Exclusive Interview: Tedra Rogers Talks Cruel Summer Season 2, Traveling Back to the ’90s, and More

Tedra Rogers is a dynamic young storyteller who has quickly captivated audiences around the world. Already in her career, she’s landed coveted roles in projects including Firefly Lane, Come True, and There’s Someone Inside Your House.

This year, she stars in Season 2 of the critically-acclaimed series, Cruel Summer. Set in an idyllic waterfront town in the Pacific Northwest, the next chapter of Cruel Summer follows the rise and fall of an intense teenage friendship. Approaching the story from three different timelines surrounding Y2K, the season twists and turns as it tracks the early friendship between Megan, Isabella, and Megan’s best friend Luke, the love triangle that blossomed, and the mystery that would impact all of their lives going forward. Tedra shines as Amy.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to chat with Tedra about her transition from dance to acting, Cruel Summer Season 2, and how she prepared to tackle all of her character’s different layers.

PC: You made the transition from dance into acting. How have your experiences as a dancer lent themselves to your work on screen?
Tedra: My skill set for dance has helped my ability to stay really focused and to work hard. It’s given me good discipline, which has definitely been helpful. But it’s funny because I always joke that ballet and dance, even though it shouldn’t be, is really focused on perfection. Acting is the antithesis of perfection. So that’s always been a massive hindrance that I have to spend every day trying to unlearn. Because you can’t be perfect and act. You have to go with the flow and let accidents happen, which is really interesting.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career, either personally or professionally?
Tedra: Personally, this is going to sound so cheesy, but my parents. They have never doubted my ability to be in the arts. They were never like, “Don’t do that.” When I couldn’t dance anymore, my mom really encouraged me to start taking acting classes and keep doing things in the arts. I’m really grateful for that.

Professionally, I’ve always been inspired by the instructors that I choose to work with. I’m really careful about who I work with because it really matters what you absorb into your life. The people I am really fortunate to work with are so inspiring and cool. They’re constantly feeding me with advice and I’m learning every day. So, definitely my parents and instructors.

PC: You’ve had a lot of success already in your young career. When you look back, is there a particular moment that stands out to you?
Tedra: A particular moment for me is when I was cast in my first indie feature film in a supporting role: Come True, which is now out under IFC Films. It was the first time that I realized that I could really do this seriously as a career and started looking at moving into a city where films were being produced on a more regular basis. It was really life-changing to see how a full movie comes together and that it’s a business and you can do it.

PC: Tell us about Cruel Summer Season 2. What was it about this script and character that attracted you to it?
Tedra: Cruel Summer Season 2 is a mystery teen thriller. The show is an anthology, so this season is a brand new mystery and story. What attracted me to it is it’s really well written. It’s really fun. The characters all have a lot of depth.

When I got the offer for Amy, they asked if I would go blonde. I thought she was going to be this very ’90s stereotypical blonde, which would have been super fun to do. But I was really delighted that she actually has a lot of depth and she’s not just a mean girl in the way that I thought she would be. It was fun to be able to lean into this “period piece” of the ’90s and get to be a whole person in that time frame.

PC: The first season was incredibly well received. Did that add any pressure as you headed into this project?
Tedra: It did. But I was really lucky. I’m Canadian, and it didn’t air in Canada. I had heard from everyone how well received it was, but I hadn’t seen it firsthand. I was lucky because I got to block it out. I was like, “I’m an actor. I do callbacks. I book shows, whatever.” Then I got to the set and I listened to all the American actors telling me about the first season. I was like, “Oh, this is a much bigger deal than I let myself realize.”

PC: One of the benefits of television as a medium is the opportunity to grow with a character. Often you’re learning more and more about them as the season goes on. What’s been the most surprising thing about Amy’s journey?
Tedra: That’s a really tough question. The most surprising thing about Amy’s journey for me, which is something we talked about in the beginning, is that she’s not a stereotype. She really loves her friends and she really cares. It would have been so easy for her to be mean and nasty, but that’s not the direction that the showrunner took. Amy gets more sensitive. She starts out really fluffy and light, and she gets a bit more sensitive and reflective as the show goes on. I really enjoyed that about her.

PC: Part of your preparation for this project included immersing yourself in the Y2K era and consuming shows like Buffy. Is that how you normally prepare for a role? Why was it so fundamental to this process?
Tedra: It actually isn’t how I normally prepare. But when it’s a period piece, it’s fun to do that. I really leaned into it. I was watching Buffy, and I got really into X-Files too. Normally, I’m much more focused on the work. I’m much more technical. I’m a Meisner-trained actor, so I do all of that stuff. That’s not how I normally prepare, but it was really fun. I’m going to do it from now on. It’s fun to build the world around your character. Music is something that a lot of actors use—not everybody, but a lot do to reset your day and get yourself in the right mind frame and tone when you start. The other thing I do is I like to do a nice little stretch in the morning, and then you’re centered and ready to do everything you need to do.

