Amazon’s ‘Paper Girls’ Could Be the Next ‘Stranger Things’

If you were 12 and had to choose an older version of yourself for a TV show, which celebrity would you choose? It’s a question that the cast of paper girls had to reflect as the show spans three decades – the 80s, 90s and present day – meeting their alumni, like the movie 13 Ongoing 30 but with a stranger things turn.

You’ll remember both, along with a handful of other sci-fi and coming-of-age classics, as you tune in for the first season, which premieres Friday on Amazon. A quartet of the cutest and most sarcastic newspaper delivery girls meet one fateful morning after Halloween as they travel their routes – only to discover a mind-boggling portal to another world. They hate each other. They love each other. They tolerate each other, because they need it if they want to go back to the 80s.

paper girls comes from the comics of the same name by Brian K. Vaughan, which rose to fame after a handful of rave reviews with its release in 2015. A few months later, Netflix unveiled the hugely popular first season of stranger things, which is certainly comparable to this new series. So before these girls reached Millie Bobby Brown levels of fame – fashionistas are already on their way – we had to chat with them about what it’s like to be 13 Ongoing 30-ed.

Jason Mantzoukas, who plays the evil overlord “Grandpa” in the back half of the new series, told me he’d cast Michelle Obama to play an older version of his younger self. “Just because it’s a convincing answer,” he said. “A major challenge. I would like to see it.

There’s a bit I’ve cut here, though, because his villainous co-star Adina Porter cast the former first lady a bit before him.

“Bring in Michelle Obama!” asks the actress. “I have this idea that I’ll get wise like Michelle Obama. If you can just kick anybody out, sure!

But Erin (Riley Lai Nelet), the series’ quiet but headstrong head, doesn’t really have a choice. Although her character has planned her whole life, with dreams that lead to the White House, when she finds the old version of herself (a miraculously slow Ali Wong), her life is in shambles. It’s not her. She is boring. She cut all ties with her sister. How could Erin have ruined her life so much?

But for Nelet, having a legendary actress like Ali Wong play the older version of her character was the exact opposite. Working with the comedian was a dream, and the two actresses were able to create a great story for Erin together.

“When [Erin] understands that it’s not exactly how it should be, she has that awareness, that self-discovery,” Nelet says. “It was really cool working with Ali on this. We bonded a lot around food. We both love to eat. I’m honored to be able to work with her.

Food is a recurring theme. Young girls keep telling me how Jeni’s ice cream has brought them together time and time again. They’re certainly mature for their age, but they all keep talking about food instead of the show. It’s lovely. In fact, when I first met them, they were serenading each other with a barbershop quartet version of One Direction’s “What Makes You Beautiful.”

The four girls – Nelet, Fina Strazza, Sofia Rosinsky and Camryn Jones – were not allowed to meet until filming began. As the paper girls met, the bonds were instantaneous and intense, leading to a stellar friendship between them. Although their friendship is not as charming as stranger things herd, who have known each other for what feels like decades, they show the potential to become another iconic group of friends.

“We spent a lot of late nights together,” Nelet says, drawing a comparison to a sleepover. “When we were super tired, we just got super energetic.”

Older versions of the actress’ characters are mostly revealed later in the series. In a fun twist, Fina Strazza (who plays KJ on the show) actually knew herself before – actress Delia Cunningham previously played Strazza in a play her older sister wrote at Northwestern University. The pair have some amazing similarities: curly hair, soft-spoken natures, and more.

But one of the actresses, Sofia Rosinsky, didn’t get a chance to meet an older version of herself. This is because his fearless character, Mac, meets a tragic death at a young age due to a medical condition. and because of that, his older brother Dylan (Cliff Chamberlain) becomes an ER doctor.

Not only did Rosinsky have to learn how to burn a pack of cigarettes on the show – “I’m happy to say I can’t smoke,” she confirms – but the actress also had to figure out how to treat a 43-year-old man. years like his big brother.

“He’s less of a bully now, but he’s very willing to get back into their old dynamic,” Rosinsky says, comparing him to someone she might see her dad hanging out with. “Immediately, she can just see him as he was.”

The show will inevitably earn a boatload of comparisons to other pop culture hits. I already mentioned stranger things twice in this play, although neither actor mentions the similarities in our interviews. Instead, they refer to classics like The breakfast club, support me, star wars, Come offand hunger games. Mantzoukas likens his evil role to Kang’s (Jonathan Majors) grand entrance in Loki.

But the biggest inspiration came from Brian K. Vaughan’s original paper girls comics, which the actors found themselves returning to every step of the way.

“I remember at one point I said, ‘Put the comic down. You have to study the lines,” Porter recalled. “And there are so many! I’m not finished. There are so many twists that I really enjoyed.

Watching paper girls, you’ll find yourself invested in finding the sweet girls to be home again, much like Porter’s devotion to novels. And note that there are quite a few comics to read, which means there’s plenty of room for season 2. If the kids don’t grow up too fast!