By Mashable | Created at 2026-07-18 17:26:05 | Updated at 2026-08-05 05:32:06
2 weeks ago
Tatiana Maslany takes us inside the mind of Paula Sanders.
By
Belen Edwards
Entertainment Reporter
Belen Edwards is an Entertainment Reporter at Mashable. She covers movies and TV with a focus on fantasy and science fiction, adaptations, animation, and more nerdy goodness. She is a member of the Critics Choice Association and the Television Critics Association, as well as a Tomatometer-approved critic.
on July 17, 2026
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Throughout Season 1 of Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed, Paula Sanders (Tatiana Maslany) has been through hell. She's been scammed and arrested. She's shot a man and become embroiled in a criminal conspiracy. And through it all, she's been enduring a nasty custody battle with her ex, Carl (Jake Johnson), over her daughter, Hazel (Nola Wallace).
That all comes to a head in Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed's Season 1 finale, which sees Paula and Carl officially go to court. Spoiler alert: Paula manages to keep custody of Hazel, but not before she's publicly chewed out for her transactions with cam boy Trevor (Brandon Flynn).
In a Say More interview with Mashable Entertainment Reporter Belen Edwards, Maslany broke down the heated moment.
"Reading [the scene], I'm like, oh, Paula's in a situation where Carl would never be questioned for the affair he had, because his affair has landed him with a woman who has a lot of money and a good life," Maslany explained.
While Carl's affair has brought him stability, Paula's own sex life has "derailed" her, Maslany explained, putting her desires under the microscope.
"The impulse to seek out connection or sexual gratification — that's almost more on trial than anything else," Maslany said of the custody hearing. "It's a wonderful thing [for Paula] to be able to articulate, in sort of clumsy language, a retort to that, and that she doesn't just acquiesce [and say], 'Yes, I shouldn't have done that, and I'm bad, and I'll never do it again.'"
To hear more about Maslany's reaction to Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed, and how she found the character of Paula, watch the full interview above.
All episodes of Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed are now streaming on Apple TV.
Belen Edwards is an Entertainment Reporter at Mashable. She covers movies and TV with a focus on fantasy and science fiction, adaptations, animation, and more nerdy goodness. She is a member of the Critics Choice Association and the Television Critics Association, as well as a Tomatometer-approved critic.
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