Raven Goodwin found out that Season 1 of “Grotesquerie” ended with a shocking and brainwrackingly confusing cliffhanger along with the rest of us.
After a major twist that revealed everything up to Episode 7 was a dark dream that imagined a series of horrific murders and everyone in Detective Lois Tryon’s (Niecy Nash) orbit living as an alternate version of themselves, things got weird. And even more so when a copycat killer manifests the killings Lois saw in her dreams. Lois believes the copycat to be Charlie (Nicholas Alexander Chavez), the doctor who had access to her dream files, until he’s found crucified with several other victims surrounding his body in a “Last Supper” fashion in the final scene.
Upon seeing his body, Lois is sure she’s figured out who did it. Then the episode ends, leaving us to wait until Season 2 for some real answers.
Goodwin, who plays Lois’ daughter Merritt Tryon, has a hunch who the killer could be.
“My theory is that the only one who kind of knows what Lois is going through, psychologically, is Dr. Witticomb,” she guessed. “I’m like, is he going to be the copycat, like, what’s going on? So I’m just trying to figure it out, too.”
While the way “Grotesquerie” unfolded makes it one of the most disorienting and confusing shows to air on TV this year, what is clear is Goodwin’s talent.
That’s no surprise when you look at her nearly 30 years of acting. Goodwin’s résumé spans from her days as a child actor on Nickelodeon and Disney to more recent recurring roles on shows like “Abbott Elementary,” “Being Mary Jane” and “SMILF” to starring in BET’s “Style Me For Christmas” and Lifetime’s “Single Black Female” franchise.
She’s consistent — and, in many ways, underrated. But “Grotesquerie” denotes something new for the 32-year-old actor. It’s different from anything she’s done before but it’s leveling up, if you will. And she’s not shy about admitting that, noting that the audition tape she filmed for the role was the best audition she’d ever done.
“I was reading a story that I never read before and so that automatically drew me in, just in the way the characters communicated, the writing,” she said. Something in her knew the part of Merritt was hers. Even while being pregnant with her second child, Goodwin had no hesitation in taking on a role in this horror/family drama/murder mystery.
“I’m a spiritual person, so I was like, if this isn’t the right situation for me and my baby, I don’t even want it. You can say no, I’ll be fine. I’ll sit my butt right here in Georgia, wait for this baby to come, go shopping for my new home and do all those things, and I will do it happily, God. So whatever you want me to do, I’ll do it.”
At eight months pregnant, she filmed the show. It helped that her character lived a mostly sedentary lifestyle. And she “understood [Merritt] exactly how Ryan [Murphy] wrote her,” she said. Goodwin had space to really play with the character without too many explanations about who she was.
In her mother’s dream world, Merritt is a 400-pound, self-deprecating but highly intelligent woman with an eating disorder whose dream is to make it on a reality show called “Half-Ton Trauma.” She’s married to Eddie (Travis Kelce), a charming man her mother first meets and creates a flirtatious bond with.
In actuality, Merritt is a confident and accomplished lead doctor at a hospital who’s working to cure cancer. She has an estranged relationship with her mom after finding out her downtrodden husband had an affair with her. And though her life may have gone differently than in her mother’s dream version, Merritt is still in a cycle of generational trauma bestowed upon her by her alcoholic mother and sex-addicted father.
“I think it was so evident where she was mentally right and how [she was] padding herself with food and overeating and binging, you can see the comfort. And it’s the truth,” she explained. “I think after the dream sequence, it was more complicated for me, ’cause I’m like, this has to be a very evident transformation. And she’s actually super powerful. She’s intelligent in both sequences. They put that on display, but I think her intelligence surpassed what the audience [expected]. Like, she’s literally curing cancer.”
Between Lois’ dream Merritt and real-life Merritt (at least we think), Goodwin gets to flex her range with two interpretations of the same character. That’s rare for any actor. But Goodwin knows that fully fleshed-out roles written for plus-size women, especially Black women, are few and far between.
“When Merritt came along, I was telling my husband, ‘I don’t know, I feel something with this, and it’s strange.’ That feeling has occurred over and over again. And then your agents and your managers are calling you more than they ever have before, and you’re going through these negotiations and you’re going through this and you’re going through that and it’s surreal.”
With decades under her belt, Goodwin has seen ups and downs in this industry. She knows that not everyone has the longevity that she’s been able to maintain. But even still, there have been challenges in job security that make her question whether or not she should pivot.
[I’ve felt] defeated, unseen, feeling like I’m not being written anywhere,” she said. “Although the passion was always there and this is what I wanna do with my life, I was always cool with finding something else. Not necessarily a plan B, but just finding other interests so that it doesn’t hurt so bad when it’s not happening and you don’t feel so empty when you’re not doing what you love for so long.”
But with each period in her life comes a role that feels aligned with her path.
“As soon as I was ready to go to college, something happened. As soon as I was ready to do this, something happened. As soon as I was like, ‘we can go back to D.C., mom, I haven’t gotten anything in such and such months,’ something happens,” she said of getting booked. “It’s been very serendipitous and meant to be.”
For Goodwin, this era is about breaking barriers and honoring those who paved the way. At the top of her list is portraying Hattie McDaniel, the first Black actor to win an Oscar, in a biopic.
The biopic, first announced in 2021, has yet to start filming and is still in the process of casting. Goodwin assures there’s “no rush,” as she wants to get McDaniel’s story right.
“Hattie’s story means everything,” Goodwin said. “She’s the first to get up there and represent us. And more than that, I can only imagine what that looked like for her back then; the pressure and the disrespect, but at the same time, acknowledging her talent. I can only imagine what she felt. And I’m only able to enjoy this phase of my career and sit at award shows comfortably because of her.”
John Nacion via Getty Images
She also cites Queen Latifah’s career as an inspiration and an example of the kind of career she aspires to.
We Need Your Support
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.
“She has one of my favorite careers in the business because she’s done everything and she’s never been limited,” Goodwin explained. “She’s played the love Interest. She’s played Mama Morton. She’s played Cleo. She’s been every woman in our lives. And I think I’m capable of doing that.”
Goodwin also wants to step behind the camera more in the form of writing, directing and producing. She’s looking at enrolling in media classes at Spelman College or Clark Atlanta University and mentoring and collaborating with more up-and-coming creatives.
“I feel like every job is a privilege. And so if I never work again, I’ve made my mark,” she said, conviction stirring within. “I’ve broken generational curses with my talent. I’m able to raise my kids differently, and they’ll be able to raise their kids differently. And we can go on and do amazing things, whether it’s in the public eye or whether it’s on TV or not. So I’m good as far as what I’ve done. But, of course, I want more.”
Season 1 of “Grotesquerie” is currently streaming on Hulu.