The Good-Enough Woman

Depictions of mothers on TV generally suck. In her latest role, Sandra Oh wants to change that.

THE CHAIR premieres August 20 on Netflix.

“THERE IS SOMETHING profound,” Sandra Oh says, “about moving into the mother stage of your career.” In The Chair, the actress plays Ji-Yoon Kim, the first woman and the first person of color to chair the English department at a small university. At home, Ji-Yoon is a single mother figuring out how to connect with her adopted daughter, JuJu (Everly Carganilla). The Chair co-creator and co-writer Amanda Peet spoke with Oh about one of their shared goals for the show: puncturing the taboos around motherhood that still exist onscreen. LINDSAY PEOPLES WAGNER

SANDRA OH: One of the things I love about you the most is the way you direct— it’s always straight from your vagina.

AMANDA PEET: You act from your vagina; I direct from my vagina. It’s where creativity is rooted.

S.O.: I have had such a long week. I’m a bit goofy, but honestly, when I think about where I get my power and creativity from to do all of this, that’s where my mind goes.

A.P.: When we met, something we clicked over was the idea of showing a character whose relationship with her daughter is not entirely aspirational. I can’t relate to most of the mothers I see in movies and on TV. We shared the desire to strike a different chord.

S.O.: Correct. I know classically a lot of actresses my age are upset and say, “Oh, I have to play the mother or the wife,” but there is tremendous richness in all of these experiences and relationships.