That era is over. TV teens (and the IRL 20-something rising stars usually playing them) are now reigning supreme on our screens and dominating streaming services. They’re no longer at the kids table; they’re running the show.
As the streaming multiverse continues to expand, every platform needs a YA show to stand out. This summer, we’ve gotten Amazon Prime’s Panic, Freeform’s Cruel Summer, Netflix’s horror movie trilogy Fear Street and HBO Max’s Genera+ion part 2, plus many more.
Refinery29 is celebrating the best and brightest of TV who are redefining what it means to be a young adult on screen with a roundup of the most exciting actors in your favorite teen shows. These stars took time between projects, from blockbuster movies to fresh comedies, to talk about their new roles and revisit the teen shows and movies that most impacted their lives.
Meet this summer’s Stream Teens.
Interviews have been lightly edited for clarity.
Olivia Scott Welch
Netflix's Fear Street Trilogy & Amazon Prime's Panic
What was your biggest WTF moment reading your scripts?
"Definitely the entire grocery store sequence. Reading that part of the script blew my mind. I had to stand up and pace around my apartment, holding my laptop."
Who was your on-set best friend for Fear Street?
"I feel like we got so incredibly cosmically lucky with our cast. We were a little family, and it truly felt like such a solid friend group. Fred Hechinger is literally my little brother. No one can talk movies like Fred, and that bonded us so quickly. We did so many things in Atlanta, but one day, Fred, Ash, Julia, and I went on a road trip to Babyland General, which is a hospital for Cabbage Patch Dolls, and then we drove to Helen, Georgia, which is a re-creation of a Bavarian Alpine village. We had the best soft pretzel and mustard ever. It was definitely in the top 10 weirdest days of my life."
How do you hope your recent projects change how we see teens on screen?
"When I read the Fear Street script for the first time, I got excited about how savvy and smart the characters are. Teenagers are young, but they are also genius at moving through the world. Fear Street is definitely insane and not an everyday experience, but I feel like it captures how wise you can be during adolescence."
What was the teen show or movie that changed your life?
"There was a summer where both of my parents worked every day, and my little sister and I would re-watch Ferris Bueller's Day Off over and over again, so I am sure that drip fed something into both of our subconscious. I think Clueless is a perfect movie — literally directed to perfection. On the TV side, I loved Sabrina the Teenage Witch growing up, that was a big one for me. This past year, I watched Freaks and Geeks for the first time, and it broke something deep inside me (in the best way lol)."
What would surprise us most about your next big role?
"I am also a writer, and the next project I am working on is one that I am writing. It's been so cool to create a character and person that I want to put into the world. She's a great character who I feel very proud of and close to. She's a mortuary makeup artist so that's pretty surprising!"
Photo: Courtesy of Jonny Marlow/Early Morning Riot.
Sydney Mae Diaz
Ghostbusters: Afterlife & HBO Max's Genera+ion
What was your biggest WTF moment reading your scripts?
“Without spoiling too much, I'd say it was when I found out my involvement in the bathroom mall scenes. That news definitely took some time to wrap my head around.”
Who was your on-set best friend while filming Genera+ion?
“Uly Schlesinger! We spent a lot of time together both on and off set which allowed us to grow as close as we have. We have an endless amount of inside jokes that have severely devolved into an indecipherable language. He's easily the best pool player I've ever met. He kicks my ass more often than not (he's going to disagree with this).”
What was the teen show or movie that changed your life?
“Skins left a harder impression on me than it probably should have as a young person, but I absolutely loved it. I was a pretty anxious and straight-laced person in my younger teen years, so I longed for something to project my own angst upon without actually having to act on it.”
What would surprise us most about your role in Ghostbusters?
“I think anything that'll surprise you will probably surprise me, too!”
How do you hope these projects change how we see teens?
“With Genera+ion, I hope our depiction of the multiple faces of being a young queer kid changes how young people discover and relate to their own queerness. Not everything has to be struggle and strife!”
Photo: Courtesy of Bret Lemke.
Madison Bailey
Supercool & Netflix's Outer Banks
What was your biggest WTF moment reading your scripts?
