Marissa Chanel Hampton on Bringing Gail to Life in Prime Video’s ‘It’s Not Like That’

When It’s Not Like That premieres on Prime Video on January 25th, audiences will meet Gail, the kind of friend who makes you laugh when you need it most and shows up with advice that actually helps. Played by Marissa Chanel Hampton, Gail is the heartbeat of this eight-episode drama series that explores how families rebuild after loss and whether friendship can become something more.

The series, created by Ian Deitchman and Kristin Robinson of Parenthood and Life As We Know It fame, centers on Malcolm, a recently widowed pastor and father of three played by Scott Foley, and Lori, a newly divorced mother of two teens played by Erinn Hayes. Their families once shared everything, from Sunday dinners to school pickups, but grief and divorce have reshuffled the deck. Now they’re navigating single parenthood, the messiness of starting over, and the question everyone keeps asking: is this the beginning of a love story? Hampton’s Gail is the friend who keeps things real while these big questions unfold.

For Hampton, stepping into Gail’s world felt natural. “Gail and I are similar,” she says. “I love making my friends laugh and being a safe place for them to come to when they need advice or support. I liked that Gail mirrored those qualities as a friend; it made it easy to drop into her as a person.” That authenticity is what makes Hampton’s performance resonate. She doesn’t just play a friend; she embodies the kind of friendship that holds people together when life gets complicated.

But Hampton’s path to this role isn’t conventional. While many actors focus solely on screen work, she’s built a dual career that bridges audiobook narration and television. Her voice has become a favorite in the romance audiobook community, where she regularly voices ten to twenty characters in a single project. Most recently, she narrated A Forever Kind of Love by New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Farrah Rochon, bringing to life the story of Mya Dubois, a Broadway designer who returns to Louisiana and confronts the ex-boyfriend who broke her heart.

The Intersection of Voice and Screen

What makes Hampton’s dual career particularly interesting is how each medium informs the other. In the audiobook booth, she’s pulling all the strings. She decides what characters sound like, how the pacing unfolds, and where the emotional beats land. On camera, she’s one piece of a larger puzzle, collaborating with directors, fellow actors, and the entire production team to bring a single character to life.

“Narrating has made me even more flexible and malleable as an on-screen actor,” Hampton explains. “If there are twenty characters in a book, you are all of them. A lot of those roles you’ll never get to play or explore as an on-camera actor. Just having the experience of investigating and breathing life into all those people helps when I bounce back into my on-camera work.”

That versatility shows in her approach to Gail. Hampton draws on her understanding of how readers connect with characters in books, how they hold fictional people close and invest in their journeys. She knows what it means to honor a character while also making bold choices that bring something new to the table. “The solitary nature of most narration always makes me truly appreciate my fellow actors,” she reflects. “There’s nothing like connecting with your scene partner. It feels a little like magic when it really clicks.”

On the set of It’s Not Like That, filmed in Atlanta in June 2025, Hampton found that magic working alongside Erinn Hayes. “I had the pleasure of working the most with the fabulous Erinn Hayes, who plays Lori on the show. Erinn is so funny, while still being vulnerable and truthful. Working with her was great. There’s something really special, as I mentioned, about that moment when things click with your fellow actors and with Erinn, that’s easy.”

That chemistry matters in a series like It’s Not Like That, where the relationships feel lived-in and real. The show doesn’t rush through grief or skip over the awkwardness of rebuilding. It sits with the characters as they figure out who they are now, after everything has changed. Gail is part of that journey, the steady presence who reminds everyone that friendship is worth showing up for.

Building Community Through Ink and Paper Soul

Beyond her work in front of microphones and cameras, Hampton has built a literary community through Ink and Paper Soul, her online platform that centers conversations about how books intersect with culture and politics. What started as a book blog has evolved into a space where readers connect around stories that matter to them.

