Emmy Rossum Teases New Thriller About 'Furious' Serial Killer Targeting Jeffrey Epstein-Like Predators: 'Maybe She's Got a Point'

Emmy Rossum is stepping into one of her darkest roles yet with Furious, a new Hulu thriller centered on a female serial killer targeting wealthy, powerful men resembling Jeffrey Epstein.

While discussing the series, the actress said the story ultimately asks why survivors are pushed to the brink, and why "a lot of people out there" are still searching for justice.

Rossum stars as rookie FBI agent Alice Black, who is hunting a female serial killer played by Lola Petticrew.

The killer's victims are wealthy and influential predators who resemble Epstein, with the series tackling themes of sexual violence and systemic abuse.

"Unfortunately, you can throw a dart and hit any number of predators, from the smallest to the largest, in the last 10 years that we have been thinking about and excavating," Rossum explained to Variety.

Despite the show's dark premise, Rossum insisted Furious isn't really about the men being killed.

"I think our show ultimately is more interested in survivors of violence and what violence does to a person," she added. "I think we're more interested in what would make a woman kill."

Rossum shared that creator Elizabeth Meriwether built the series around the emotional aftermath of violence rather than revenge.

"When you look at all of the female serial killers — and there have not been that many that we know of — I think the main through line is that they're all victims of violence," she said. "That's really where Liz started from."

The actress continued: "There are a lot of women and a lot of people who have trauma. You, me, people who have survived a lot of things that they're carrying that we don't know about."

She added that the series intentionally lives in a moral gray area.

"I think it is meaningful to see women survivors are at the center of the story, who are, I think, really fun and delicious to watch, who are making very questionable moves and existing in this area of you don't want to root for [the killer], and yet maybe she's got a point," Rossum explained. "I think there is a lot of rage at the system having let so many people down and not getting the justice that they deserve."

Rossum's character is also grappling with her own past: Alice avoids showering because it reminds her of violence inflicted by an abusive ex-boyfriend.

"She smells badly," Rossum said. "I think she subconsciously is trying to keep people away from her."

Alice also seeks out physical altercations with men she meets on dating apps before having s-- — a storyline Rossum admitted was difficult to understand.

"The idea that somebody who's been a victim of violence could be inviting violence into their own home and admitting that it's a turn on is highly complicated, and it's a flammable idea," she explained. "Certainly, with me, I had to work with a psychologist to understand all of the feelings that I was bringing to that, and my fear of that scene."

Reflecting on the show's title, which references the three Greek goddesses of vengeance, Rossum said its central message is ultimately about something else.

"I think we all know there are a lot of people out there who are looking for justice," she shared.

Rossum also revealed that one emotional scene in Furious was inspired by her own life.

Years earlier, she received an unexpected call from her estranged father telling her his dying mother wanted to meet her.

"I said a resounding yes," Rossum recalled. "It was a life-changing experience because I had never known or met anyone related to my father or related to me on that side."

She flew to Oklahoma to meet her grandmother for the first and only time before she died days later.

"I was very grateful to get to hold her hand that one time," Rossum revealed. "I was very grateful when they asked me if I wanted to be in the obituary because I had never been named as part of their family."

Rossum stated the memory stayed with her while filming Furious, particularly during an emotionally draining hospital scene.

"I really did lose myself in it, really not knowing that it wasn't me," she stated. "They cut the camera, and I had to take a seat."