Fans of The Flight Attendant and Based on a True Story will love Kaley Cuoco‘s new show — but the actress admitted she had her reservations about signing on to film Vanished.
The MGM+ series, which premiered on Sunday, February 1, introduces Alice (Cuoco), who goes on a romantic getaway with boyfriend Tom (Sam Claflin) — only for him to disappear. The show was primarily filmed in Paris and Marseille, which gave Cuoco pause at the time.
“Now that I have a kid, the decision making is very different and I never knew that would be a thing,” Cuoco, 40, who shares daughter Matilda, 2, with fiancé Tom Pelphrey, exclusively told Us Weekly. “You don’t know until you know. But deciding to go away for two months was like, ‘Oh my gosh. How do I do this to my family?’”
Cuoco was grateful for her supportive family, adding, “Luckily, I have an amazing partner who kept saying, ‘You got to go do this.’ Because I kept thinking, ‘This is not the right decision. I don’t think I should do this — I don’t think I should leave.’ It almost felt indulgent and selfish. Like I was going to go live with my friends for two months in France and shoot a show.”
At the time, the new mom “felt slightly wrong” about taking opportunities that would take her far from home.
“My partner was like, ‘This is great. You want to do this and it’s a great role. You’re going to have a great time, it’s going to be memorable for you and we’re going to be fine here,’” Cuoco recalled. “The minute I got there, I called home and I knew the family was good. I could totally relieve myself of worrying about that.”
She continued: “But I feel like when you have a significant other that can take that on for you when you need to, I felt good enough that I could fully immerse myself in the experience. I fully immersed myself in the city and the people I was there with. I just had the time of my life and it felt very freeing. This was a really sweet memory for me — and I’m just grateful to have a family that can hold it down while you’re gone.”
Cuoco recalled her daughter’s reaction to her absence, quipping, “She didn’t give two s****. She’d call me and [it was like] I was bothering her. It was like, ‘Do you miss me?’ And she was like, ‘I’m in my class.’ Like, she just was so happy, which is what you want. You don’t want your kid wondering where you are. So I was sadder than my child was.”
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Vanished allowed Cuoco to film another fun fictional mystery story.
“There’s a little bit of drama mixed with a little bit of comedy. I like that fine line because I feel like that’s true to life — and it’s something that I’ve really enjoyed playing,” she explained to Us. “Most people know I love true crime — anything where it’s a whodunit. It just makes for fun TV and it’s not too serious. We’re not trying to change people’s lives. I just want to entertain for a couple hours and enjoy doing it.”
Looking ahead, Cuoco will continue to be booked and busy. “I have a project with the Hacks team called Kansas City Star. It takes me back to my roots of just pure ridiculous comedy,” she noted. “I’m a comedy girl at heart. I just want to make people laugh and I want to make fun of myself and this show is 100 percent going to do that.”
As for a dream costar? For Cuoco, it is none other than Pelphrey, 43.
“Tom Pelphrey is someone I’m dying to work with. We are so dying to find something together. He’s my favorite actor — surprise, surprise,” she gushed. “We would love to find something special together. I obviously think he’s so brilliant for multiple reasons but it has to be the right thing. He’s the end goal, for sure.”
Vanished is streaming on MGM+.
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