‘College Sex Life’ actresses have full control: ‘We choose what we want to do’

‘The Sex Life of College Girls’ was one of HBO Max’s surprise hits in 2021. Behind that surprising title was an irreverent and refreshing teen comedy created by Mindy Kaling and Justin Noble (responsible for another recent hit for teenagers, ‘Never Have I Ever’ ), who captivated audiences with his sense of humor, his honest way of dealing with sex and, above all, its main quartet, a group of actresses with one of those chemistry that crosses the screen.

The series was a revelation and HBO Max wasted no time announcing a second season, which is finally hitting our screens. The students of the fictitious University of Essex return for a new stage full of new relationships and problems, but above all a lot of friendship. At eCartelera we got to chat with the four actresses who make up the main cast, Pauline Chalamet (older sister of Timothée Chalamet), Amrit Kaur, Renée Rapp and Alyah Chanelle Scottwhich go over the main keys of the new season and what new challenges await their characters when they return to campus after the holidays.

Because Even though it’s been exactly one year since season one for us, it was just Thanksgiving for Kimberly, Bela, Leighton and Whitney.. “We picked up the series not much later than season one and it felt very natural to go back to the characters and the story”Scott says of his return to filming. “Things get very complicated in the series, but coming back was easy”. For Rapp, who plays Leighton, this second season has also been a much more organic and relaxed experience: “I felt less anxiety when it came to my job. I didn’t think too much about every little decision I made. It was just reading the scripts and moving on. I just had to be myself and a little bit of her”.

“Acting, I’m one to jump in and see what happens”Keep it up. “For me [interpretar a Leighton en la segunda temporada] it was easier because a lot of things happen and he feels a lot of anxiety. I feel more emotionally attached to her because she seems to be very relaxed and confident but in reality she is always anxious. I’m anxious right now. I loved that she was going through her ‘she was slutty'”. Change is the general trend of all the characters, who after what they experienced in the first season, they approach their problems from another perspective, especially Bela, who sees trauma as a catalyst to fight back. Kaur explains it like this: “My character evolves a lot between the first and second seasons. I made a lot of conscious decisions as an actress. A lot of things happened to Bela in the first season, she was sexually assaulted, she denounced him, she left Il Catullano. So the only smart way back” He was losing some of his naivety. Which is why she doesn’t come back in the noblest way in Season 2, but as revenge for being rejected and ostracized, she decides to objectify men, be the alpha, and start her own magazine.”.

Nico leaves, Jackson enters

“Kimberly has also gone through a radical change”adds Chalamet. “At the end of season one, he doesn’t know if he’s going to be able to come back to Essex. And if he is, he doesn’t know if he’ll be able to afford it. serious problem forces her to stop being naive very quickly, at least up to a certain point. […] In the period between Seasons 1 and 2, which is the Thanksgiving holiday, he came home and had to put his life into perspective that he had never seen before. In Season 2, there’s more depth to his issues and dilemmas that he’s exploring.”.

An important change in the storyline is marked by the absence of Nico, her sweetheart in the first season, who will not appear in the second after the departure of Gavin Leatherwood. Audiences were surprised that the actor left the series, but as Kaling expressed before, and now Chalamet too, his story ended in the first episode. To fill the void left by Leatherwood (although they insist he is no replacement), comes Mitchell Slagert as Essex’s newest student Jackson, whose storyline is also tied to Kimberly, and whose shirtless screen time is likely even longer than Leatherwood’s in season one..

“There were several months between filming Season 1 and Season 2, so it wasn’t just showing up one day and saying, ‘Where’s my partner?’ We had some time to adjust.”Chalamet explains the cast change. “I’m still in regular contact with Gavin, so I feel like the changes to the show haven’t affected the imprint he’s left on me, like Pauline.. Story-wise, his plot was done and I think Justin and Mindy, the writers, did a great job. When Mitchell shows up, we don’t really know where the plot is going for a while. It wasn’t like, ‘This is the guy Kimberly is with right now.’ It’s not that kind of story, it’s very different from Nico’s. I didn’t compare them in my head”.

generate conversation

“The Sex Lives of College Girls” was applauded not only for how funny it is and for its fine cast, but also also for tackling serious and important issues relating to sex and sexuality, without fanfare and with a female, authoritarian perspective. “The brightest thing about Justin and Mindy’s specific style is that they approach issues by presenting them to the audience in a way they can digest, which is why it’s a comedy-drama”Kaur points out that balance that continues to be explored in season two and that the actresses hope will continue to raise awareness of the issues faced by young people and generate conversation

