THE BEST KINDS
OF FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS
For Stephanie Kurtzuba and Manu Narayan, their roles in Apple TV’s Your Friends and Neighbors highlight all the great things about being a working actor in New Jersey.
Photography: Chad Hunt
Written by Angela Matusik, Editor in Chief, Socko!
OF FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS
For Stephanie Kurtzuba and Manu Narayan, their roles in Apple TV’s Your Friends and Neighbors highlight all the great things about being a working actor in New Jersey.
Photography: Chad Hunt
Written by Angela Matusik, Editor in Chief, Socko!
Toward the end of the first episode of Season 1 of Apple TV’s Your Friends and Neighbors, the audience is introduced to a crowd of handsome, well-heeled suburbanites gathered around a pool for a few drinks and a bit of gossip. The show, which follows the criminal escapades of Andrew “Coop” Cooper, played by the always charming Jon Hamm, hasn’t yet turned dark, but you suspect it’s going that way: This luxurious utopia isn’t all that it appears to be. Sure, Aston Martins zip down curved driveways to brick Tudor mansions sporting perfectly manicured lawns with in-ground swimming pools and tennis courts—but something wicked lies underneath.
Unless, of course, you’re from New Jersey’s South Orange–Maplewood–Livingston area, because then you may be thinking, Hey! Isn’t that Steph? or Wait, I spotted Manu! For those of us living in the SOMA area, it turns out that our actual friends and neighbors are in Your Friends and Neighbors: the immensely talented Stephanie Kurtzuba and Manu Narayan, two core cast members of the hit show, now in its second season (new episodes drop every Friday).
Kurtzuba is one of those incredibly nimble actors who demands your attention in everything she does, even when sharing the screen with legends like Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street), Robert De Niro (The Irishman), and Mark Ruffalo (Task). Her turn as Diane Miller in Your Friends and Neighbors is no different, evidenced by her boozy pool party splash that makes everyone momentarily freeze at the end of Season 2 first episode.
Narayan plays Hari Sahni, one of the dads in the hood—or, rather, country club—who emanates the kind of affable nice-guy quality one can never quite fully trust. Though he is perfectly comfortable dipping into a casual basketball game or soaking in the sauna in YF&N, Narayan himself truly shines on the stage. Recent performances include The Baker’s Wife and Company on Broadway; he is currently starring in The Lunchbox at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre.
SOCKO!’s Angela Matusik managed to gather the busy actors together for a Sunday gab session, to talk about how they found themselves on set together in some of the most swanky mansions on the East Coast and why they are happy to call the suburbs of New Jersey home.
Unless, of course, you’re from New Jersey’s South Orange–Maplewood–Livingston area, because then you may be thinking, Hey! Isn’t that Steph? or Wait, I spotted Manu! For those of us living in the SOMA area, it turns out that our actual friends and neighbors are in Your Friends and Neighbors: the immensely talented Stephanie Kurtzuba and Manu Narayan, two core cast members of the hit show, now in its second season (new episodes drop every Friday).
Kurtzuba is one of those incredibly nimble actors who demands your attention in everything she does, even when sharing the screen with legends like Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street), Robert De Niro (The Irishman), and Mark Ruffalo (Task). Her turn as Diane Miller in Your Friends and Neighbors is no different, evidenced by her boozy pool party splash that makes everyone momentarily freeze at the end of Season 2 first episode.
Narayan plays Hari Sahni, one of the dads in the hood—or, rather, country club—who emanates the kind of affable nice-guy quality one can never quite fully trust. Though he is perfectly comfortable dipping into a casual basketball game or soaking in the sauna in YF&N, Narayan himself truly shines on the stage. Recent performances include The Baker’s Wife and Company on Broadway; he is currently starring in The Lunchbox at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre.
SOCKO!’s Angela Matusik managed to gather the busy actors together for a Sunday gab session, to talk about how they found themselves on set together in some of the most swanky mansions on the East Coast and why they are happy to call the suburbs of New Jersey home.
Angela Matusik: Your Friends & Neighbors is shot mostly in Long Island and Westchester. When did you realize that you were the New Jerseyans in the cast?
