Photo: Freeform

After becoming Freeform’s biggest hit in its first season, Cruel Summer is back for Season 2. A new mystery in a new town, this season is set in a different time period, with the story unfolding in Summer 1999, Winter 1999, and Summer 2000. I talked to Sadie Stanley, who plays Meagan, about is Megan and Isabella are truly “ride or die,” Megan and Luke’s relationship, and creating a character from scratch.

One quick thing, I ran into Christy Carlson Romano [on the red carpet]. She specifically told me to tell you she’s so proud of you.

Oh my God

Yes, I told her I was interviewing you and she told me to tell you I’m so proud of her so just a quick message.

So amazing. I hope I get to run into her today

Isabella and Megan always say that they’re ride or die. But it kind of seems that Megan never actually really trusts Isabelle. Are they truly friends or was it kind of like “keep your friends close and your enemies closer” situation?

No, I definitely think they were truly always friends I just think Megan and Isabella have different definitions of ride or die and what that looks like in a friendship, and what a loyal friend is. I think Isabella has a tendency to take things too far sometimes, her character can like kind of overdo it a little. And Megan has her relationship with Luke that she’s also very close with so I think that’s where the tension kind of comes in

I think one of the reasons that Megan is attracted to Luke is that I feel like all throughout town she kind of has to apologize for who she is, she’s a bit more conservative about how she acts and her desires but with Luke she doesn’t have to apologize about anything.  Can you kind of go into their relationship and why she feels so safe and open with him?

I love that you said that it’s so true. I mean, Luke has known her since she was literally in diapers they’ve been best friends, so there’s just no judgment there there’s such a safety and security in Luke that I think Megan is craving.  And it just feels good to just like be yourself and Luke accepts her and when he realizes that he wants her as more than a friend and she does too that’s like the best moment ever because that transition becomes so easy for them. 

I mean, building their chemistry was easy like you know we very clearly see the change in that second timeline even in the first episode they’re suddenly kissing. But my favorite moment is like in episode seven when they have their first kiss on the dock and that was really fun because we get to see how it actually happened, how they got to that point. They’re like “oh my gosh, goosebumps like will we going hold hands, who’s gonna make the first move, have I said too much,” it’s just it’s so adorable and awkward and perfect. I love it.

A lot of your earlier work was taking IPs and period pieces. Like, The Goldbergs, which was based on a real person, Kim Possible was that. But now you’re being able to kind of create your own characters and there’s not like a backstory or fanbase to that.  Is that kind of scary? Is it fun? How do you go about being able to create a character you’re the first and only interation of it so far?

No, it’s so freeing. It’s not scary, it’s like the best thing about being an actor I loved being able to create a character from scratch and put my put myself into her.

Cruel Summer is on Mondays on Freeform.