“It’s SO hard to narrow it down. Outer Banks season 1 episode 8 [when] Peterkin DIES??! I was shocked.”
Who was your on-set best friend for Outer Banks and/or Supercool?
“The whole Outer Banks cast is a family and often hang out all together, but I’d have to say JD [co-star Jonathan Daviss]. We just naturally have the most in common. We get each other’s sense of humor very very well.”
What was the teen show or movie that changed your life?
“Gossip Girl was one of my favorites. I honestly learned a lot about fashion and friendship. Always choose your best friend over the boy.”
What would surprise us most about your next big streaming role?
“There are a few I cannot talk about yet [so] you’ll just have to wait and see!”
How do you hope these projects change how we see teens?
“I really hope people start validating that being a teenager is a nearly impossible task. There are very real hardships that come with finding yourself and growing up. Between mental health, figuring out your life, career, and battling your self identity, being a teen is NOT easy.”
Photo: Courtesy of Boerge Sierigk/Netflix.
Chiara Aurelia
Netflix's Fear Street: 1978 & Freeform's Cruel Summer
What was your biggest WTF moment reading your scripts?
"[There] was a scene where my character, Sheila, had to share a very intimate moment with a number of very interesting creeper crawlers, one of which was named Blossom. If watching this scene is as terrifying as it was to film, I guarantee that you will not be disappointed!"
Who was your on-set best friend for Fear Street?
"Well, randomly I developed a friendship with the person I least expected to (which will make sense once you see the movie!): Sadie Sink who plays Ziggy Berman. We are still best friends to this day, and spent most of our time on set trying to break coconuts at lunch or dancing to 70s throwbacks."
How do you hope your recent projects change how we see teens on screen?
"My hope is that my recent projects allow for teens to be seen for the very dynamic and complex individuals that they are. It is a lot harder to be a teenager than most people give us credit for."
What was the teen show or movie that changed your life?
"Mean Girls definitely changed my perception about what a teen film could be. It showed me that you can make a film about the youth and still create a very elevated and compelling story by showing a lot of layers and complexity and telling a multi-dimensional story that otherwise could have been very simple."
What would surprise us most about your next big role?
"What would surprise you most about my next big role is that it is still a surprise so unfortunately you’re going to have to wait and see. ;)"
Photo: Courtesy of Christy Scott.
Devery Jacobs
Peacock’s Rutherford Falls & FX’s Reservation Dogs
What was your biggest WTF or OMG moment reading your scripts?
“Reading the script was seeing how inherently Indigenous Rez Dogs is. It’s full of inside jokes within our communities, commentary on how we operate, and also making fun of the stereotypes that were put on us. Reading the scripts, I had to stop and say, ‘Holy shit, FX is really letting us make this?’”
Who was your on-set best friend for Rutherford Falls and/or Reservation Dogs?
“My on-set bestie for Rutherford Falls was definitely Michael Greyeyes, who plays my character Jess’ boss Terry. Despite playing stoic, intimidating, and scary characters throughout his career, Michael is the biggest sweetheart — and he’s so damn smart! He’s a tenured professor and scholar, along with being an incredible actor.
“As for on-set besties on Reservation Dogs, I love my fellow rez dogs D’Pharaoh, Paulina, and Lane so much. They’re my family now, and we’ve definitely gone on adventures while off set. From drive-in movie theaters to rodeos, we all hung out when we weren’t shooting. But of all the rez dogs, I think my bestie would be Lane. He’s a newcomer to the industry — he’s 15 years old, [and] from Mustang, Oklahoma, but he is so sweet, and game for all our crazy shenanigans. And his mom Kelly is just the best!”
What was the teen show or movie that changed your life?
“My faves are Lady Bird for Greta Gerwig’s perfect storytelling; The Craft for feeling like a bad-ass powerful young woman; But I’m a Cheerleader for teaching me that queerness looks many different ways; Back to the Future [because] Marty McFly is my fashion icon; and Stick It since it is gloriously campy and it speaks to the old competitive gymnast in me.
What would surprise us most about your next big streaming role?
