Camryn Jones, Riley Lai Nelet, and Fina Strazza Discuss Bringing the ‘Paper Girls’ to Life [Interview]

Prime Video’s upcoming new show Paper Girls tells the story of four 12-year-old girls transported to another time who must figure out a way back home. It’s based on the best-selling graphic novels of the same name written by Brian K. Vaughan and illustrated by Cliff Chiang.

The group of unlikely friends is made up of Tiffany Quilkin (Camryn Jones), Erin Tieng (Riley Lai Nelet), Mac Coyle (Sofia Rosinsky), and KJ Brandman (Fina Strazza).

I spoke to Jones, Nelet, and Strazza during a press junket about bringing their characters from page to screen. (You can watch the full video below.)

Bonded by their jobs as paper girls, the group features a variety of unique personalities. Strazza described her character KJ as “fiercely protective and loyal” with an “incredibly grounded moral compass.”

“She is just trying to find her path and feels pressured by her family to become someone she doesn’t necessarily want to and is kind of looking for her way out,” Strazza said.

Jones pointed to Tiffany’s “encyclopedic mind” as a main part of the character and that she relates to her constant search for knowledge. The character is also a bit of a tech geek.

“She’s very passionate about her technology because I think that was a comfort to her when she didn’t have a lot of friends.”

Watch the full interview with Camryn Jones, Riley Lai Nelet, and Fina Strazza about Paper Girls:

Erin is the newcomer to the group and starts as the more timid one of the girls.

“I would consider her to be pretty sheltered, too,” Nelet explained. “So I think quite naturally, she starts off to be a bit more awkward around the girls, even though she just so badly wants to fit in and wants to be friends with them.”

Paper Girls is a coming-of-age story where friendship plays an important role.

“The girls kind of all meet at a point where the universe has decided they need each other,” Strazza said. “They are all loners for one reason or another and help each other find themselves on their action-packed journey.”

While the actresses may have some things in common with their characters there is one big thing that separates them. The main characters of Paper Girls start out in the 80s before being transported to the future.

In addition to reading the comics the show is based on, the actresses looked to 80s pop culture to capture the vibe of the decade. Stand By Me, The Breakfast Club, and Coming to America are just a few of the movies the group watched before filming.

“None of us were born in the 80s. But for some reason, it just felt really nostalgic,” said Lai Nelet. “For me, I just listened to a lot of the music and also read the comic books.”

The cast says the show is meant to be something everyone can enjoy.

“There’s a piece that everybody can relate to and identify with,” Jones confirmed.

Given the age of the main characters, the show also sends an important message to young girls that they can have agency in their own lives. The show even had an impact on some of the women working on it, Strazza recalled.

“While filming, a lot of women who worked on the set with us would come up to us and say that they wish they had this show when they were younger because it highlights such an important story of female adolescence and that growth.”

“I think the four girls all have flaws to them, but in their flaws, there’s a sense of beauty. And I think that’s really cool,” Nelet added. “I’m excited for people to watch it.”

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Paper Girls premieres July 29th on Prime Video.

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