Kriska Thompson is the fiery main character, second to Lauren Graham’s Monica Marks, in Tubi’s first original scripted series, The Z-Suite. The confident yet delusional, or “delulu,” 24-year-old goes from social media coordinator at a boutique advertising agency to literal CEO in a split second and has to figure out how exactly to run a company with zero experience– and hey, she doesn’t do the absolute worst job at it.
At first glance, Kriska seems like a stereotypical, self-assured Zoomer. As the season rolls along, there are many positive attributes to Kriska, and that’s what actress Madison Shamoun wanted to convey.
“I think that was kind of like the difference that I wanted to show, because there are a lot of attributes that other generations find negative when it comes to Gen Z, like the laziness and the delulu-ness,” Madison told DECIDER. “But, I kind of wanted to play to her strengths, and I think that’s what I tried to do with her this season.”
In a phone interview with DECIDER, Shamoun shared her lengthy audition process for the show, the characters that inspired her character and a special project she’s manifesting down the line:
DECIDER: To start off, how did you get involved with The Z-Suite?
MADISON SHAMOUN: I got the first of the script last February 2024, and I really, really liked it. I loved that pilot, and then put it on tape and sent it in to producers and casting about a month later. Then in April, had a call back with Katie O’Brien and the casting director, and then in May was offered the part after, like, a five hour screen test.
That’s a long time. What did that entail?
Yeah, it was a long time. Basically, we showed up and we did the scenes that we had been doing each round prior, and then after that, we got paired up into groups because they were trying to find that dynamic between Clem, Elliot and Kriska. And so that’s where I met Spencer [Stevenson], and we kept getting paired up and kept going back in, in front of Lauren and chemistry reading with her and with each other. And yeah, kind of fell in love with each other then and there. And then we both found out a few weeks later in May that we had gotten the parts.
I wanted to talk to you about the other Z-Suiters because Kriska, Elliot and Clem all complement each other so well. How did the three of you approach building that dynamic with each other?
Well, I remember having a conversation with Katie O’Brien, the showrunner and writer, in fact, early on, where she had said to me, “Kriska’s in the center and Clem and Elliot are planets that orbit with her, and they’re kind of their own solar system. And so, when one of them is out of whack, they’re all three out of whack.” So, we all realized that the dynamic between the trio was super important, but also, luckily for us, simultaneously on the side, we just developed a friendship naturally. The three of us get along really well, even though we’re all super different, so we just had a fun time with each other on and off set. And, I think that you can see that in the character dynamics in the show, but we really just lucked out chemistry wise.
Yeah, that’s such a good way to put it, because the three of you all hold your own as characters so well, but you do orbit each other. That’s such a great way to describe it. I talked to Katie O’Brien recently, and she said, You describe Kriska Thompson so perfectly. How would you characterize her?
She’s based around three characters for me that I kind of built her off of, and these are my versions of these three characters. But for me, she was Tracy Flick from Election, Elle Woods (Legally Blonde) and Mary Tyler Moore from The Mary Tyler Moore Show. I had actually talked to Anna [Bezahler] about the Tracy Flick thing–we realized that that sort of ambitious go-getter intensity is kind of what we felt Kriska had, and Katie had talked to me early on about Kriska kind of being a bit of an Elle Woods, but she was hesitant to say that. And so, instead of being sparkly pink, Kriska is more red. Red is Kriska’s pink as pink is for Elle Woods. And then, I liked a lot of what I saw Mary Tyler Moore doing in her show with having to work with people from a different generation and her having an older boss, and so a lot of her mannerisms and positivity I also took from that.
Yeah, I love the way you portray Kriska. She embodies some of the most ridiculous generalizations of Gen Z in a way that’s laughable while keeping her ambitious and relatable. How did you approach playing her and what preparation did you do? Did you do any Gen Z research, and if so, what was that like?
I didn’t do any Gen Z research. I think I’m technically Gen Z– I’m either the last millennial or the first Gen Z, but I also have two siblings who are proper Gen Z. They’re in their early 20s, and so I spend a lot of time with Gen Z. But, I will say that I found Krista to be hard working and bright and competitive, like she really, really wanted this job, and she does have that, like, Gen Z delulu, but only because she doesn’t have the years of experience to back it up, not because she’s incapable. I think that was kind of like the difference that I wanted to show, because there are a lot of attributes that other generations find negative when it comes to Gen Z, like the laziness and the delulu-ness. But, I kind of wanted to play to her strengths, and I think that’s what I tried to do with her this season.
Absolutely. You worked with Julia Stiles on The Lake and now working with Lauren Graham — those are two pretty iconic late ’90s and early 2000s actresses. What was it like working with these women, and what did you learn from them?
Well, that’s a great question. I feel really lucky in that I’ve been able to work with a lot of industry titans, as you put it, in my career this far. I mostly just love getting to watch them work their processes. With Lauren, she was also a producer on our show, and so I felt like every scene she was in, she just made better. She has that experience so she knows what works, and so there was that immediate trust there, which was great.
And both women, and honestly, all the women that I’ve been lucky to work with thus far– Tracee Ellis, and Pamela Adlon and all these women, they are so kind, and so wonderful and so giving.Y ou wouldn’t know that they are some of the most famous people in the world. They’re just so normal, and lovely and warm, and they’ve all been great to work with. Lucky me, you know?
Yeah, that’s so fun. In episode 1, Kriska says she got into advertising because of Mad Men, which she thought was just about men not being able to control their emotions, but she would have been pretty young when Mad Men came out. But, is there a show out there that you watched far too young, or is there a show out there that you originally completely mistook the plot for?
[Laughs] I don’t know about [mistaking] the plot, but yeah, my parents, they love TV and movies. They’re cinephiles like myself, so I grew up watching, like, Alias, Desperate Housewives, The Office when I probably was far too young, but I loved every second of it. I’m sure there was stuff in there I didn’t understand. But no, I just remember loving it and sitting on the couch with my mom on Sunday nights watching Desperate Housewives.
I think mine was Pretty Little Liars. I should not have been defending teacher/ student relationships at that age, or in general.
Oh that’s a good one.
Finally, what is on your wishlist for next projects?
That’s a great question. I feel like what I’ve been doing back to back to back has been comedy, but my training is actually– from UCLA, I did theater, film and television. We did, like, classical dramatics, absurdist stuff like Ionesco and Molière, and so I’m kind of itching to get back into something darker and heavier. So, manifesting something Neon or A24 related, anything of that vein and caliber I’d be thrilled to be a part of.
Do you have any dream collaborators?
Oh, of course. I’ve been having this recurring dream for a while now that Zendaya, Zoë Kravitz and I are doing a version of Chekhov’s Three Sisters, a film version. And I’m like, “That would be the best thing that could ever happen to me.” So, something like that, just because it’s top of mind right now, but of course, I’d love to work with Greta Gerwig and, you know, Ari Aster, and just all of the great filmmakers right now.
That doesn’t sound like a dream. That sounds like a vision to me, a manifestation.
We’re manifesting it! As Kriska says, she manifested things in her dream app. I’m manifesting things in my sleep.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Claire Waheed is a recently graduated freelance writer currently based in Texas. She loves all things pop culture and new adventures.
The post ‘The Z-Suite’ Actress Madison Shamoun Talks About Channeling “Gen Z Delulu” Vibes For Tubi’s Breakout Sitcom Hit appeared first on Decider.
