Rules to Live By
Inspired by our popular etiquette guide: New rules for behaving in polite society.
Such Brave Girls may be television’s most audacious streaming comedy right now, and, somehow, the girls in question keep getting themselves in increasingly problematic predicaments. “My challenge is … how do I make it worse?” creator and star Kat Sadler tells the Cut over Zoom while having tea and biscuits at home in South London. Producers initially balked at story lines she created for the dysfunctional-family comedy that may have been a bit too incendiary, she says: “They’re like, that’s too outrageous, or that’s more upsetting than funny.” But that provocation is exactly what makes this somewhat autobiographical series — which falls somewhere between the vulnerable nihilism of Fleabag and the queer chaos of Broad City — so sharp.
Such Brave Girls, which is produced by A24 for BBC Three and Hulu, recently returned for a second season. Sadler stars as Josie, a depressed 20-something trying to dump her clingy boyfriend while rediscovering her sexuality, and Lizzie Davidson is featured as Billie, her dominant foil who happens to also be Sadler’s real-life sister. They are both just trying to survive the weight of the hardest parts of life — like heteropatriarchy and capitalism — under the stewardship of their narcissistic mother, Deb (Louise Brealey), whose primary goal is to marry her boyfriend in the hopes of upgrading the family into his bigger house. The opening sequence consists of the show’s title written in pubes slithering down bathroom tiles — an appropriate image to encapsulate the gross brilliance of the series.
Below, Sadler talks about acting opposite her sister, why her friends don’t ask her for advice unless they need to be enabled, and why she stays off X these days.
With Such Brave Girls being so autobiographical, how do you navigate putting so much of yourself into this role and show?
It’s hard! I didn’t really have much of a break between series one and two, and I would have loved to go out and live life a bit and go get some more stories. It’s a weird, cathartic process, because you try to cope or deal with something that you have not processed yet, but it’s fun doing that onscreen.
You’ve mentioned you wish you had a speech prepared when you won the BAFTA. What do you wish you would have said, in hindsight?
Yet again, no time to prepare! I was just flailing; the whole thing came out like a spoken-word poem, a real car crash. I wish I had said something that was more of a call to arms, like if you feel like you don’t belong, hopefully the show is proof that anyone can sit down and write a show.
You act opposite your sister, Lizzie Davidson — do you have any rules or boundaries you’ve set with each other on set?
In season one, we had a lot of teething problems because our dynamic was always there. Like, she was the boss and I was the more submissive sister, even though I’m the older one. I don’t think she realized I was going to be on set for everything. We had to implement some rules, like I had to give her notes via our director, which is absolutely fair enough. In series two, I think we reassured each other so much that we want each other there. I asked her to come to stuff she’s not in because I want to make sure I’m happy with what I’m doing, and then the same for her.
Who would be your dream guest star for Such Brave Girls season three?
I want Deb to have a massive celebrity hookup. My sister and I love the idea of Deb rebounding and insisting that she got with Michael Bublé and none of us believe her.
Speaking of hooking up, Josie tends to think she’s in a relationship with women she follows and is attracted to. What’s your No. 1 rule for dating?
Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve been on a date? With this job, you start working and then your entire personal life goes out the window. Try to find them on social media first, make sure they’re not a psychopath? Oh, and find out their star sign. Good to check whether they’re going to be up for talking about it, because if they don’t subscribe to that, we’re going to have nothing to talk about, sorry!
What’s your sign?
I love going right into this because it’s really the queer bible. I’m an Aries, but I relate more to my Gemini moon. I feel like I have a lot of Gemini moon qualities.
Do you think it’s okay to ghost after one date?
I feel like I’m being a hypocrite if I tell you that it’s not okay. Having done that multiple times, sometimes I feel like you just don’t owe someone an explanation. But I do think the more polite thing is to text someone. So, publicly, I’ll say yeah, you simply must give them some closure. But personally, I will not be doing that.
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Such Brave Girls presents mental health in a very unvarnished way. Do you have any rules around your mental health? How do you stay afloat in this chaotic world?
At the moment I’m in a phase of, like, if you keep your mind busy and focus on something, then less of the darkness can get in. It’s probably quite toxic, but the busier I am, it seems like the better my mental health is. It makes you feel important. So many emails to reply to! I don’t even reply; I just read them. I know they’re there. And lots of sleep.
I’m also big on sleep. I love that Dakota Johnson says she sleeps 14 hours a day.
Thank God. I’m glad someone is finally coming out for sleep representation. I feel like that’s not said a lot. She’s an advocate for the truth, because some people would call that depression, but I think it looks healthy.
Do you have any rules for posting on social media? You seem to use X less than you used to, compared to your viral tweet days.
I used to post jokes on there loads, and then one of my writer friends said to me, like, What are you doing? If you’re spending any time writing, you should be writing the script. That totally was a wake-up call. Like, what am I actually doing posting this content for free? I am trying to do better on Instagram.
Do you look up fan reactions of the show?
No, but my sister does like a hawk. She’s got much thicker skin than me. I’ll see one mean thing and will think about that for the rest of my life. Someone tweeted once that I look like Neville Longbottom, and I’ve literally thought about that every third thought. I’m a fiery Aries — we’re not built for criticism!
Given the trolls, do you have any rules around using your phone?
I’m trying to be more balanced with it, but I’m obsessed with TikTok. I use TikTok probably four hours a day at bedtime. It’s really bad. I wish I had more rules.
What’s your FYP like these days?
Cat-rescue videos, some troubling Reddit thread about the worst things, then here’s something I’ve baked in the oven. It’s a real mishmash. Lots of foster cats. What were the cats doing before they had these accounts? I feel like this is one of the only good things that the internet has done, make people donate to these charities.
Speaking of cats, you added a cat to the cast at the end of the second season!
I honestly don’t know what I’m gonna do about that cat. People tell you not to work with animals. It wasn’t the easiest shoot, but it was nice having a cat on set. It was a good bit of therapy. So maybe I’ll try and fight for it.
What’s the last app you downloaded on your phone?
The last one I tried to download, but my phone told me I didn’t have enough space for, was an app that’s like Shazam but for bird sounds.
What are your rules for a successful dinner party?
Get the food right. Make sure that it’s a crowd-pleaser. Don’t go making anything crazy. Make sure you have nice basics. I would want a delicious pasta, some lovely bruschetta. And you have to organize the seating so everyone’s meeting someone new. Also, I have to be the games master.
What’s your No. 1 rule for giving advice?
I think everybody knows not to come to me. I’m the friend who endorses bad behavior. If you’re thinking, Should I stay and have one more drink? Should I have this affair? I’m the one you text, and I’ll be, like, uh, yeah! I come judgment free, and I’m endorsing whatever you need to do.
What’s your No. 1 rule for meeting other famous people?
I’m so scared of them. I try to separate out the fact they’re super-famous and just treat them like they’re a person. It’s hard, because all I want to do is reference all the things they’ve done and talk about it all.
Do you gossip?
Unrelentingly, yeah. All the time. It’s therapy. People who don’t I’m very suspicious of. I feel like gossip is a very natural part of humanity, and if we deny, what else do we deny of our own existence? It adds color to life. Obviously, I hate when anyone talks about me, and it’s the worst thing in the world. I’ll go home and cry for days if I find that anyone has said anything bad. But if it’s not about me, gossip is incredible.
