Youngstar Exclusive: Little Miss Popular
MANILA, Philippines - Every high school melodrama has its “it” girl: the queen bee or that perfect Little Miss Popular whose intellect and flawless beauty gives her ultimate social power highly coveted by many. In the new MTV series Teen Wolf, Lydia Martin is the school’s most desired “it” girl. Holland Roden, who plays Lydia, describes the character as part Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon from the movie Election) and part Violet Beauregarde (Blueberry girl from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory), asserting her character is really more bratty than bitchy, seeking to get everything she wants.
Though admittedly playing a big part as the “it” girl of Beacon Hills High School in Teen Wolf, Holland chirpily explains what makes the show a unique spin-off from the 1985 movie, and invites everyone to get in on the action.
“I love that the supernatural theme is popular right now — it’s opened up projects like Twilight, True Blood, and Vampire Diaries. They have opened the door for shows like ours to soar in this fantasy world, into a world of make-believe — it’s the Peter Pan effect,” says Holland about the trend towards the supernatural.
The show, though imbued with comic relief and a teen storyline of forbidden love, carries a dark, dry tone that translates to the screen. Its eerie feel could be because creator Jeff Davis is also responsible for the show Criminal Minds. Holland says even if the set is often light and comical, the show maintains a very sombre tone. “The writing team is also from Lost, Fringe, The 4400 and Star Trek, so it’s like a ball of fantasy and sci-fi all rolled into one.”
In the series, lacrosse is the school’s main sport, and becomes an important component as the protagonist’s rise up the social ladder when his bodily changes makes him a star player. Holland says the update from basketball in the original Michael J. Fox Teen Wolf movie to lacrosse made the sport a better fit for the tone of the show. “Lacrosse players attack each other. It is almost like how werewolves would attack each other — it’s very primitive and animalistic.”
If there was a full moon, and the bubbly, confident and strong-willed Holland were a werewolf, she pronounces that she would go tree jumping. “Like rooftop, Amazon canopy, the whole thing. Yup, tree jumping.”
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Teen Wolf airs every Monday at 9 p.m. on AXN Beyond.