PC: Speaking of music, did you create a playlist for Amy? Do you remember what was on it?
Tedra: I didn’t. I should have. I went fishing for things. I need to get better at making playlists. But I listened to a lot of Alanis Morissette. I listened to all the Top 40 hits. We have really good music in the show. If there was anything specifically referenced, I was listening to that a lot. The music was referenced a lot in the script. I know a lot of shows add the music later, but this one had specific callouts. They knew where they were going with it.

PC: This is a series where everything is so high stakes. Your character brings a lot of levity. How much fun is it for you as an actor to be the one that brings that juxtaposition?
Tedra: So much fun. I can do really serious acting, but it’s really fun to come to work and be like, “I’m here. I’m going to do whatever.” It was really fun. I worked really well with Bill Purple, who was one of our primary directors. There was a take where he was doing something and I did that. He called cut and I turned around and looked at him and he was laughing so hard. He was like, “I wish we were making a straight comedy because I want you to be able to take the lid off.” Any time I got the team laughing, I was like, “I’m doing my job.”

PC: Like you were mentioning earlier, all of these characters have so many layers. While Amy starts off as this carefree person, she has this internal struggle that happens as the season goes on. You brought so much depth to that. How did you create the space for yourself to tap into that vulnerability?
Tedra: That’s my job. For me, I feel like I’ve been really fortunate to have supportive instructors. I’ve been able to build that vulnerable place inside myself over time. I practice finding it every day. I’m a very vulnerable person, so I settle into it more easily. But definitely, if you’re having a stressful day or if something is happening in your personal life, it’s a lot harder to find. When I do have those harder days, I have to get into my body. I have to shake it out. Sometimes I literally lie on the floor and breathe to get oxygen in my body. That usually helps recenter me.

PC: The cast has incredible chemistry. How were you all able to build that? Do you have a favorite behind-the-scenes moment?
Tedra: Because it’s a big ensemble, there were days where you’d get there at 4:00 in the morning. We’d be there for fifteen, sixteen hours. You bond really quickly. None of us would go back to our trailers…maybe for lunch. We were all in the tent together every day for sixteen hours. You get to know each other really, really fast.

PC: There are so many universal themes that the show tackles. Was there one in particular that hit home for you?
Tedra: Female friends. They’re really complicated and hard. God knows I’ve had my fair share of struggles navigating them, healing things, and ending them. That’s just from my personal life. [laughs] I think seeing friendships that are complicated and really close really hit home. I really enjoyed seeing how it all plays out.

Amy and Kelly are best friends. They don’t have a lot of conflict. They love being together. That was very easy. But I loved watching Megan and Isabella’s storyline play out.

PC: This is such an exciting time in your career. As you look ahead, is there a dream role that you’d like to bring to life?
Tedra: There are so many. They just announced a live-action adaptation of Miles Morales. I just watched Spider-Verse. I love Spider-Gwen so much. She has a background in ballet. She has blue pointed shoes. I just watched the second one and they’ve animated even more ballet into her. I’m like, “I want to be Spider-Gwen so bad!”

My more serious answer is that I have a background in movement. I want to play superheroes. I want to do big, crazy period pieces that have insane costumes—which was really fun with Cruel Summer, but it’s still grounded in the ’90s. I want to do something massive.

Then I’m also writing and I’m working on producing my very first short film. I’m going to direct it as well. I’m moving into behind-the-camera stuff and that’s what I see for my career.

PC: As you’ve dived into producing and directing, have you found that the work that you’ve done behind the camera has impacted your work on screen and vice versa?
Tedra: Yeah, it’s actually made me even more secure because I see things from the other side. When you get pages of script, the writer says something so specific. You’re like, “I have to get it exactly the way the writer says.” Now being the writer, I’m like, “I just want you to understand what I’m thinking and then do something even better.”

I’ve always heard that. But now I know it in my bones to be true. I also see how every single piece and person matters. That’s really special because as you’re coming up, sometimes your first acting role is one line and you feel like you don’t matter, but on the other side of it, it matters. Everyone matters. Everyone wants you to be there. I’m really excited to start creating work and creating that environment where everyone feels like they’re making something that matters and that they matter.

To keep up with Tedra, follow her on Instagram. Watch Cruel Summer on Freeform.

Photo Credit: Kate Whyte