Stephanie Kurtzuba: I think it was when we were on set the first time. I don’t remember exactly how it came out, but I do remember feeling like, Oh, thank God.
Manu Narayan: But we knew of each other, in the group of the “friends and neighbors” right? Because a lot of Broadway actors are in the cast. And we both come from that world.
Matusik: Let’s rewind the clock a bit. Manu, you’re from the Pittsburgh area. Steph, you’re from Omaha, Nebraska. How did you get here, to the East Coast, becoming actors, and then ultimately, living in New Jersey with your families?
Narayan: I grew up in Pittsburgh to South Indian immigrants and went to Carnegie Mellon University to study music, voice and saxophone. When I came out of Carnegie Mellon, I went on the road with Miss Saigon. But the goal was always to be in New York City. In my 20s and 30s, I lived in New York City, and then got pulled away to L.A. for various reasons. And I met my wife, Laura Kai Chen, there and lived in L.A. for about six years, and then I got called back to do some Broadway work here [My Fair Lady at Lincoln Center], and she was in L.A. As you know, to have a marriage, you have to kind of be together, not in two separate cities for an extended period of time. She’s an actor as well and said, “You know what, I think I can move my home base to New York.” I’d been working with a few people who were living in the South Orange–Maplewood area. And we started looking. We lucked into a house, and I have not looked back. We love it here.
Matusik: Excellent. Stephanie, your turn.
Kurtzuba: Oh, it’s not that compelling of a story. I was born in Omaha, made my way to NYU, undergrad; I still don’t know how I tripped into that pile of gold. Then, of course, I was just here doing the actor thing, building a résumé, and started doing the Broadway thing. Then, I got married and my husband and I decided we wanted to be parents. Our first kid was born, and I was like, “Get me out of this city.” I was doing Mary Poppins on Broadway at the time, and there were two guys in my cast who, every night as soon as our curtain call ended, would run out. And I was like, “Where are Sean and Matt going?” And somebody said, “They’re catching the train.”
That’s how I learned that New Jersey Transit waits for no one. So, we started looking at houses. We looked probably off and on for like six months until we found our house.
Stephanie Kurtzuba: I think it was when we were on set the first time. I don’t remember exactly how it came out, but I do remember feeling like, Oh, thank God.
Manu Narayan: But we knew of each other, in the group of the “friends and neighbors” right? Because a lot of Broadway actors are in the cast. And we both come from that world.
Matusik: Let’s rewind the clock a bit. Manu, you’re from the Pittsburgh area. Steph, you’re from Omaha, Nebraska. How did you get here, to the East Coast, becoming actors, and then ultimately, living in New Jersey with your families?
Narayan: I grew up in Pittsburgh to South Indian immigrants and went to Carnegie Mellon University to study music, voice and saxophone. When I came out of Carnegie Mellon, I went on the road with Miss Saigon. But the goal was always to be in New York City. In my 20s and 30s, I lived in New York City, and then got pulled away to L.A. for various reasons. And I met my wife, Laura Kai Chen, there and lived in L.A. for about six years, and then I got called back to do some Broadway work here [My Fair Lady at Lincoln Center], and she was in L.A. As you know, to have a marriage, you have to kind of be together, not in two separate cities for an extended period of time. She’s an actor as well and said, “You know what, I think I can move my home base to New York.” I’d been working with a few people who were living in the South Orange–Maplewood area. And we started looking. We lucked into a house, and I have not looked back. We love it here.
Matusik: Excellent. Stephanie, your turn.
Kurtzuba: Oh, it’s not that compelling of a story. I was born in Omaha, made my way to NYU, undergrad; I still don’t know how I tripped into that pile of gold. Then, of course, I was just here doing the actor thing, building a résumé, and started doing the Broadway thing. Then, I got married and my husband and I decided we wanted to be parents. Our first kid was born, and I was like, “Get me out of this city.” I was doing Mary Poppins on Broadway at the time, and there were two guys in my cast who, every night as soon as our curtain call ended, would run out. And I was like, “Where are Sean and Matt going?” And somebody said, “They’re catching the train.”
That’s how I learned that New Jersey Transit waits for no one. So, we started looking at houses. We looked probably off and on for like six months until we found our house.
