‘Mrs. Davis’ Director Alethea Jones Talks British Knights Renaissance & Her Vast Vegemite Supply

If you haven’t checked out Peacock‘s darkly funny epic adventure Mrs. Davis, we suggest making it your next TV quest.

In the eight-part series from creators Tara Hernandez and Damon Lindelof, Betty Gilpin plays Simone, a nun on a mission to destroy Mrs. Davis, an omnipresent and seemingly all-knowing AI algorithm that much of the world’s population has plugged into their ears.

Simone and Mrs. Davis agree: If Simone can destroy the Holy Grail, Mrs. Davis will shut itself down. A mystical and wildly unpredictable odyssey ensues that travels the globe and spans the ages.

Simone’s hunt for the Grail continues in Episode 6, “Alison Treasures: A Southern California Story” (May 4). Simone, Wiley (Jake McDorman), and the Resistance know where to find the Grail, but they’ll need her late father’s (David Arquette) special protective suit, the Lazarus Shroud, to get it. The big problem is that Simone’s mother, Celeste (Elizabeth Marvel), has the suit saved in a highly secure vault and is not giving it up.

Alethea Jones is also an executive producer and directs this episode (as well as Episodes 3 and 4). Known for her work in other offbeat adventures like AMC’s Lodge 49 and HBO Max’s Made for Love, Jones brings a similar vision and style to Mrs. Davis.

“We’re looking for meaning in life, and looking for purpose, and trying to feel special. I think that’s what Mrs. Davis does. She makes each user feel special,” Jones says of the fictional (for now) algorithm that awards virtual wings to obedient users. “We get lost in the wash of all the drama of life. So to feel special and singular is really important to everyone.”

Episode 6, fittingly premiering on Star Wars Day, has a couple of nods to the sci-fi saga. Celeste’s security system is equipped with something similar to the Death Star’s trash compactor, and Simone holds back the walls with a device fittingly called “The Constipator”:

Which looks strikingly similar to Darth Maul powering up his double-bladed lightsaber:

An avid Star Wars fan, Jones says the May the Fourth timing is pure coincidence and not a Jedi mind trick. But there are also nods to another great film franchise.

“I love Indiana Jones as well,” Jones says. “If you look at Episode 4, it’s not written into the script, but Tara and Damon and I, we spoke about it, and I pulled out a lot of Indiana Jones stuff in Episode 4. The dungeon, Hans Ziegler, the mysterious priest. All those things feel very Spielbergian. I tried my best to pay homage to those films.”

In Episode 3, “A Baby with Wings, a Sad Boy With Wings and a Great Helmet,” Jones directs one of the series’ most absurdly funny scenes in which Wiley tries to prove his worth in the Excalibattle: A contest to see who can keep one hand on a giant sword the longest.

“Excalibattle was a highlight of my career,” Jones says. Shot in Spain’s heat, the scenes required a lot of background actors who weren’t all fluent in English. There are also a lot of very dedicated spectators who stay for the entire 40-plus hours of the contest. “We had a whole subculture of who these people were and what they were doing in their spare time,” Jones says. “If you watch really closely, we’ve got sleeping bags out there, and people are drinking soup from Thermoses.”

Another series highlight is gung-ho Resistance leader JQ, played with an aggro aplomb by Chris Diamantopoulos. A former poker player who despises Mrs. Davis for ruining the card game, the Australian-accented JQ is fiercely committed to the cause.

“I will say that I think his Australian accent is better in my episodes,” Jones says. “I was catching him. I come from a background as an actor and I know phonetics, so I knew how to hatch things and how to hear — obviously, I’m Australian, too — but I was able to adjust things.”

Jones was there to help when a particularly Aussie issue arose. Diamantopoulos had the idea that JQ would eat Vegemite from a jar (“Mite me!”) before jumping out of an airplane. “The props team couldn’t get Vegemite in time, so I brought some from home because I have so much Vegemite at home!” she says.

The hunt for the Holy Grail resulted in the discovery of another beloved relic: British Knights sneakers. Popular in the 1980s, the brand plays a pivotal and downright funny role in the series. Behold! The British Knights Miracle:

“Everybody’s talking about a British Knights renaissance!” Jones says. “Everyone wants the shoes! I wanted the shoes! They were specially made British Knights, but they were absolutely legendary partners in this.”

Mrs. Davis, New Episodes, Thursdays, Peacock