“How emotionally vulnerable she is. It’s definitely the most vulnerable I’ve been as an actor in any role that I’ve played, but we definitely don’t see that from the jump. It takes some time with her though the season to crack through her tough shell and hardened exterior to see just how sensitive Elora is."
How do you hope these projects change how we see teens?
“I hope that Reservation Dogs will change the way we see Indigenous youth — that we have smart, complicated, trouble-making, ambitious, and hilarious teens from Native cultures that are still alive and thriving today.”Photo: Courtesy of Mark Binks.
Cailee Spaeny,
How It Ends & HBO's Mare Of Easttown
What was your biggest WTF moment reading your scripts for Mare of Easttown?
“It was obviously finding out the killer. But I actually didn’t read it in the script since I only had episode 1 for so long, even after I got the job. So Brad Ingelsby, the writer, spilled the beans while we were having a meeting about Erin.”
Who was your on-set best friend for Mare of Easttown and How It Ends?
"For Mare, my best friend on screen [was] my best friend off. Ruby Cruz, I call her my pocket crystal. A pure ray of sunshine. We would just eat Trader Joe’s snacks and watch BoJack Horseman and cry listening to Phoebe Bridgers together after a long day on set. My best bud in How It Ends was ZLJ (Zoe Lister Jones). We made two films together within a year of meeting each other. We got close almost instantly. We talk almost everyday. She’s my life guru."
What was the teen show or movie that changed your life?
“The shows on Disney Channel like Hannah Montana and Wizards of Waverly Place kickstarted my love for performing. I would watch them and do monologues in the mirror trying be a Disney kid.”
What would surprise us most about your role in How It Ends?
"I have a weird walk in the film that wasn’t planned… almost everyone comments on it. It’s a combination of all the walking we did around L.A. and me trying to let my body do whatever it wants like a child and have zero restrictions of my body. It’s strange."
How do you hope these projects change how we see teens?
"That they are complicated. Growing up watching teens, I was so confused by how they were portrayed and how they looked. It was extremely unrealistic. I hope Mare feels authentic to teens and their struggles, especially in a small town like [the one] I grew up in. And for the non-teens out there, How It Ends all started with the conversation of healing the inner child/teen within us — which I recommend everyone to do."Photo: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images.
Kiana Madeira
After We Fell & Netflix's Fear Street Trilogy
What was your biggest WTF moment reading your scripts for Fear Street?
"At the end of reading the third script, I was like 'WTF…. I’m actually the one who is going to tell this story?' It was a dream role. Playing a strong, passionate, and resilient character like Deena in not one horror film, but three? Opportunities like that do not come around often and it all felt, and still feels, surreal."
Who was your on-set best friend for Fear Street?
"I don’t think I can pick just one. We all got along so well and spent so much time together that it really felt like a family. Benjamin Flores Jr., who plays my character’s little brother in the films, feels like my little brother in real life. He is a genius and inspires me so much. I’m truly so grateful to have met him and the whole cast."
What was the teen show or movie that changed your life?
"There was a show called Radio Free Roscoe, on The Family Channel in Canada when I was growing up, and it changed my life. It was about four misfits in high school who rebelled against their school’s rigid radio station by starting an anonymous underground radio station of their own. These characters felt like they were constantly being told how to think, how to look, how to be, which I really related to growing up. Their response was to revolt and start something of their own. The fact that their radio personalities were anonymous and the focus was on their voices and not how they looked ignited a fire within me. It taught me to care less about the approval of others and more about my own intentions and what I wanted to express."
What would surprise us most about your role in After We Fell?
"When we meet my character Nora, it is seemingly random and unexpected. But it really plays into a bigger picture of the storyline for the surrounding characters and I think audiences will be surprised by the specifics of how she fits into the narrative."
How do you hope these two projects change how we see teens?
"I hope the Fear Street trilogy and After We Fell both continue to show our society that there is a power and resilience that lives inside of teens and everyone can learn a lot from them. There is an intensity and determination in the way that the teens in these stories love and care, and I think it’s beautiful. As humans, we can lose some of that spirit as we grow, and I hope these films ignite that ardor in each of us because it can lead to honest transformation."
Photo: Courtesy of Brendan Wixted.
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