Bella Shepard stars as Blake Navarro in Wolf Pack, which is based on the book series by Edo Van Belkom. New episodes are released Thursdays on Paramount+.
WOLF PACK follows a teenage boy and girl whose lives are changed forever when a California wildfire awakens a terrifying supernatural creature and drives it to attack a highway traffic jam beneath the burning hills. Wounded in the chaos, the boy and girl are inexplicably drawn to each other and to two other teenagers who were adopted sixteen years earlier by a park ranger after another mysterious wildfire. As the full moon rises, all four teens come together to unravel the secret that connects them – the bite and blood of a werewolf.
“I mean, I think the way that Jeff kind of played out the werewolf and the idea of people becoming werewolves, it’s almost like a metaphor in a way that everyone kind of has this werewolf looming over them, whether that’s anxiety, family problems, or relationship stress, you know, family dynamics. Everyone kind of has this big cloud that sometimes looms over them and in a way, through the season, we kind of see each character dealing with their version of the werewolf and what that means to them, and they’re kids — they’re teenagers, so we get to see teenagers dealing with their version of this like big, thick, heavy cloud, which is the werewolf,” the actress explained in regard to how the series portrays mental health. “I think it’s important for the audience that we’re catering to to be able to see kids like them going through difficult times and things that they might be able to relate to in a way but it’s also fun, and it’s full of horror and drama.”
“Seeing the representation of strong female leads is also very important to me personally, and I think to a lot of young girls because society puts it on women all the time that it’s like — it should be harder for us, we’ve got all these struggles as women and all this discrimination as women,” Shepard shared with me. “So to be able to see strong female leads come forward, really stand up for themselves, and pave their own path, I think, is very important.”
We had a great conversation about how the story tackles mental health, being a lead in a supernatural project, why she’s grateful to work with Sarah Michelle Gellar, her favorite filming memories, which show she wants Wolf Pack to do a crossover with, and much more.
Watch my full interview below:
