May 22, 2026 5:07pm IST
Jake Johnson, Jessy Hodges on their ‘Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed’ Chemistry and the AI Moment that Scared Them (EXCLUSIVE)
Apple TV’s latest series, “Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed,” guarantees a scare for anyone who’s putting their entire life online. The show, from David J. Rosen, stars Tatiana Maslany as Paula, a single mother caught in a web of digital voyeurism and blackmail after she gets involved with a cam boy. She’s also struggling for custody of her daughter, Hazel, with her ex-husband, Karl (Jake Johnson) and his second wife, Mallory (Jessy Hodges).
In an exclusive chat with Variety India, Johnson and Hodges share their experiences of building chemistry, working with Tatiana Maslany and how scary AI can be.
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What's the most fun thing you both got to do while playing Karl and Mallory?
Jake Johnson: The scene in the flashback when they discover what Paula (Maslany) did to Caleb. Shooting that scene, though really dark and chaotic, was fun for the actors because we weren't locked into positions. We had three cameras shooting that night, which kept moving, so we didn't get stuck. It was all pre-lit and we didn't have to stop after each take. We didn't live in tight close-ups. We just got to shoot the scene, get notes and do it again and again. That was probably the most fun I had.
Jessy Hodges: I agree and I would add in all the stuff with me on the bike, too. It’s just so unique to get to be biking through a Brooklyn neighborhood and then in this incredible Park in Queens, just to be outside in the fall in New York City.
You've both had experiences working behind the camera. Do you now look at your characters from a directorial lens? And does that change the way you approach them?
Jake: No, not for me. But what being behind the camera has done for me is respect what the director is doing more and realize how hard their job is and be so happy to not be wearing two hats at times.
Jessy: It does not affect my approach as an actor at all, but it does really make me understand the world of everything so much more. I’m not doing the thing of “Why am I not in that scene?” You start to look at the production as this big story and ecosystem that you're just a small part of, and that's kind of a relief.
How did you go about building the dynamic between your characters and Tatiana Maslany’s Paula, who is Karl’s ex-wife?
Jake: Well, ours was built gabbing! We spent a lot of time talking, hanging out and going to restaurants. For Jessy, that was all social time. But for me, it was research. I was like, “I'm willing to go to Queens with you and get Chinese food!”
Jessy: I begged him to just please hang out with me!
Jake: We hung out a lot off-camera, and that helped us build Karl and Mallory together; we could easily step into the dynamic. With Tatiana, we didn't hang out very much. A lot of it was just on camera and so there was a disconnect that I thought was nice and felt intentional. It was very much us (Karl and Mallory) and her because that's what the material kind of called for.
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'Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed' portrays digital voyeurism. Has there ever been an incident that scared you about how much of yourself you put online?
Jake: One thing that just blew me away and was shocking was this. I'm also in a movie called “The Dink” that's coming out on Apple TV. My buddy, Josh Greenbaum, the director, and I were trying to figure out the image they're going to use. I liked one, and he liked another, in which it was my face surrounded by these pickleballs. And as a joke, he used AI and changed my face to make me look cross-eyed with crazy teeth. And it looked so good that I was scared with how fast that happened.
Because it looked like me, just more insane. But it looked professional. And I went, “I don't know how you did this, Josh!” And he said, “AI. In two seconds.” That scared me.
After a long day of shooting, what's something that helps you switch off from your characters?
Jake: Cam boys!
Jessy: Yeah, both of us! (laughs) No, for me, it's “The Real Housewives” franchises. Anything on Bravo to just turn my mind off.
“Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed” is streaming on Apple TV, with weekly episodes.
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