She knows what lies beneath the Surface. And that’s because she made it. Veronica West is the creator and executive producer of Apple TV+’s latest psychological thriller, Surface. The show follows Sophie after she suffers a traumatic head injury that leaves her with lost memories, little trust, and a confusing love triangle (or square?).

Here, Veronica talks about the work she’s done so far and what she thinks you’ll feel after watching the season finale this Friday.

You’ve had your hands in tons of female-led shows like Ugly Betty, Hart of Dixie, and High Fidelity. Which has been your fav so far?
Ugly Betty will always have a special place in my heart as it was my first TV writing job, and I was about the same age as the character Betty at the time. Getting to relate to the heroine on that level, especially as I was still finding my own voice as a writer, was lucky. Surface has been the best all-around experience, though. Getting to tell a story that was an original idea of mine, working with the extraordinary Gugu Mbatha-Raw [who plays Sophie] as both star and EP, and feeling the full support and incredible strength of Reese Witherspoon and her company, Hello Sunshine, all made this a dream come true.

Speaking of Ugly Betty, can you believe it premiered almost 16 years ago? Did you ever think you’d create a darker series like Surface?
Maybe… I think your DNA as a writer is always there, it’s just when you get the courage to let your stranger or darker impulses show is when you can start fully owning your own voice. But I’ll always love romance and comedy—High Fidelity is an example of that side of my career. The idea of showing skeptics a story that had for so long been thought of as a “man’s story” could actually be universally relatable, and told in a fresh and exciting way from a female POV—it was something I always believed we could pull off, but to see it resonate with audiences was incredibly gratifying.

If you woke up one day and had long-term memory loss like Sophie, would you A) Try to figure out what happened yourself, B) Trust what the people around you had to say, or C) Hire a PI?
Well, I think if we learned anything from Sophie’s journey, it’s that you can’t always trust what the people around you say—so I’d say A!

There are 2 camps in this world: People who read spoilers and people who like surprises. Which are you?
Firmly in the spoilers camp. I love to know what’s coming in a story and then track how they get there. I’m the person who always googles the ending as I’m watching the first act.

Fair enough, but no spoilers for this next question! What emotions will we experience after watching the season finale?
All of them! Sophie and James end in such a complicated place—perhaps they’re star-crossed lovers, or perhaps they’re in a toxic cycle…  And Sophie is finally face-to-face with the girl from her memories, Eliza. There’s so much more of that story still to tell, unpacking their true connection and who “Tess” really is. Hopefully it leaves people wanting more.