Exclusive Interview: Sara Garcia on Morales’ Allegiances in The Hunting Party: ‘We’ll See Where Her Loyalty Lies’

Sara Garcia is no stranger to bringing powerful, resilient women to life on screen. A multifaceted storyteller, she has captivated audiences with her performances in Ride and The Flash, portraying characters who embody strength and depth. Now, she’s bringing that same energy to The Hunting Party, a high-stakes crime thriller that asks a chilling question: What happens when the nation’s most dangerous killers escape from a top-secret prison that was never supposed to exist?

As part of an elite team tasked with tracking down these deadly fugitives, Garcia’s character, Morales, is a soldier bound by duty—but as the series unfolds, her true allegiances may not be as clear-cut as they seem. We caught up with Garcia to discuss Morales’ dynamic relationships, her competitive edge, and the secrets that could change everything.

PC: Throughout your career, you’ve portrayed strong female characters who have more than held their own in often male-dominated spaces. Is there anything from playing Valeria on Ride or the women in your own life that influenced or shaped your portrayal of Jennifer Morales?
Sara: What a great question. Personally, as an actor, I like to insert parts of myself into my characters. It helps me keep them grounded in reality. The throughline for all these characters that I’ve been so fortunate to play is that they’re all resilient women. I consider myself to be a resilient woman, so bringing that to Morales wasn’t difficult for me.

As the season progresses, we get to learn more about her life and where she comes from. That colors the trajectory she’s on, how she ended up in the military, and how she worked her way up the ranks. She’s a very young Major, so that’s not an easy feat. She’s highly capable and incredibly strong—definitely resilient. All of the women I’ve played before have helped shape this one.

PC: With this being a newly established team, they’re all learning more about each other with every inmate they recover. Whose journey will have the biggest impact on Morales, and vice versa?
Sara: That’s another great question. As the season progresses, we get to see the relationship between [Oliver] Odell and Morales develop. Odell is shrouded in mystery—we don’t know what’s going on with him or whether he can be trusted. But when Morales and Odell are together, we get a glimpse of him that the other teammates don’t. I’m excited for people to watch that progression throughout the series and to see him through Morales’s eyes.

PC: The chemistry between the entire ensemble is so believable on screen. There are a lot of moments of levity within this series that bring a freshness to the genre. How did you all go about building that off screen so that it translated on screen?
Sara: It was really easy to build. The entire cast is full of all-stars—they’re all so generous, loving, and kind. They’re also really funny off screen. We were always joking around between takes, and that energy naturally made its way into the show. Josh [McKenzie] and Nick [Wechsler] are such jokesters—when you get them together in the same room, they’ll go for hours. [laughs] Melissa [Roxburgh] and I will just be like, “Boys.” But yeah, that off-screen dynamic was a natural one, and it easily translated on screen.

PC: You touched on this already, but there’s a funny moment when Morales gives Odell a look of confusion after he shares a piece of insight he discovered before her. To me, that felt like foreshadowing her arc this season. As the show continues to unfold, what will we learn about what drives Morales? And for you as an actor, how much of that information do you get ahead of time, or are you discovering it along with the audience?
Sara: I was discovering it as we were filming. In the first season of a show, everyone is trying to figure out what it is. We’re all working together in this beautifully collaborative way to shape its direction, and all these little details and nuances add up over time. I came onto set thinking, “I’m just going to be my weird, quirky self and see what happens.” I think the writers picked up on that and wove it into Morales.

As the series progresses, we’ll see more of that come through in her relationship with Odell—she teases him, pushes him, and is competitive with him. She gets to be the most herself around him. With the others, there’s a different dynamic. She’s also a bit competitive with Shane [Josh McKenzie] since he comes from a different faction of the military, but there’s a mutual respect there. Her relationship with Bex [Melissa Roxburgh] is one of reverence—it’s more of a mentor/mentee bond. She really looks up to her, so she’s a bit more reserved in that relationship.

PC: We all know that every character in this show has skeletons in their closet. Is that the case for Morales as well? What can you tease about what she might be hiding behind closed doors?
Sara: I have my own personal suspicions, but that’s something you’ll have to keep watching to find out. I can’t give too much away on that one. But she’s definitely a loyal person. Being in the military, she has a duty to remain loyal—to her rank, her job, and, first and foremost, to America. So we’ll see where her allegiance truly lies.

To keep up with Sara, follow her on Instagram. The Hunting Party airs every Monday at 10/9c on NBC.

Photo Credit: Kristina Ruddick