Zoe Lister-Jones Breaks Down The Meaning Of Her New Series Slip - Exclusive
Imagining what your life would look like if you had taken an alternate path is exactly what Mae experiences in the series "Slip." As she wakes up each morning in an alternate universe, over the course of a week, she sees herself as a wealthy wife, a mother, and even a widow.
While writing the seven-episode series, Zoe Lister-Jones had already thought up every scenario imaginable for Mae's life. "I wanted to let my imagination take the reins," the writer, director, and star of the show said during an exclusive interview with The List. "It's very much a pure look into my own psyche."
After all, every human being has dreamed about what their life could potentially have in store for them — whether that's figuratively in a daydream or quite literally while they're asleep. Mae is someone who has become so bored with her life that she has gotten to a point where she would rather spend the day asleep and dreaming about what could be, contemplating what her true place is in the universe. As we watch Mae wake up each morning to a new life in each episode, we couldn't help but wonder: Were these alternate universes she's experiencing all intended to just be a dream?
Did Mae dream up each of the alternate universes?
Living out a new life while you're asleep and dreaming is referenced often throughout "Slip" — but that's only a small part of the plot. If you ask creator Zoe Lister-Jones if her character Mae actually dreamt up all the alternate universes she experiences, the answer is no. "I didn't see them as a dream to Mae. I liked the idea of us actually going on a multiversal romp," she laughed.
However, that isn't to say that anyone who interpreted the series this way is in the wrong. "I like to leave things open to interpretation," Lister-Jones added.
Similar to what someone experiences while they're asleep and dreaming, Mae is always trying to differentiate between what is real and what is not when it comes to her experiences in these alternate universes — just like viewers trying "to navigate what's authentic and what's not," Lister-Jones explained, "what feels like it's taking us on the right road and what's not taking us on the right road."
The inspiration for the series originally stemmed from a Buddhist concept called a "hungry ghost," which is a creature that is constantly wanting more out of life — just like the character Mae, who has often dreamed of what her life could be like. "Dreams are the ultimate way for us to gain access [to] our fantasies and our fears," Lister-Jones said. "This journey is that for Mae, for sure."
The first season of "Slip" is available to stream now on The Roku Channel.