Elizabeth Banks and Jessica Biel star as estranged sisters forced to reunite by tragedy in Prime Video’s The Better Sister — a gripping limited series that balances suspense, heart and even humor, thanks to a powerhouse team of women on- and off-screen.

In The Better Sister, sisterhood takes center stage — both on-screen and behind the scenes. The eight-episode limited series, premiering May 29 on Prime Video, centers on two estranged siblings. Jessica Biel’s Chloe is immaculately put together, with a fabulous career as the editor-in-chief of a renowned women’s magazine and an enviable home life — and more than one enviable home. In stark contrast, Elizabeth Banks’s Nicky struggles with sobriety, trauma and boundaries. A shocking murder brings the sisters back together, and subsequent revelations make the case for any number of suspects.

Despite the emotionally challenging material, members of the cast and crew agree: Working on the series was a blast. Banks (Mrs. America, Pitch Perfect) says that executive producers Olivia Milch (Bupkis, Ocean’s 8) and Regina Corrado (Mayor of Kingstown, Tulsa King) set the tone. “I am enamored of both of them, and I’m blown away by their talent,” Banks says, speaking from the Toronto set of the upcoming series The Miniature Wife. “But it was the sense of camaraderie and collusion, if you will, behind the scenes amongst all of us, that felt really special. It’s a strong group of strong women, and we got on like a house on fire.”

Speaking from Casablanca, Morocco, where she’s shooting the film Matchbox, Biel (Candy, Sinner) adds that everyone’s family was welcome on set. "And all the time Olivia would be like, 'Do you need a chai tea? Who’s hungry? Do you need to go to the bathroom?’ It was like having a bunch of awesome, rad, smarter-than-you sisters around, so you’re constantly feeling taken care of and inspired by them. It was just a safe place to play and create. If something didn’t work for me, they were all, ‘How do you want to say it? Go for it, switch it up.’ It was not a rigid place to work at all; it was so warm and fuzzy and wonderful.”

The two actresses also served as executive producers. “What Jessica and Elizabeth brought on a producorial level, and the tone that they set — how warm, how open, how generous, how welcoming — that’s obviously how we like to be, or hope to carry ourselves, but they did that on this whole other level,” Milch says. “It brought everybody together, and there was no ego.” Cast members played cards together between setups, and on weekends Biel got them playing padel (a Mexican game that’s “like hardcore pickleball,” Banks explains). “Everybody took it seriously while we were also having a lot of fun.”

As exhilarating as the hairpin plot twists and character reveals were, everyone was drawn by a deeper intent. Milch says that when she first read Alafair Burke’s 2019 novel, The Better Sister, “I really connected to the idea that siblings get different versions of their parent, particularly when there’s a moment of sobriety at some point in their childhood.” Her father, David Milch (NYPD Blue, Deadwood), became sober when she was 10, her brother was 13 and her sister was 15. Their ages at that transitional moment, she says, “very much determined the way that we thought about ourselves and the family. They had a lot more anger, because they knew a lot more about what was happening when we were kids.”

Watch the exclusive interview with Elizabeth Banks and Jessica Biel during the emmy cover shoot.

Those differing perspectives shape our views about ourselves “and about who our siblings are,” she adds. “Not until you get together later in life and compare notes do you realize just what different stories you’ve been telling, and what an effect the version of your parent you got had on you and how you think of yourself.”

Corrado, the youngest of nine children, adds, “The cruelty among siblings is very real. If you’re lucky enough not to cut them out of your lives, you can go forward, and how you go forward together always interests me.”

“The sort of love story between the sisters coming back and finding each other, and putting the pieces together, that for us was always the North Star,” Milch says.

Milch was 16 when she met Corrado, who wrote on Deadwood, and they’ve considered themselves honorary sisters ever since. When the Milch family helped David complete his book Life’s Work: A Memoir several years ago, as Alzheimer’s was stealing his memories, Corrado joined them. “That’s when we rekindled our relationship in a more professional capacity,” Milch says. So, when she was offered The Better Sister, she reached out to Corrado to join her.

Corrado remembers, “It was one of those phone calls, ‘Do you want to work on this project with me?’ I didn’t even hesitate or call my agent or anything. I said, ‘Yeah, okay. What is it?’ That’s because it’s Olivia, and how much I loved her father. Are you kidding — you’re calling me? I feel so honored.”

Having both learned from “Big Dave” how to best serve their characters, the two found working together effortless. “We’d be like, ‘What would David do right now?’” Corrado recalls. “David would do the most messed-up version of this human being. That’s what we’re going to do.” At first glance, Nicky is certainly messed up, as well as outrageous, loud, angry and troubled. She’s also vulnerable, hilarious, nurturing and unconditionally loving of her son (played by Maxwell Acee Donovan, That ’90s Show). Banks recognized Nicky immediately.

“I have a very large family — I’m Irish Catholic on one side and WASP-y on the other,” she says. “My mom is from seven, and my dad is from eight, so I have so many aunts and uncles. I’m also from the East Coast, from a family of drinkers and a family that’s working class, so the idea that there’s drama in families was not news to me.” Also, her sisters are her closest friends, and she’s a mother to two sons. “I felt very in that pocket.”

She was also drawn to the premise that nobody should be defined by any one moment in their life, as Nicky has been. “What I loved about this is her taking back ownership of her storyline and who she is at her core and starting to believe deeply that she is a good person despite doing some bad things. I think that’s very healthy. It’s something so many people could use, and I really related to that.”

As Chloe, Biel keeps a tight leash on her emotions to present a perfect front to the world. “To play the straight person is often very difficult, and she gave it so much complexity and nuance,” executive producer Craig Gillespie says. “You felt it simmering underneath.” Biel was fascinated by Chloe’s incongruities. “There’s a ton of restraint and things beneath the surface and unraveling that can be done with this character. I thought it would be a lot of fun to peel this onion and see how she comes alive.”

To read the rest of the story, pick up a copy of emmy magazine here.

This article originally appeared in its entirety in emmy magazine, issue #6, 2025, under the title "Strong Bonds"