“I would like the themes covered in season two, where the protagonists go on very different personal journeys, to provoke conversations about some of the things that go on during their college years, some practical, some very personal, and some completely crazy.”Chalamet says. “I would be interested in character issues that generate questions from parents to children or children to parents”. “Because of playing Bela I was lucky enough to have conversations that I couldn’t have when I was little, and even in college, because my father is from a small town in India (Bompatti), where everyone is very conservative”Kaur adds. “Because of the series, we were able to talk about sex and the lies surrounding it for the first time. So I hope watching it brings out those conversations with parents.”.

‘College Girls Sex Life’ is a perfect example to illustrate how the representation of the female sex and the serial gaze has changed in recent years. Scott thinks she and her partners are young to have fully experienced that transition, but acknowledges that things are different now: “By the time our critical capacity developed, television had already begun to make that shift to a less masculine or male-centered depiction of sexuality”.

For his part, Rapp brings the queer perspective through Leighton, a character who has become a point of reference for the Sapphic community and who, according to his partner, is already “an icon”. “There are definitely two ways of looking at it”Rap muses. “As a queer woman, I love that a woman is so open about sex on the show, and the sex is never gross. But on the other hand, there are sure to be other queer women like me who would like to see rougher sex or It’s so personal that I don’t know if I could speak from a general point of view. […] But I’m very proud of how the four of us are handling it and how the whole team is handling it, adjusting to what’s comfortable for us.”. On this issue, actresses insist they have complete control over how far they are willing to go with their characters, especially when it comes to nudity and sex scenes: “We can say ‘I don’t want his ass showing.’ Or maybe one day [me quiera quitar el sujetador]but not today”says Rep. “We choose what we want to do”confirms Scott.

“It’s an incredible honor that people are willing to hear what I have to say, about myself or about queer in general”continues Rapp, returning to the theme of representation and impact on the public. “It’s a big responsibility, but we are very grateful and proud of the position we are in”adds Scott. “People are watching the show and learning from it. And there’s so many things we haven’t covered yet that we want you to know, so many conversations we want to have with people.”. “I feel that people are growing with us and this is something very important and exciting for me”concludes Rep.

The future of the university

The warm reception the series received in its first season took Chalamet by surprise: “It was very strange to start hearing people talk about the series”recalls the actress. “Of course, we expected it to be seen, but it’s a shock to find that people who don’t know are watching it, that’s when you realize you’ve done something useful”. For Scott, on the other hand, it wasn’t so surprising, and he credits it to Mindy Kaling’s talent for creating compelling products: “I had a feeling when I read the pilot. In everything I believe, Mindy follows an algorithm and knows very well what the public likes. I read it and knew it would grab people’s attention and they would feel identified with it.”.

If the series continues its success into its second season (and if Warner Bros. Discovery’s new leadership doesn’t play a joke on it), “The Sex Lives of College Girls” would have a string for a while. What would your protagonists like to explore in hypothetical future seasons? Chalamet wants to follow Kimberly “while still breaking barriers and making mistakes. She’s the kind of girl who grew up in a perfect environment and things don’t go her way when she gets to college. I want to go beyond those boundaries”. Kaur agrees and underlines the importance of continuing to have a reference like Bela on television: “He’s a character who doesn’t like to be labeled or pigeonholed, which is something Gen Z really identifies with, so I hope that keeps it that way, so that teenagers see a character who doesn’t give a damn about them.” “.

On the other hand, Rapp longs to see Leighton “in a stable relationship and that girls are friends with their partner”while Scott proposes a season set in the summer holidays or a course abroad and expresses curiosity about what it would be like to see the protagonists in their respective homes. “Handle with each other, why not?”adds Rapp, to which Scott laughs: “You always strain your agenda”. Of course, if the series continues, it’s best not to wait for longer seasons. Though many, many fans would like more chapters, the actresses agree that ten per season is fine.. “I think ten is a good number. It covers a short period of time, but it makes you want to go back and there’s so much more to explore.”says Scott, to which Rapp adds: “Yes, ten is fine. Also, it takes a long time to record them”.

‘The Sex Life of College Girls’ premieres its second season on HBO Max November 17th. The first complete is available on the platform.