Molly Parker talks the Robinsons & strong women on Lost In Space

by W. Andrew Powell
Molly Parker as Maureen Robinson in Lost In Space

Netflix has reimagined Lost In Space, and the fun, dramatic, and action-packed new series debuts tomorrow. Making its premiere in Toronto with a fan screening last night, star Molly Parker was in town for the big event, and I had a chance to sit down with her to talk about the Robinsons and their journey ahead.

Molly Parker stars as Maureen Robinson, an engineer who has a tough job ahead of her. The whole Robinson family, including their three kids, joined a colonization effort to reach Alpha Centauri, and they’re going to build a new future for themselves and humanity. Maureen’s relationship with her military husband has been rocky though, and between them, and their kids, they all need to come together as a family.

The Robinsons are in trouble though when their ship crashes on an inhospitable planet where everything starts to go wrong from the very beginning. Life for the group is only going to get more complicated too as they try to escape the planet.

“They are just such great people and we’ve become really, really close,” Parker said about her co-stars. “Toby Stephens, who plays my husband in the show, he and I spent a lot of time trying to make sure that the relationship between the parents was real and complex.”

“I hadn’t seen the original when Netflix first approached me about doing the show,” Parker said. “I guess I had a kind of idea of it, that there was a robot and super-cheesy sets, so I wasn’t altogether convinced that it was altogether a good idea. But then I read the script and the script was so nuanced and you’re right into the action right away, and I felt very comforted that Netflix was making it because I knew that they would support it in the way that it would need to be supported.”

Parker was also really thrilled with the character, the clever writing, and the way one cliché is taken apart.

“This idea of mother as a stereotype is really one that I am interested in smashing because I’m a mother,” she said, “and there are lots and lots and lots of us and we’re not all ‘mother’. And this woman is probably more kind of like science-minded, right-brained, logical, rational than any mother we’ve seen on TV and I think that’s interesting. Her difficulties are really around her lack of emotional intelligence.”

“The other thing that I think is really important about the show is that it’s 30 years in the future, and they have imagined a world in which all this stuff that we’re talking about–about these women being strong, female characters–is never discussed because it’s just assumed that any woman could do the job that a man could do, period,” Parker said. “It’s going to be great to not have to have this conversation any more, you know.”

Lost In Space also stars Toby Stephens as John Robinson, Taylor Russell as Judy Robinson, Mina Sundwall as Penny Robinson, Maxwell Jenkins as Will Robinson, and Parker Posey as Dr. Smith. Watch the series and find out more on Netflix.com.

Watch my interview with Molly Parker:

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