On the surface, Anya seems to have it all. She’s captain of the Lions, has a devoted boyfriend, Steven (Orlando Norman), and is beloved by all her classmates. Under the surface, however, the teen is falling apart. She’s terrified of the intense feelings she’s developing for her best friend Elise (Sara Boustany) and potentially may have killed her team member Grace (Sofia Wylie). 

“I remember in one of the auditions I tried to play Anya quite cold — I tried it in tons of different ways — but I really wanted to find a warmth with her,” Bogic says. “She’svery warm and bubbly and very kind in the first episode, and then you see her slowly start becoming more defensive and her anxiety takes over her and her life.”

When Bogic got the part, she was rocking a curly brown pixie cut. “I did the table reads for Anya and I was like, ‘I still need to figure her out, I still need to find the essence of her,’” she recalls. “Then Quinn and Gina said, ‘Your hair’s going to be dyed blonde and you’re going to get long extensions." 

As soon as the new hair was in? “I was like, ‘Boom, I know who Anya is.’”

Howl, Playing Gracie Darling

Elise is Anya’s effortlessly cool best friend, whose tough exterior hides a soft, big-hearted interior. She’s in love with Anya, who — riddled by shame and guilt — keeps her at a distance.

Boustany originally auditioned for Anya, before casting director Jennifer Venditti quickly pivoted. “Jennifer called and said, ‘They think you’re Elise, we’re going to have a callback,’ and she gave me some pointers,” recounts Boustany. The actor realized she was “100%” Elise after that.

“I think Elise’s character and arc are for the people who’ve experienced an unrequited love with someone who isn’t ready to take on a journey of self acceptance and discovery, which is sadly common in queer relationships,” Boustany says. “I hope that Elise makes people feel less alone in that experience.”

Hello, Beautiful, PEN15

Lisbeth is the new kid in town and struggling to fit in. Her father mysteriously died, her mother is in crisis mode, and she’s lost her tightly held faith in religion.

More than anything, she wants to join the Lions, particularly if it means becoming best friends with Anya. When an initiation goes horribly wrong and Lisbeth finds herself in cahoots with the team captain, it looks like  her dream may have come true … until things really start to spiral. 

“Lisbeth is deeply intelligent, very quick to spot people’s weaknesses, and she’s trying to fill a void that she got when her father passed away,” says Meszaros. “She has a desperation that I think anyone who’s lost faith in anything has — and I think that drives her and makes her a survivalist.”

When Shephard watched Meszaros’s audition tape, she was struck by her completely unique interpretation of Lisbeth. “There was so much comedy she uncovered in the show that we leaned into really hard once we cast her,” Shephard explains. “Immediately we were like, ‘She's a genius. Who is this?’” 

Soul’s Road, In Cold Light

Maddie has been temporarily benched by the Lions after an injury and she’s eager to help them find a new recruit. As Chen puts it, her character starts off “very optimistic and very happy-go-lucky. She’s one of the girls who just wishes everybody could join the team.”

Behind the scenes, Maddie struggles with an eating disorder. “I think on the inside, she hides a lot of shame and guilt, and those are two feelings that she’s ashamed of feeling,” Chen says. She adds, “As the show progresses, I think those feelings overtake her.” 

Didi, Slanted 

Grace just wants to join the dance team. Instead, she finds herself at the center of a drug-fueled initiation gone very, very wrong.

“I was so excited when I read the script for the first time because I had been dying for something like it,” recalls Wylie. “It was exactly what I had been looking for and I just couldn’t put it down. When I started auditioning, I was putting my whole heart into it because I really, really wanted to be a part of something that I thought was so special.”

High School Musical: The Musical - The Series, Andi Mack

Leo is Lisbeth’s brother and, much like his sibling, struggles to fit in. Introverted and anxious, he has a big crush on Grace, but a shocking discovery severs ties between them. 

“For so much of this season, he’s just trying to catch his breath, trying to find some solid ground,” Kelly explains, adding that a surprise twist will “finally” give him some answers. 

The Pitt, Chucky 

Norman describes Anya’s boyfriend as someone who is “extremely trusting, sweet, highly strung” and “five steps behind what’s happening.” Unbeknownst to Steven, Anya has secretly embarked on a romantic journey with Elise …which is just the tip of the iceberg for him. 

“Steven starts experiencing paranoia after an incident at the ‘devil's house’ and starts drinking and smoking weed to deal with that paranoia  — which paradoxically creates bigger problems for him,” Norman says.

Silo, The Map That Leads to You

Tyler just wants to have fun. He’s best friends with Steven, the life of the party, and brings an endearing, if chaotic energy to any social occasion he attends. 

Summer of Three

Father “Daddy” Franklin is the high school’s religious leader and Grace’s uncle. As his students begin to unravel over potential visions of Grace, Father Franklin tries desperately to get to the bottom of what’s happening, wading through the mysterious chaos taking over both the school and his town.

“Everyone else gets to talk to people, they get to go to confession, they get to confide in each other, and he really doesn’t have anyone who he can lean on in that way,” Asomugha sayss. “It’s a difficult tightrope that he’s walking while still trying to lead his flock.”

Sylvie's Love, Crown Heights 

Coach Miller is the Lions’ dance coach who “wants to be one of the girls,” Windey says. She’s pregnant, and a born-again ex-cheerleader with a penchant for velour and snark. 

“I knew Quinn was so talented, so when the audition came in, I was already excited,” Windey says. “She’s such a visionary. I think she has such a voice, she’s queer, and has her finger on the pulse.”

The Traitors winner adds, “This is my first time acting and you do realize how much of an expression it is. As adults, we all just want room to play, and I felt so fulfilled that I got to do that.”

The Traitors, The Bachelorette 

Catherine is Lisbeth and Leo’s mom. She struggles with religious trauma, chronic illness, and becomes firmly convinced that Grace is the Devil. 

“I got the audition sides and it was just a feast of a role, I was  like, ‘Oh, who is this woman?’” Krause recalls. “She senses her kids slipping [from her] and she’s no longer able to control them in the way that she thinks is the godly, right way.” 

The Girlfriend Experience, Maggie Moore(s)

Michael Franklin is “having the worst day of his life every episode,” Foster explains. His daughter Grace is in a mysterious coma and, as time ticks by, he struggles to get any real answers as to the cause. “Prior to the show, maybe he was a somewhat charming, affable guy,” the actor says. “During the show, he's losing his mind.”

The God Committee, A Dog's Way Home