Bonus Hard NOC: Chiara Aurelia Discusses Episode 4 of ‘Cruel Summer’

Chiara Aurelia portrays Jeanette Turner, a nerdy and sweet high schooler who wants more from life, in Freeform’s highly anticipated new drama Cruel Summer. I got to speak with the actress all about the series and episode 4, “You Don’t Hunt, You Don’t Eat,” before it aired so beware: we will be getting into spoilers. New episodes of the series air Tuesdays at 10 PM EDT/PDT on Freeform and are available the next day on Hulu.

According to a recent press release, the new psychological thriller marks the network’s best-ever series debut among Young Adults and scores Freeform’s most-watched series debut ever, averaging 3.81 million multiplatform viewers in the first week available. Cruel Summer is likewise the network’s best-ever series debut among Adults 18-49 (2.65 million) and Adults 18-34 (1.33 million). On top of that, the series from studio Entertainment One (eOne) is also the No. 1 most social scripted series premiere across cable year-to-date.

Cruel Summer follows the stories of Kate Wallis, the popular girl with a charmed life, and Jeanette Turner, the nerdy and seemingly innocent wannabee. When Kate goes missing, everything points to Jeanette’s guilt, but with different points of view in each episode, the audience is left wondering who is actually telling the truth? The show takes place over three summers in the ’90s and begs the question, how can one girl go from being a sweet and awkward outlier to the most despised person in America?

Aurelia and I discussed everything from what originally attracted her to the project, the importance of having strong and complex female leads, that huge cliffhanger, and everything else in between. Plus, she also teased a little something to have us even more excited for next week’s new episode!

Listen to our interview below!

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