ETonline: When you heard The Carrie Diaries was picked up for a second season, what was the first story you were excited to tackle?
Amy B. Harris: Bringing Samantha in. That was the thing we talked about when we pitched the pilot. I told Peter Roth that my goal was to bring Samantha in at the very end of season one, but it felt too overwhelming to introduce this huge character. So we ended on this big note of Sebastian kissing Maggie, and the first thing I wanted to do in season two was bring Samantha in. That was a really exciting thing for me to do; it feels realistic and real and exciting.
ETonline: I have to say, the casting of Lindsey Gort is spot on.
Harris: It's really funny because you always think you won't find the actress early on. Weirdly my casting director sent me a few people to consider but said there's one particular girl who is phenomenal as an actress and looks a like lot Kim [Cattrall]. I assumed he was swayed by how much she looked like Kim, but her performance was perfection. She's funny and light and outrageous, but also sexy -- the sexy has to be there, but anyone who went for the va-va-va-voom totally missed the point of the character. Lindsay just owned it from the get-go. She was our first choice from the beginning, but we assumed that couldn't be it. The first person I click on can't be the right choice, but she was just incredible.
ETonline: Can you say how Samantha comes into Carrie's world?
Harris: They have an odd person in common: Donna LaDonna, which is based on the books.
ETonline: That relationship is so iconic to SATC fans. As a showrunner, how do you approach telling the beginning of Carrie and Samantha's story?
Harris: We talked about that a lot. We weren't sure if they were immediate friends. What we realized is that, in the first season, Carrie was very burdened by her sense of responsibility to her friends and her family. What Samantha brings to the table is the idea that you have to take care of yourself first. No one is there for you like you will be there for you. Sam's backstory is rough and tumble; she's been surviving on her own for a while. And what Carrie brings to Samantha is the idea that if you actually let people in, they will care about you. It's a process and I don't want their journey to end in episode one. There are ups and downs, but they have instant chemistry.
Full Article @ETonline
Amy B. Harris: Bringing Samantha in. That was the thing we talked about when we pitched the pilot. I told Peter Roth that my goal was to bring Samantha in at the very end of season one, but it felt too overwhelming to introduce this huge character. So we ended on this big note of Sebastian kissing Maggie, and the first thing I wanted to do in season two was bring Samantha in. That was a really exciting thing for me to do; it feels realistic and real and exciting.
ETonline: I have to say, the casting of Lindsey Gort is spot on.
Harris: It's really funny because you always think you won't find the actress early on. Weirdly my casting director sent me a few people to consider but said there's one particular girl who is phenomenal as an actress and looks a like lot Kim [Cattrall]. I assumed he was swayed by how much she looked like Kim, but her performance was perfection. She's funny and light and outrageous, but also sexy -- the sexy has to be there, but anyone who went for the va-va-va-voom totally missed the point of the character. Lindsay just owned it from the get-go. She was our first choice from the beginning, but we assumed that couldn't be it. The first person I click on can't be the right choice, but she was just incredible.
ETonline: Can you say how Samantha comes into Carrie's world?
Harris: They have an odd person in common: Donna LaDonna, which is based on the books.
ETonline: That relationship is so iconic to SATC fans. As a showrunner, how do you approach telling the beginning of Carrie and Samantha's story?
Harris: We talked about that a lot. We weren't sure if they were immediate friends. What we realized is that, in the first season, Carrie was very burdened by her sense of responsibility to her friends and her family. What Samantha brings to the table is the idea that you have to take care of yourself first. No one is there for you like you will be there for you. Sam's backstory is rough and tumble; she's been surviving on her own for a while. And what Carrie brings to Samantha is the idea that if you actually let people in, they will care about you. It's a process and I don't want their journey to end in episode one. There are ups and downs, but they have instant chemistry.
Full Article @ETonline
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