{"id":1926,"date":"2026-06-11T19:40:45","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T19:40:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1926"},"modified":"2026-06-11T19:40:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T19:40:45","slug":"the-paper-star-sabrina-impacciatore-on-catfishing-learning-to-do-the-worm-dance-and-working-with-an-all-female-creative-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1926","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The Paper\u2019 Star Sabrina Impacciatore on Catfishing, Learning to do the Worm Dance, and Working With an All-Female Creative Team"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\tEpisode 5 of Peacock\u2019s mockumentary series \u201cThe Paper\u201d marks an important turning point for Sabrina Impacciatore\u2019s Esmerelda Grand. The series follows a group of journalists working under editor-in-chief Ned Sampson, played by Domhnall Gleeson. The Toledo Truth Teller was once a well-respected publication, but now mostly licenses stories from larger news organizations and has only two real journalists on staff.<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Spider Noir\u2019 Team on Bringing \u2018German Expressionism\u2019 to Comic Series and Having Nicolas Cage \u2018Get the Snob Hat Off\u2019 and Make a TV Show<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tIn the fifth episode, titled \u201cScam Alert,\u201d Ned chases a story about a local scammer operating through a dating app and realizes he may already have the scoop when he learns Esmerelda was one of the victims. Impacciatore knew the episode would give Esmerelda a chance to finally shine. The \u201cWhite Lotus\u201d star had one goal: \u201cI wanted her to be lovable somehow. So I made strong choices about her emotional vulnerability and fragility.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWith Esmerelda anchoring the episode, it only seemed fitting that women helped bring it all together, starting with writer Mo Welch. The idea of a catfishing episode was always in the ether; Welch tells Variety<\/em> that while she has never been catfished, she knows enough women who have been scammed by men. \u201cThat\u2019s where I probably helped,\u201d says the scribe.<\/p>\n

\n\tDirector Tazbah Chavez went into helming the episode with Welch\u2019s \u201cstrong blueprint\u201d for the story \u2014 and the most important factor was creating the right environment.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWith Mo, it\u2019s about making sure we\u2019re consistent with the feeling and the meaning of her script,\u201d
Chavez says. \u201cWith Chloe Weaver, the DP, it\u2019s about making sure we\u2019re consistent with the visual language of the show \u2014 and then making that happen to give Sabrina as much freedom as possible to do things that we can\u2019t imagine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tImpacciatore was more than grateful to have Chavez lead the episode.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cTazbah was the perfect director to do this because it was the first time that Esmerelda was opening up,\u201d she says. \u201cHer objective was to cre ate an environment where I could play. I was feeling so understood, safe, and loved because I went nuts with Esmerelda in this episode.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tAnd she\u2019s not kidding.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn a post-credits scene, Nicole (Ramona Young) and Mare (Chelsea Frei) invite Esmerelda to a ladies\u2019 night out at the Macaroni Barn. Cut to Esmerelda wearing a vinyl catsuit and busting a move on the dance floor. Impacciatore explains that there was only one line in the script: \u201cIt said, \u2018Are you girls going to watch me while I\u2019m doing the worm?\u2019 I thought that was the funniest line I have read in years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHowever, Impacciatore admits she didn\u2019t really know what she was getting herself into. She spent a day with a choreographer rehearsing the scene; after, she went home and went down a rabbit hole of online tutorials.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI didn\u2019t sleep,\u201d she says. \u201cI was doing the worm in bed, and the mattress was very soft, so it was a bit complicated.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen she arrived on set the next day, she felt a mix of emotions. \u201cI was so scared to do this wrong, and I was so excited to do it that I jumped in the middle of the set, and I started to be a crazy worm,\u201d she adds. \u201cI hurt my knees, and all the blood was coming out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tImpacciatore laughs, \u201cI was so crazy that I did everything during the rehearsals. That\u2019s why this episode is full of crazy moments that I will never forget because I still have the signs on my knees. I\u2019ve never completely recovered from that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tChavez recalls watching Impacciatore in her costume on the dance floor going hard during rehearsals and giving it all. \u201cI would ask, \u2018How many more times do you want to do this?\u2019 and she said, \u2018One more.\u2019 I\u2019m going to let Sabrina go until Sabrina is happy,\u201d Chavez says. \u201cI had no idea that she had hurt her shins!\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\tCostume designer Kathleen Felix Hager says the idea also came from Sabrina\u2019s mind.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cShe wanted a catsuit. We had several different ones, but then that vinyl catsuit just seemed to be the perfect thing,\u201d she says. Hager\u2019s biggest concern was that it wouldn\u2019t rip when Impacciatore moved. But to the actor\u2019s credit, \u201cyou could put her in the most constrictive thing, and she would figure out a way to physically move her body to make it work,\u201d says Hager. <\/p>\n

\n\tWhile the episode gives Esmerelda more of an arc, it also highlights how women collectively come together.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhen she cracks, even though she annoys her colleagues, Nicole and Mare still rally around to take care of her,\u201d Hager says. \u201cTo see the ladies let loose after work and show up for each other was really just a good moment for the show. It gave us a peek into another aspect of who these people are.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFemale unity was reflected behind the camera, particularly on this episode. Hager says it added \u201can extra layer of like, \u2018I got you, and I want to support you in this endeavor.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWeaver notes that the episode was her favorite to work on. \u201cI had the most dialogue in this episode about how to make it great,\u201d the DP says. \u201cUs women really, really like to discuss things. We like to have it be a conversation, to throw out ideas. This was the most conversation about how to tackle something that I had in all the seven episodes I got to take on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWeaver also reflected on the technical aspects and how they collectively navigated those challenges.
\u201cWe had episodes where we were in this enormous bullpen, and characters were spread everywhere. We were still figuring out the show and how we cover scenes like that,\u201d says Weaver. \u201cIt was through these conversations that the language of the show was really developed. Everyone was so instrumental in this particular episode. How do we tackle scenes that are spread so vastly? How do we tackle scenes that are all held within an office and viewed through blinds? It was all a work in progress, and having the ability to talk it through with these women was essential for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tChavez adds that the episode \u2014 and that climactic moment \u2014 showed the multidimensionality of the women: \u201cThey\u2019re not just the people that you see at work. There\u2019s something about women where, even if you\u2019re not getting along, you\u2019ll still get along to dance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIt also was about the entire group of characters empowering one another. \u201cAfter seeing that one is struggling, that moment, to me, was very meaningful, also as a message to give to the audience,\u201d Impacciatore says. \u201cThere is so much literature about women going against each other, women not supporting each other. But I think it\u2019s almost a male narrative that is not helping us in society. So I was very proud to communicate something different.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tChavez concludes, \u201cWhen we think about how the episode ends \u2014 with the women bringing Esmerelda out and dancing \u2014 that is the antidote to loneliness: community, camaraderie, women, friendship and love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more LISTEN: David Harbour Finds a Port in the Storm in \u2018DTF St. Louis\u2019; \u2018Toy Story 5\u2019 Red Carpet Rundown<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“The Paper” star on catfishing and working with an all female creative team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1925,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[1659,1528],"class_list":["post-1926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tv","tag-sabrina-impacciatore","tag-the-paper"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018The Paper\u2019 Star Sabrina Impacciatore on Catfishing, Learning to do the Worm Dance, and Working With an All-Female Creative Team - Relocation Observer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1926\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018The Paper\u2019 Star Sabrina Impacciatore on Catfishing, Learning to do the Worm Dance, and Working With an All-Female Creative Team - 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