Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Boo, Bitch.From co-showrunnersLauren IungerichandErin Ehrlich, the eight-episode 30-minute Netflix limited comedy seriesBoo, Bitchfollows high school senior Erika Vu (Lana Condor) and her best friend Gia (Zoe Colletti), who have finally decided to break out of their boring existence of flying-under-the-radar and start living their epic life. The only problem with that is that Erika wakes up the day after a big party to find out that she’s a ghost who may only have as long as figuring out her unfinished business before disappearing forever.
During this interview with Collider, co-stars Condor (who’s also an executive producer on the series) and Colletti talked about howBoo, Bitchevolved into what it is now, how much Colletti knew about her character arc ahead of time, what they thought of the story’s big twist, screaming on camera, finding the perfect prom dress, and whether this series could continue in the future.
Collider: This was so much fun. I thoroughly enjoyed everything about the show, about your characters, and about their friendship.
LANA CONDOR: Thank you. You have no idea how much validation that is.
ZOE COLLETTI: I’ve been sweating.
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Lana, what made this a project that you not only wanted to sign on to act in, but that you would also be an executive producer on? Was that your idea? Was it something you pursued? How did that happen?
CONDOR: Basically, a couple years ago, a friend of my agent had a script that was written for me by these two who had just graduated from the USC film program. They said, “Is there any way that Lana would read it?” And I said, “Of course.” So, I read it and I thought it was very, very funny. Sometimes when I read a comedy, it doesn’t get an audible laugh. But this one, off the page, I was laughing very much. So then, we packaged it up and we did the whole pitch, bible, and everything. We took a meeting at Netflix, in the hopes that they would be interested in pursuing the show, and very, very luckily they were. And then, from there, all the rest of pre-production and then production happened.
It was interesting because a script goes through so many changes when a writer’s room comes in. It was really cool to see how the original story evolved and where we ended up. So, I was a part of it from the very beginning and it’s been very fulfilling because I’ve been able to work with amazing people, like Zoe [Colletti], who I think is the most talented person ever, and also bring in some really fresh, awesome, new talent that I think people will really like. I think our cast is a very dynamic, diverse cast. Something that was important for myself and for Netflix was to make sure that the women in front of the camera and behind the camera were a very diverse group of women, and it’s female-led. That’s something I pride myself on, and we did that with the show. I’m very happy with how that turned out, for sure.
With you being more involved in this, did you always know where you were going to end up and what the twist would be? And Zoe, did you also know, or did you find out later?
CONDOR: I only found out when the writers were finished. I was like, “Here’s the pilot, do what you’ve gotta do.” And then, I found out once I got all the scripts.
COLLETTI: So many scenes are different, when I’m playing it that I know that I’m the one that’s dead. Luckily for me, because it impacted my audition process and how I would play the character, before I went into my final call with Netflix, (executive producers) Lauren [Iungerich] and Erin [Ehrlich] got on a call with me to tell me all of that stuff. I was able to go into my final audition, having a little bit more backstory and understanding of how to play the scenes, through the correct lens of what actually happens in the show, which was very helpful for me. I think it does impact Gia’s character a lot, with how she goes about talking to Erika.
What did you guys think about that twist? I kept going back and forth in my own guesses about what was really going on. What was your reaction to learning about that?
COLLETTI: It’s so great that you were confused because that’s the ultimate goal. I love it. I think it’s awesome. It’s not only crazy and confusing for the people watching, but I also think it adds such a super heartfelt aspect to it. Erika goes through some bitchy moments, for sure, and the really sad and heartfelt part about it is the fact that, even though Gia is the one that’s dead, she’s still putting all of her last efforts into making sure that she can have a good life, and survive and thrive on her own.
CONDOR: And she’s doing it alone, which is really heartbreaking.
COLLETTI: She doesn’t have her parents around. All of that adds to the really heartfelt aspect to the show, to balance out the super funny moments.
When you guys see the dead body in the woods together for the first time, you both turn to each other and scream. What’s it like to perfect the exact right scream? How many times did you have to do that? Did you have to practice that?
CONDOR: To be completely honest, that was the day when we were filming everything in the mud because we were block shooting, so I already had so much primal Lana fear going on. I’m not necessarily one that totally enjoys throwing themselves into pools of mud, so I was already screaming on the inside. I could just let that out.
COLLETTI: It really just flew out. We did have to do it seven million times though.
CONDOR: That’s true.
COLLETTI: The vocal chords were raw.
Is that something you practice at all, or do you just go with your gut, in the moment?
CONDOR: I went with my gut.
COLLETTI: I’m not really a screamer, in general, so I just had to let it fly and see what happened.
CONDOR: I don’t know if we practiced. I think it was just a gut thing.
Much like withTo All the Boys, you get to have a prom in this. What did you guys think about your prom dresses? Especially for a moment like that, is it pretty easy to tell when the wardrobe fits the character?
COLLETTI: I missed my prom in school, so this was my prom. I missed my prom, and I was always so desperate to go to prom. There have been other times that I was working in other places, and I would ask around with the crew, to see if anyone had kids or nephews that were going to prom, so that I could attempt to go to prom, but I never was able to get to a prom, ever. This was my first time doing a prom in a show, or anywhere.
CONDOR: And your dress was beautiful.
COLLETTI: It was so pretty. We tried on a million dresses. Lana also tried on a million dresses, but that one was perfect. And the little cape thing that I was wearing was a robe that was a separate thing, and they chopped it up and made it into a cape.
CONDOR: You looked like an angel, and you do ascend.
COLLETTI: I loved it.
CONDOR: I’ve gotta say, I think the wardrobe on our show was really, really fun. One of my favorite parts was just watching our costume designers create all of these amazing fashion looks.
Have you talked about the possibility of doing a second season and where things could go and if we would get to see Gia again?
CONDOR: We haven’t had any official conversations, whatsoever. To the best of my knowledge, this is a mini-series. But Zoe and I would sometimes muse on set about what would happen, if the story were to go on. I mean, where is Gia? It’s never been a concrete conversation, but on set we mused about it, as I think a lot of actors do. When we’re trying to put together a character, we think about their past, their present, and their future.
