The Girl in the Woods is a new Peacock original series that introduces audiences to new mythology right at the beginning, and it’s up to young stars Stefanie Scott, Misha Osherovich, and Sofia Bryant to bring the story to life. Showrunner Jane Casey Modderno and her all-woman team of writers bring together a horror story involving monsters and the everyday concerns of a group of Oregon teenagers. As Oscherovich pointed out in an interview with PopCulture.com, directors Krysten Ritter and Jacob Chase didn’t shy away from showing that life as a teenager is “really, really hard, even when there’s not monsters.”
The series starts with Carrie (Scott) running escaping from a cult in the Oregon woods that is guarding a door so monsters do not escape a terrifying dimension and destroy the world. After reaching a small Oregon town, Carrie befriends Nolan (Oscherovich) and Tasha (Bryant), who help her get used to society and stay hidden from the cult. It’s no easy task with Arthur Dean (Will Yun Lee) on Carrie’s trail.
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Although Ritter does not star in the show, her fingerprints are all over it as an executive producer and director of the first four episodes. Bryant, who starred in Netflix’s I Am Not Okay With This, called Ritter “amazing” and was “so grateful” to work with her. “I think that she really, really allowed us to bring ourselves to the characters,” Bryant told PopCulture.com. “I remember we actually made playlists for our characters and kind of put together a list of songs they might listen to on a daily basis. She’s just very thorough and an awesome person to be around and gets it done.”
The “magic” of the show also comes from its realistic depiction of teenagers going through “real teen s—,” as Oscherovich pointed out, as the main characters fight off monsters. They also praised the show for depicting a teen’s exploration of gender identity, which is central to their character. “It’s baked into the relationships with Sofia and Stefanie’s characters in the show,” the Freaky star said. “And I really appreciated that they didn’t shy away from making things… messy because being a teenager is messy and it’s really, really hard even when there’s not monsters. So I really enjoyed getting to dig into that.”
Scott, best known for her role in Insidious: Chapter 3, has a unique part in the series as the one character passing between the cult world and the more familiar environment of the town. Her performance was informed by research she did into real-life cults. “I was sent a few documentaries and such, and I’ve had obsessions in the past learning about that kind of stuff,” Scott explained. “But so there are aspects of that and I think that’s what helps it be grounded. But at the same time, it’s a very supernatural, crazy show and it has a lot of different elements as well. So it was really fun to bring all of those elements to it.” Scott went on to note the show is “quite layered,” requiring her to take extensive fight training as well.
All eight episodes of The Girl in the Woods will be released on Peacock on Thursday, Oct. 21. When viewers watch it, they will learn more than just how to defeat monsters, they will learn the importance of finding a community, even outside a biological family. “It’s finding your community,” Osherovich said of the show. “And I think that’s exactly what these kids start to find throughout this show. And I hope that’s what younger viewers take away from it, that there is a community out there for them. There is love out there for them and find your people because that’s how you get through life.”