Matusik: What’s your commute like to the set? Do you carpool?
Kurtzuba: You know what? We don’t. We should, but we don’t.
Narayan: We often have different call times. The women tend to get called earlier than the men because they have hair and makeup.
Kurtzuba: You know what? We don’t. We should, but we don’t.
Narayan: We often have different call times. The women tend to get called earlier than the men because they have hair and makeup.
This may be my Timothée Chalamet moment, but I don’t really believe in backstory.”
– Stephanie Kurtzuba
Matusik: Your characters in the show live in the fictional, affluent town of Westmount Village. Do you have backstories for them on how they ended up there?
Kurtzuba: I’ll be honest with you—this may be my Timothée Chalamet moment, “Nobody goes to the ballet and opera”—but I don’t really believe in backstory. I find it a limited tool. It can be fun to be more focused on what you are doing at the moment. Like, if Manu and I sat down and go, “Hey, what if we have this thing in this scene? Because maybe we went to college together?” That kind of stuff can be really interesting to layer in. My process is, What’s the scene? What’s the story? What’s the moment?
Narayan: I kind of agree with Steph. Sometimes backstory can take you away from yourself. But it can be helpful in a play because you have the entire story right there. A TV series is constantly evolving and constantly changing. They’re writing each episode based on what you’re bringing and what they’re seeing globally from everyone.
Kurtzuba: We were all thrown together in this big blender for Season 1. And the writers probably looked at them and said, these characters are coming back, so we can have a little more time to flesh them out. In Season 1, they set up my character, Diane Miller, in the first episode. She is a woman who’s always on vacation, so unaware of her privilege, and then they put a wineglass in my hand. And I made the choice to make her a little bit of a drunk. Then, every episode, I kept saying, “Hey, can I get a drink in my hand?”
Matusik: So you made Diane a lush! Were you surprised when you saw the script for the first episode of Season 2, which ends with you taking a drunken tumble into a pool during a huge party? I bet that was hard to film.
Kurtzuba: I was so excited. We shot it in three or four days, and then did reshoots at some point. When we originally shot it, it was maybe 52, 53 degrees outside. They had just opened the pool. The water was definitely warm, at least body temperature. I went into that water and then I stayed there until my lips turned blue.
Kurtzuba: I’ll be honest with you—this may be my Timothée Chalamet moment, “Nobody goes to the ballet and opera”—but I don’t really believe in backstory. I find it a limited tool. It can be fun to be more focused on what you are doing at the moment. Like, if Manu and I sat down and go, “Hey, what if we have this thing in this scene? Because maybe we went to college together?” That kind of stuff can be really interesting to layer in. My process is, What’s the scene? What’s the story? What’s the moment?
Narayan: I kind of agree with Steph. Sometimes backstory can take you away from yourself. But it can be helpful in a play because you have the entire story right there. A TV series is constantly evolving and constantly changing. They’re writing each episode based on what you’re bringing and what they’re seeing globally from everyone.
Kurtzuba: We were all thrown together in this big blender for Season 1. And the writers probably looked at them and said, these characters are coming back, so we can have a little more time to flesh them out. In Season 1, they set up my character, Diane Miller, in the first episode. She is a woman who’s always on vacation, so unaware of her privilege, and then they put a wineglass in my hand. And I made the choice to make her a little bit of a drunk. Then, every episode, I kept saying, “Hey, can I get a drink in my hand?”
Matusik: So you made Diane a lush! Were you surprised when you saw the script for the first episode of Season 2, which ends with you taking a drunken tumble into a pool during a huge party? I bet that was hard to film.
Kurtzuba: I was so excited. We shot it in three or four days, and then did reshoots at some point. When we originally shot it, it was maybe 52, 53 degrees outside. They had just opened the pool. The water was definitely warm, at least body temperature. I went into that water and then I stayed there until my lips turned blue.
Now I know how people who are naked all the time feel. I should have worked out a little bit. Sorry.” – Manu Narayan
Matusik: It’s a great scene. And then what about Manu? In episode one we see you wearing just a towel in the sauna.
