Had you guys figured out some of Melissa’s backstory before getting to this point, or did this cause you to get to learn a lot about her as well?

ANDY BOBROW: We knew from episode 104 that she was a real estate agent, and we knew she had been married and cheated on. That was about it. The college major and the charity work, that stuff we filled in for this episode. We had filled in a lot more that didn’t make it past the outline phase. There was a lot about her ex-husband being her partner in the real estate company, and how she had a bitter breakup with him but they had to keep working together. And there was this detail about her moving in with her brother after the divorce, and then having to take care of him when he got sick. And the stress of all that stuff leading to a psychotic break, which explained the pills. But so far that’s all just head canon.

I think you can get caught up in spinning yarns like that in a writers room, and while I think the fans really enjoy reading about it in an interview, it’s not the stuff we need for our show. Oh, and there was a lot at one point about Melissa really loving one particular chair in the office. Her ergonomic chair that was like the only thing that gave her comfort at work, like there’s only one chair in the world that gives her peace. And we were very proud of ourselves for a minute because we realized that would explain why she was shooting office chairs in that one episode. But it’s better in an article than on the screen. More stuff about Melissa might come out in time, but only if it really pushes the story forward.

Last Man on Earth Season 3 Episode 13 – “Find This Thing We Need To”

“Carol makes a big discovery, enlisting Tandy and Erica to help her track down some answers. Meanwhile, Todd has a major breakthrough with Melissa.”