‘Miss You, Love You’ Stars Break Down the Dark Comedy’s Real-Life Inspiration (Exclusive)

Jim Rash is packing an emotional punch with his latest film Miss You, Love You, which has officially arrived on HBO and HBO Max. Led by Andrew Rannells and Allison Janney, they play Jamie and Diane, essentially two strangers who are forced to get along in the wake of loss. Warning: Spoilers for Miss You, Love You ahead!

Jamie is the supposed assistant of Diane’s son Tyler, who is never seen onscreen, and he’s been recruited to help her make funeral arrangements for her late husband, Tyler’s stepfather. The movie kicks off with little preamble, forcing the viewers to immerse themselves in the awkward predicament Diane and Jamie find themselves in.

The truth is that despite telling Diane that Tyler might come, deep down they all know he’s not planning to show up for the event, which viewers later learn stems from a long-brewing tension fed by Tyler’s biological father after Diane cheated on him with her late husband. Much of Jamie’s behavior also stems from the fact that he had a personal relationship with Tyler, meaning their connection was a lot deeper than just coworkers.

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Less romantic now, Jamie’s conflicted feelings for Tyler stem from his own traumatic history of growing up gay. These realities are raised following Diane and Jamie’s time spent together in New Mexico, where she’d moved to with her husband from New York City. Along with these revelations, which include the fact that both Diane and Jamie receive the same kind of “miss you, love you” texts from Tyler, there’s plenty of comedy interspersed in this grief journey, especially with Diane’s neighbor Judith (Bonnie Hunt).

“I love that woman so much, she was hilarious,” Janney muses, regarding Hunt.

“Her mind just works in such a specific way that she took those scenes and made them so real,” Rannells shares.

As for capturing the journey of grief Jamie helps Diane through, Janney notes, “The older we get, everyone’s got to deal… with grief and resentment and forgiveness and ultimately connection, which is so beautiful about this movie.”

Part of the film’s premise stems from a personal experience of Rash’s as he reveals, “This movie in particular came from a moment of dealing with grief. My father, who did have Parkinson’s over 8 years ago now… passed, and so the premise almost came that day, because my sister had some work stuff while she was navigating, and so her assistant came along, and I just found it fascinating [that someone] I had never met… was just invited too, and he was obviously very helpful and I just thought how interesting to [see this] through his eyes.”

As for how viewers are meant to feel about Tyler, a figure that both Diane and Jamie defend to one another for different reasons, “There’s an understanding that Diane comes to about Tyler, that he’s still the same little boy, the same conflicted and anxiety-ridden boy He’s just doing the best he can and I think in his way, he is showing love for his mother by sending Jamie.”

“I love that we never see him and you never hear him,” Rannells adds, pointing out that the main communication viewers see of Tyler onscreen is done through text.

As for whether Jamie and Diane will ever see each other again after this experience, Rannells and Janney offer their own vision for a potential New York City meet-up. In the meantime, check out the full interview above, and let us know what you thought of Miss You, Love You in the comments section below.

Miss You, Love You, Streaming now, HBO Max