CULT STATUS
What lies beneath (hint: they’re monsters) in new Peacock thriller ‘The Girl in the Woods’
GENERATIONS Eva Longoria will star in a series adaptation of Isabel Allende’s bestselling novel “The House of the Spirits.” She’ll play the “passionate and courageous” Blanca Trueba in the story about three generations of a family in South America.
SUPERNATURAL drama “The Girl in the Woods” puts a new spin on a spooky cult story. Premiering Thursday (Oct. 21) on Peacock, the series is set in the Pacific Northwest and follows Carrie’s (Stefanie Scott) escape from the Disciples of Dawn, a mysterious cult-like group that guards the world from monsters that are hidden behind a door in the woods.
“I really hadn’t read anything like [the show] before,” Scott, 24, told The Post. “My character, Carrie, comes from a cult in the middle of the woods where her world is different from the outside world, and it opens on her experiencing the world for the first time.”
After running away from the group's endless rules and stifling lifestyle, Carrie ends up in a sleepy nearby mining town where residents are aware of the Disciples but dismiss them as a group of insular weirdos. Soon enough, she’s taken in by two teenage friends: aspiring influencer Sasha (Sofia Bryant) and stylish misfit Nolan (Misha Osherovich).
“The show has that thriller aspect but it’s superquirky and funny, too, when Carrie goes into the real world and she interacts with Tasha and Nolan who are real kids going through their own real life drama,” said Scott, noting how the story has a “fish out of water” element.
When Nolan’s sister goes missing, the resulting search sets off a chain of events that ensnares Carrie and the Disciples of Dawn. To make matters more complicated, Nolan’s mother wants to close the mines because of environmental concerns, which doesn’t make her a popular figure among other residents who rely on them for employment.
Soon enough, the unlikely trio of Carrie, Nolan, and Tasha have to work together to save everyone — even as Carrie’s new friends still wonder if she’s trustworthy.
The first four episodes of “The Girl in the Woods” were directed by “Jessica Jones” star Krysten Ritter.
“I was a big fan of Krysten from ‘Breaking Bad’ a long time ago; I always thought she was incredible. And when I found out she was directing the show, that was a pretty cool moment for me,” said Scott. “She had a really specific vision she wanted. What Krysten taught me most was I think it came from her training on ‘Jessica Jones,’ her stance and how grounded she had to be. And, to be aware of your surroundings and ready to fight. I grew up dancing, which made it easy for the movement, but being grounded and super present was [important].”
In order to play Carrie, Scott had a lot of fight sequences, which required training, she said.
“[The role] was pretty physical, which was new for me. So, that was definitely a challenge and something new to experience, I did a lot of training before I got to Oregon. I did about three hours a day for a few weeks with a stuntman [who] taught me MMA and some kicks. So that was really cool, the prep work that went into it — I love all that stuff.”