Double act
Dramedy series The Flight Attendant is flying through a whole lot of personal turbulence in season 2.
It’s a year later and a lot has changed for boozy air stewardess Cassie Bowden (Kaley Cuoco, Penny in comedy series The Big Bang Theory) as dramedy show The Flight Attendant prepares for take-off. “Cassie has been sober for the past six months. She was an alcoholic in season 1 and that’s where her problems started,” says Kaley, who bought the rights to the book the show is based on and is also the executive producer. “She has moved to Los Angeles, she’s in a serious relationship. Cassie is doing pretty well.” On the outside, that is…
SCRATCHING THE SURFACE
What Cassie’s friends see and what’s going on are two different matters since there’s a little secret the frequent flier hasn’t told anyone. “She’s now a secret agent for the CIA. Not a full field agent, but she goes on undercover missions. She’s taken to this like a duck to water and that’s the thing she’s probably avoiding thinking about,” says Kaley. In season 1, Cassie woke up next to the murdered passenger she had drunk sex with and she spent the season searching for the killer who framed her. “Now she’s working as a spy.
She doesn’t want to admit to herself that she’s struggling. Cassie isn’t a spy but she’s convinced herself that she’s doing okay and that she’s fine,” says the 36-year-old actress. Don’t forget that Cassie was the poster girl for self-destruction in season 1. Her wild habits earned her a reputation and she almost went to prison for it.
WHO’S THAT GIRL?
Using her real job as a way to travel the world is a perfect cover for Cassie to do CIA work because no one asks questions about why she’s travelling. But there’s a problem with her assignment in episode 1. “Cassie is staking her mark in the hotel across the street and sees him having sex with a blonde,” explains Kaley. “And she realises that this woman has the exact same back tattoo as her – Cassie is watching her doppelgänger!” Cassie’s first thought is that she’s being framed again and she’s not far off, adds the actress. “Cassie isn’t a typical spy so she doesn’t follow protocol and that gets on the nerves of her big boss Dot (Cheryl Hines, Cheryl in comedy series Curb Your Enthusiasm). But having another person put her in trouble with the law isn’t something Cassie is going to take lying down, adds Kaley. “She needs to prove that she’s innocent. She did it in season 1 and she’s doing it again. The difference is that now Cassie has tools to deal with this thanks to her CIA training. But there’s a problem…”
Cassie doesn’t just have to deal with a physical lookalike, she’s dealing with herself, says Kaley. “Cassie has been kidding herself about being sober for a year. She’s blanking out her drinking and has a devil on her shoulder. She’s talking to herself and having conversations with ‘Evil Cassie’ who’s egging her on to do bad things again. Cassie is battling her demons and her mind.” That mental fight is part of an important topic, adds Kaley. “Cassie is an alcoholic. She has problems and she’s accepting of that. She’s ready to make a change and any viewers who’ve got addiction problems will get a better understanding.
They will see themselves in Cassie and maybe be ready to ask for help when they see how she breaks. It’s sad but that’s how the real world is – when you collapse, you collapse hard and it’s not a pretty sight. But it’s the start of a good thing.”