'Minx' star Idara Victor: Success less fun than Tina expected

NEW YORK, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- Rizzoli & Isles and Turn: Washington's Spies actress Idara Victor says Tina, the smart and ambitious assistant she plays in the 1970s-era comedy, Minx, finally has achieved the success she always craved, but her life isn't as glamorous or fun as she expected it to be.

"Her world just expanded so much in conjunction with the magazine expanding," Victor told UPI in a Zoom interview conducted before the Screen Actors Guild strike in July.

"Tina felt ready for success for a long time. So, the growth felt more like, 'OK, I can finally step into who I've always known I am.' But I think she wanted to enjoy the spoils of it a bit more than she got to," she added.

"I'm not actually getting to go out to Linda Rondstadt's party or even sit down and enjoy [the premiere of] Deep Throat the way everyone else is."

Season 2 of Minx wraps up Friday on Starz.

The show follows the lives of the quirky, close-knit staffers of an independent, erotic women's magazine that explodes in popularity after wealthy shipping magnate Constance (Elizabeth Perkins) buys it.

Ophelia Lovibond plays Joyce, the editor of Minx, while Jake Johnson plays Doug, the magazine's publisher and an adult film producer.

While Tina is back at the office getting things done, photographer friend Richie (Oscar Montoya) is living it up.

"Richie's going to the parties, but maybe he's going to too many parties," Montoya said.

"It's affecting his work. Finally, he's getting that recognition that he never expected, but he certainly deserves," the actor added. "It's like that moment when you have everything you want. It's like: 'Oh, my gosh, this is your happily ever after!' But it's gone too far."

The character comes to understand he has to limit his partying or risk losing everything for which he's worked so hard.

"Sometimes, you need something to tether you, and Richie is sort of floating around," Montoya said. "In his journey, he needs to find that center space."

Fortunately, Tina has a way of bringing Richie back to Earth.

"She always knows how to level him up, how to ground him, but also how to speak to him as a human being in a way that he's not used to having people talk to him," Montoya said.

Richie and Tina aren't the only Minx staffers who struggle to figure out how they and their talents can be best utilized as the magazine goes mainstream.

"At the end of Season 1, we see all of us sort of starting to go our separate ways," Montoya said.

"But we were able to explore ourselves individually because of that. To me, it was like, 'Oh, my gosh, we haven't lost the heart of the show, even though we are apart from each other.' We've grown stronger as people, so when we do come back we are even stronger."

Victor said Tina and Joyce make an excellent team this season.

"Tina has found a shorthand with her, and they've found a place where there is a closeness, but it's like they really understand each other," the actress said.

"She can tell Joyce: 'This is what it is. Period.' And Joyce doesn't push back too much. They are able to co-exist in a way that they weren't able to in Season 1. She has really accepted Joyce and has a certain love for her now and even feels maybe protective a little bit."

Tina's relationship with Doug isn't going as smoothly, however.

"There is, of course, the history and the love and the desire for that [partnership], but, at the same time, she has to deal with the fact that he just will not give her her due," Victor said.

"She's at that crossroads where she has to decide what she is going to do about that."

Richie and Joyce aren't always on the same page, either.

"In Season 1, Joyce really believed in Richie and she really supported him, and he always looked up to her," Montoya said.

"She was a big reason why he was doing the things he was doing and then, in Season 2, you're seeing some of the differences [between them] and a shift in their relationship. Richie has got the confidence to stand against her sometimes."

Joyce is a bit jarred by how strongly Richie voices his opinions, but he maintains his resolve.

"There's a tension between the two of them and it's because Richie feels like, 'You saw me as an artist. What do you see me as now?'" Montoya said.