27th April 2021 / Papergirls / Casting / TV Series / Streaming / Amazon Prime / Image Comics / Bryan K. Vaughn
Amazon Prime has announced the casting of the four main roles in it’s Papergirls adaptation. As reported by Deadline, the show has cast Sofia Rosinsky (Fast Layne), Camryn Jones (Cherish the Day), Riley Lai Nelet (Altered Carbon) and Fina Strazza (A Christmas Melody) as it’s four leads for the adaptation of the Image Comics series, originally written by Brian K. Vaughan and drawn by Cliff Chiang. Amazon have partnered with Legendary TV and Plan B. for the show that films in Chicago later this year.
The story follows four young Papergirls, who - whilst delivering Papers in the early hours of the morning after Halloween in 1988, meet warring factions of Time Travellers. The encounter sends them hurtling through time where they meet different versions of themselves and face choices that may doom - or save - the whole world! Here’s a rundown of the four characters cast:
Rosinsky plays Mac Coyle. A working-class Catholic girl, Mac is the first paper boy in Stony Stream who isn’t a boy. Mac inherited the paper route from her older brother, someone for whom she has undying loyalty and love… which might be the wrong place to put it. Mac’s toughness however is no act, she has a sharp tongue and quicker fists. Like most bullies however, Mac is perhaps masking a deep well of insecurity. Usually a loner by choice, events conspire to cast Mac as the unlikely leader of our Paper Girls on Hell Day 1988.
Jones portrays Tiffany Quilkin. The only child of success-oriented, mixed race parents, Tiffany has big plans for her future and no intention of seeing them derailed. While she is at times willing to improve on the truth when in a tight spot, there is no denying that Tiffany is crazy smart. She boasts an encyclopaedic knowledge of pop culture, a love of gadgets and technology. She has been delivering papers for a little over a year.
Lai Nelet is Erin Tieng. A dutiful daughter, sister, and yes, newly-minted newspaper employee, Erin often feels caught between worlds. On the one hand, she’s a dual-language immigrant with deep Chinese roots, on the other, she’s an All-American kid on the verge of her teenage years who desperately wants the TV-perfect life she often sees depicted in the Western culture all around her.
Strazza plays KJ Brandman. KJ is one of the only Jewish girls in Stony Stream and comes from the wealthiest family in town, two things nobody will let her forget. It is perhaps only when playing field hockey that she feels truly seen – an image that conflicts starkly with her mother’s desires for her. KJ is guarded, sensitive and underneath her veneer, emotionally roiling. She doesn’t need the paper-delivery job, but it makes her feel free.
The show’s executive producers will be Stephany Folsom, Christopher Cantwell and Christopher C. Rogers. Folsom and Rogers will will also be the co-show runners. Rosinsky co-founded (with her sister, Alexis Rosinsky), an independent film company, Stellaluna films, and they have made numerous short films and garnered international awards. The duo are currently in pre-production for their first feature film as a team. Rosinsky is repped by Webster Talent Management and Vault Entertainment.
Jones, who is currently playing a recurring role on Epix’s Perpetual Grace (and also can be seen in Ava Duvernay’s Cherish the Day anthology on OWN as young Esther), landed the series regular role on the ABC comedy pilot Steps playing Maeve, the sister to Cameron Boyce, in one of his final roles. Her other television roles include ABC’s sitcom The Mayor and NBC’s Law & Order True Crime. She’s repped by CESD Talent Agency and Industry Entertainment.
Lai Nelet (nay-lay) opened the catwalk for the Academy of Arts in San Francisco at the age of six. She landed her first role on ABC’s American Housewives and next played the younger Reilleen in Netflix’s Altered Carbon. More recently, she appeared in Genera+ion on HBO Max. Lai Nelet is repped by A3 Artists Agency and Curtis Talent Management.
Strazza made her Broadway debut at eight years old in the title role of Matilda the Musical. She starred in Mariah Carey’s directorial debut, Hallmark Channel’s A Christmas Melody, and recorded a new version of Carey’s hit single “Oh, Santa!” with with singer / Driector. Strazza has recurred on Law & Order: SVU and appeared in episodes of Madam Secretary and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, aand others. On film she has appeared in Above the Shadows, A Little Game, Early Learnings, Fracktured, Tribe, and the upcoming Who Framed Tommy Callahan? Strazza is repped by Paradigm, Mara Entertainment, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman. We’ll have more on Papergirls as it develops.