crush without spoiling anything. Did you ever worry about Nikki and Jason's relationship in this season or what do you think would happen if there was a breach of trust? What would happen to the family if that would happen? Because that's the question we all have after episode one or two.
Like honestly when they told me that storyline idea I was just like... I was generally shocked! I was like: "Oh my gosh, is Nikki gonna...? – What are they going to do? - What’s Nikki...?" But actually I feel like the way that that threat has been dealt with is really... It's something that rocks the boat but actually inevitably. I think because Nikki and Jason are such a strong unit it's something that just makes them stronger and actually in life when there's a little crack in something it highlights something and then you build to make it stronger and I feel like that's something that you know, it's life. Jason's just as guilty but in a different way and they're just trying to they're just trying to navigate this particular crack and I feel like they do it and it just makes them stronger.
© Apple TV
Last season, the main theme was like Nikki being afraid of what would happen to the family if the biological mother Kat is coming back into their lives? And now she is. Do you feel like this fear has become reality for her? Is it still like a fear if the family would break up? Or are you even a bit more proud of Nikki how she like deals with her insecurities and gives them some space, especially like this beautiful scene at the end of the first episode where she gives them time to get together.
Which felt like a real lovely growth moment for Nikki because I felt like maybe previous that would have taken her a longer time to get to that realisation. And I think it is a fear that has become a reality and I think she's desperately trying to find, she's trying to find the thing that she, within Kat, that she feels like, well, she's looking for trouble in her. And rightly or wrongly, like she's really trying to find the thing that, she's trying to be proven right with, by having Kat here, that she's bad news and that she's gonna disappear and that she's, it's not good that she's around. But you're right, I do feel incredibly proud of how Nikki handles it and navigates it, 'cause it's a level of maturity. She's like, well, actually, the reality is, this person is in our life and I can't do anything about that right now. And I see that this is really important to you as a human to try and have a connection with your birth mom. What kind of person would I be if I was to stop that? And I'm just going to deal with however the, what's that phrase when you throw the pieces down, however they fall, you just have to deal with it there. Which feels a bit like a mature step, I think.
To me, the show is so beautiful. So thank you for taking the time to talk with me and I wish you all the best for it and hopefully many more seasons for us.
I hope so. That would be the dream, that would be dreamy.
Take a look at our exclusive interview with Rafe Spall on season 5 of "Trying.
All seasons of "Trying" are available on Apple TV.
Die Serie "Trying" ansehen:
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