The stars of ‘Saint X’ talk bringing the popular novel to the screen

When the new series Saint X premieres Wednesday on Hulu, star West Duchovny hopes you will feel the inner life of her character, Alison, despite having limited time with her.

The show, based on the popular book by Alexis Schaitkin, follows the ripple effects that occur after Alison’s untimely death while on a Caribbean vacation.

“You get eight days with her and that’s it,” Duchovny told ABC Audio. “It was really important to me to do such a deep dive and make her so full of life because after she dies, her identity is in the hands of the stories that are told about her, the media, her family memories. It’s not her anymore.”

Betsy Brandt and Michael Park play Alison’s parents, and Brandt says having children of her own helped her tap into the grief her character experiences.

“I have a kid not much younger than Alison is,” Brandt says. “Reading the book was so helpful to me. And I did look up some things about grief. What was very interesting to me too was the recovery, because they have another child, and they have to make the choice to recover.”

Also a parent in real life, Park says he too used his own experiences to help understand his character.

“My youngest daughter is 18, and so she’s not too far off from Alison’s age,” Park says. “Every time she goes out, it’s scarier now, after this show. To tell you the truth, it’s scarier now.”

And while Duchovny says the story tackles a tough subject matter, she also says Alison was a light in the darkness.

“She’s got her internal struggles – but she’s the only one really enjoying herself for most of the show,” Duchovny said. “That was challenging too, to be the happy one amidst the grief.”