Narayan: Oh, my God. I was like, “Are you kidding me?” Now I know how people who are naked all the time feel. I should have worked out a little bit. Sorry.
Kurtzuba: I watched that and thought you looked great. All the guys do. But I was glad to see the men feeling the [perfect body] pressure that women do.
Matusik: We are a few episodes into this season now. What can we expect as we head toward the finale on June 5? More gowns, I assume?
Kurtzuba: There are more gowns. There are more parties. There are more twists. They did a really nice job keeping the show surprising and interesting. It’s such a great hook, right? A guy stealing from his friends and neighbors. We have a very gifted and smart showrunner, Jonathan Tropper, and also our entire writers’ room and producing team. They’re smart people. In this season they introduce the James Marsden character, Owen Ashe, and he comes in and really muddies the water.
Narayan: Stephanie, when I saw you do that opening monologue in the first season, I was like, “Oh, she’s so free, and she’s so effortless.” And Marsden is like that, too. Watching him is a master class. He has so much dialogue, but he effortlessly delivers it word perfect every time. Jon Hamm is amazing, too. It’s great to be on set with these superstars. Not just because they light up a room, but they’re really talented.
Kurtzuba: And they ain’t hard on the eyeballs [laughs]. Also, the women, too. Amanda Peet?!
Everybody’s stunning. And it is so beautiful and lush. Everything about it is just so gorgeous. We have the best costume designer, Jacqueline Demeterio. Her taste is impeccable.
Narayan: Oh, my God. I was like, “Are you kidding me?” Now I know how people who are naked all the time feel. I should have worked out a little bit. Sorry.
Kurtzuba: I watched that and thought you looked great. All the guys do. But I was glad to see the men feeling the [perfect body] pressure that women do.
Matusik: We are a few episodes into this season now. What can we expect as we head toward the finale on June 5? More gowns, I assume?
Kurtzuba: There are more gowns. There are more parties. There are more twists. They did a really nice job keeping the show surprising and interesting. It’s such a great hook, right? A guy stealing from his friends and neighbors. We have a very gifted and smart showrunner, Jonathan Tropper, and also our entire writers’ room and producing team. They’re smart people. In this season they introduce the James Marsden character, Owen Ashe, and he comes in and really muddies the water.
Narayan: Stephanie, when I saw you do that opening monologue in the first season, I was like, “Oh, she’s so free, and she’s so effortless.” And Marsden is like that, too. Watching him is a master class. He has so much dialogue, but he effortlessly delivers it word perfect every time. Jon Hamm is amazing, too. It’s great to be on set with these superstars. Not just because they light up a room, but they’re really talented.
Kurtzuba: And they ain’t hard on the eyeballs [laughs]. Also, the women, too. Amanda Peet?!
Everybody’s stunning. And it is so beautiful and lush. Everything about it is just so gorgeous. We have the best costume designer, Jacqueline Demeterio. Her taste is impeccable.
Matusik: Everything is so stunning, not just the clothes but all the details in the homes—from the grand entry rooms to what’s inside the closet drawers. It must be so much fun to inhabit those worlds.
Kurtzuba: Although, people make dubious design choices in their homes. I remember a couple of the places we were in in Season 1 that were just too big. Once I was in an astonishing house and thought, Why would you do that to the cabinets?
Narayan: They must not have the water issues that we have in New Jersey. In Westchester, you go to a basement and all of a sudden there’s another basement below.
Kurtzuba: Right? What is going on? Where’s the sump pump?
Catch Stephanie Kurtzuba and Manu Narayan in Apple TV’s Your Friends & Neighbors, now streaming.
Kurtzuba: Although, people make dubious design choices in their homes. I remember a couple of the places we were in in Season 1 that were just too big. Once I was in an astonishing house and thought, Why would you do that to the cabinets?
Narayan: They must not have the water issues that we have in New Jersey. In Westchester, you go to a basement and all of a sudden there’s another basement below.
Kurtzuba: Right? What is going on? Where’s the sump pump?
Catch Stephanie Kurtzuba and Manu Narayan in Apple TV’s Your Friends & Neighbors, now streaming.
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This story appeared in the inaugural issue of Socko! Magazine [May, 2026]. Click here to subscribe
