“I've never worked this much in my life,” Sadie Stanley tells Teen Vogue from the set of Cruel Summer season 2 in Vancouver. It's been a pivotal time for the 21-year-old, best known for her role as Kim Possible in the 2019 live-action film — Cruel Summer is her first time leading a TV series. She remembers living in Vancouver four years ago to film Kim Possible, and looks back on that time now as formative, if far away.
“So much has changed,” she says. “Kim Possible was my very first project, and I was learning so much, and I was so green.”
Related: New Cruel Summer Season 2 Clip Has Lexi Underwood, Sadie Stanley in Full Y2K Vibes
In Cruel Summer season 2, set in 1999, Stanley plays our protagonist Megan, daughter of a single mom, intent on following her dreams of coding at then-fledgling Apple. Megan is a straight-A student who doesn't often leave her comfort zone. She doesn't want her life to be shaken up. But when exchange student Isabella (Lexi Underwood) comes to town to live with her family, change is inevitable — a wary friendship becomes a best friendship becomes a mystery that will haunt their Pacific Northwest town forever, told across three timelines like its season one predecessor.
Below, Sadie Stanley unpacks her character's motivations in season 2 and shares the advice she got from Cruel Summer season 1 stars Chiara Aurelia and Olivia Holt.
Teen Vogue: What have you been thinking about the past couple weeks as the Cruel Summer season 2 release date comes closer?
Stanley: I feel like I've just been waiting for this moment for so long, not only since we wrapped filming, but also in my career in general. There's a lot of milestones that are happening that are difficult to process, but so amazing… the amount of billboards and my friends texting me that they're seeing ads for it everywhere. There's a huge fan base from season one, so just hearing the conversation about it growing, it's exciting. It's just, it's nerve-wracking to put yourself out there like that.
TV: What did you like most about the first season of Cruel Summer?
Stanley: Oh my gosh. I loved the first season of Cruel Summer. I didn't watch it until after I booked this season, because, I don't know, I guess I didn't want to jinx it. But then I sat down and watched it all in three days. I loved that you never knew who was right and who was wrong. It constantly kept you guessing, and each episode you'd lean one way or another. I think that's going to carry through for this season, as well. They manipulate you, you know what I mean? In each episode, they manipulate you into thinking it might be this person, or this person, or this person, but you never really know until the end.
TV: Did you get to talk to Olivia Holt or Chiara Aurelia about their experiences on the show in the first season?
Stanley: Yeah, I did. I've met Chiara a couple times, before I actually auditioned for season two of the show, and I've hung out with her a couple of times since. She's so amazing and so supportive and has been so supportive from the jump. Olivia actually came to set for a day or two when we were filming in Vancouver. She's also lovely and so supportive. It was really nice to have her there. They both expressed that this show was a wild ride as far as filming goes. It's just kind of crazy. You have to really just be on your toes and be ready to adapt at any moment. They were super right about that.
TV: I would love to hear about Megan. What is her deal? What is she like?
Stanley: Oh, Megan, I love Megan. She's really just figuring herself out, just like any other 16, 17-year-old girl. She's going through a lot of phases with the different timelines… she's trying different things out and seeing how they feel on her, if that makes sense.
TV: Have there been times where you tried things on to see how they feel — whether that's trends or friendships or a way of being — when you were a teenager or more recently?
Stanley: Definitely. I feel like I really relate to Megan. She never allowed herself to be able to make mistakes or be a young teenage girl who's carefree and trying out different things. She sticks to what she knows. Then Isabella comes in and shakes that up for her and gives her the space and the encouragement to just be a teenage girl and to make “bad decisions.” I had friends that did that for me when I was a kid, too. I was kind of a shy, more reserved kid. I was such a goody two shoes.
Not that that's a bad thing at all, but I think I was just... it was kind of my main focus. I didn't allow myself to relax and make mistakes and do all of the things that young teenage girls do.
So yeah, I feel like I had people in my life like Isabella, who did that for me and helped me open up and not be so afraid to put myself out there.
TV: There's the line early on where Megan's mom is like, "Female friendships are just different." In your experience, what do you think makes them different? In your own life, the girls you are friends with.
Stanley: I totally agree that female friendships are different… I have a lot of really great guy friends, but your female friendships are just like your sister[s]. You know what I mean? You can tell them anything with no judgment. It's like we say so much in this series — Megan and Isabella are each other's ride or die. You can really tell them anything and they'll always be there for you, and they'll hide a body for you if you need it.
TV: No spoilers.
Stanley: No, no, no, no. [Laughs] Just a figure of speech.
TV: In the least spoilery way possible, what do you think viewers will be most surprised about as the season progresses?
Stanley: The thing about the show is that at the end of every episode, you're going to be surprised. It's set up so that every episode you're kind of suspicious of somebody new and nobody in the cast is safe. Every single person is not exactly as they seem when you first meet them, which I love. You get to know a character and you think you know them, and then actually you don't, which is so fun. So, I guess people are just going to be shocked by the characters that they think are so safe and so innocent, and [such] good guys. Everybody's got something up their sleeve and everybody's got something… a skeleton in the closet.
TV: How did you feel coming into this role? After Kim Possible and some of these other parts you've had, what was your mindset with this story? Where are you in your career?
Stanley: I was really, really excited about this project. Kim Possible actually filmed out here in Vancouver four years ago. It was so fun to come back four years later and be in the same area downtown, staying at the same hotel in the beginning. I'm 20 now, and so much has changed. Kim Possible was my very first project, and I was learning so much, and I was so green. And now here I am at 20, leading a show and doing everything I ever dreamed of. [Note: Stanley has since turned 21.]
TV: Surreal.
Stanley: Surreal and rewarding. I was excited to get away from L.A. and immerse myself in this new world, and I definitely did that. I think a certain level of responsibility comes with leading a show, leading a series, and I had a taste of that with Kim Possible, leading my first movie. But this has been a really special experience because you create such a family together and you're with each other more than you're with your real family.
TV: What would you tell your 16-year-old self in Vancouver about what she was about to experience?
Stanley: Oh my gosh. When I think about my 16-year-old self, I laugh because she really had no idea what was coming. She was more fearless than I am now. So I guess I would tell her to hold on to that. She was absolutely fearless. She was so unafraid to be herself, so unafraid to mess up. All of her dreams were coming true all at once. And so she was just like, "F*ck what anyone else has to say. I'm going to do this and it's going to be the most amazing experience of my life, and all my dreams are coming true, and I'm going to work so hard. I'm going to learn so much."
She had the best attitude and she wasn't afraid of what people thought of her. I try and carry that with me today, too, being focused on the work and loving what I do every single day. Remembering what that felt like at the very beginning when everything was happening for you and all your dreams were coming true, and holding onto that and carrying that with me even on those hard shoot days. Even when it doesn't feel as new anymore, [when] it doesn't feel as exciting or special. It really is. It's still special.
She would be really proud of where I was, where I am.
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