“I’ve always known readers are passionate fans, but one thing being in the book space on multiple platforms has taught me is that readers hold these characters very close to their hearts,” Hampton says. She loves watching people discuss their favorite book boyfriends and female main characters, dissecting motivations and debating choices with the kind of devotion usually reserved for real relationships. “That devotion to these stories and characters makes the job of narrating so special. You’re bringing these beloved characters to life; it’s an honor.”

Through Ink and Paper Soul, Hampton explores how reading is political, how books spark dialogue, and how stories invite us to see the world through new perspectives. She’s created more than just an online platform; she’s built a gathering place for readers who want their literary conversations to go deeper. That commitment extends beyond books. Hampton is passionate about social justice and lends her voice and support to organizations including the ACLU, The Innocence Project, and Doctors Without Borders.

The Challenge of Adaptation

Hampton’s work across mediums has given her a unique perspective on what happens when stories move from page to voice to screen. Audiobooks have become a major cultural space, particularly in romance and fantasy communities where certain narrators develop devoted followings. When beloved books get adapted for television or film, audiences bring layers of attachment. They’ve already heard the characters in their heads. They’ve formed images of how scenes should unfold. They’ve built emotional landscapes around these fictional worlds.

“When beloved books are adapted, audiences bring their own attachments, pictures, and expectations,” Hampton acknowledges. “Part of the process is accepting that no adaptation can perfectly match every reader’s imagination of a favorite character or scene.” For her, the gap between page, voice, and screen isn’t a problem to solve. It’s where interpretation becomes both the challenge and the art.

This understanding shapes how she approaches both narration and acting. In the booth, she’s interpreting an author’s vision in a way that resonates with listeners while making choices that feel true to the characters. On screen, she’s embodying a character that exists in a script but must feel like a real person with a history and a future beyond what’s on the page. “You’re pulling all the puppet strings in the booth when it comes to what characters sound like, the pacing of your delivery, and so much more, there’s a lot going on,” she notes. “On-camera work is very different, in that you’re bringing just one piece of the puzzle to the party and not the whole thing.”

What to Expect from It’s Not Like That

As the premiere approaches, Hampton is excited for audiences to connect with the show’s central theme: the power of friendship. “How we find friends in the many different areas of our lives, how the good ones show up for us when we really need them and make us laugh,” she says. “We could all use more of that kind of love and support these days.”

The series, which Hampton describes as having “so much heart,” invites viewers to get invested in characters navigating what life throws at them. For Hampton, who’s built a career on honoring stories regardless of medium, that investment is what makes storytelling matter.

Her career reflects a refusal to be contained by a single definition. She’s the voice in listeners’ headphones during their commute, narrating romances that make them believe in love. She’s the face on screen in shows like Watchmen, Outer Banks, and Creepshow, bringing depth to every role. She’s the person behind Ink and Paper Soul, reminding readers that the books they love and the conversations they have about them actually matter.

“I always appreciated the writing portion of film and television,” Hampton reflects, “but getting to narrate for authors has strengthened that appreciation for writers in all mediums.” That respect for storytelling, regardless of where or how it happens, is what makes her work resonate. Whether she’s voicing twenty characters in a romance novel or playing the friend who shows up when it matters most, Marissa Chanel Hampton understands that the best performances come from honoring the story, trusting the process, and giving her all to the work.

When It’s Not Like That premieres with its first two episodes on January 25th on Prime Video, with subsequent episodes dropping weekly, Hampton hopes viewers will see themselves in Gail’s journey. Not because Gail has all the answers, but because she’s the kind of friend who reminds us that we don’t have to figure everything out alone. And in a series about grief, divorce, single parenthood, and the possibility of second chances, that reminder might be exactly what we need.

Watch Marissa Chanel Hampton in It’s Not Like That, premiering January 25th with the first two episodes on Prime Video. New episodes drop weekly. Follow her on Instagram @marissachanelhampton and explore her literary community at Ink and Paper Soul.