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Viewers first encountered Reese Witherspoon’s character Elle Woods in the 2001 film Legally blonde And its sequel in 2003 Red, white and blonde.
But when it came time to explore Elle’s high school years, specifically another overseas relocation experience to Seattle, 25 years after the original film’s release, the team behind deerPrime Video Legally blonde The prequel, which began streaming earlier this month, saw an opportunity to spend more time not only with the main character, now played by Lexi Minetree, but also with the characters around her in the form of an eight-episode series that has already been renewed and has completed production on season two.
“When you have hours and hours and hours, obviously you can delve deeper into the character and get to know her family, so it’s a more dynamic way to tell this girl’s story,” showrunner Caroline Dries said. Hollywood Reporter in deerThe film had its New York premiere last month.
Jason Moore – who directed the first two episodes of deerserves as executive producer on the first season and has a resume that includes helming the first season pitch perfect Film – He said the series in particular provided the opportunity to better flesh out Elle’s family.
“I think the main thing the TV show offers is depth of time,” Moore said. THR In the first show. “You can explore the character for four to five hours instead of just 90 minutes. There’s depth to Reese’s performance[in[inLegally blonde]There is no doubt about that. Most people around her are less thoughtful. Her parents are animated and the students only get a certain amount of air time, so you see how she grows in that period. When you can really settle into longer scenes, conversations with her mother and seeing how our parents shaped us all, it’s a slow process.
Showrunner Laura Kittrell said she was particularly excited for viewers to “meet characters who were cut from whole cloth for the show and the world we created for Elle separate from the film.”
Executive producer Lauren Neustadter, who executive produces deer Through her and Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine, she said that while Witherspoon’s Elle is confident about getting into Harvard Law, they wanted to see what the character was like during her psychologically difficult high school years and, as Tom Everett Scott, who plays Elle’s father, put it, “a more fragile era than finishing college.”
Moore added that although Minetree’s Elle has the same “sassy spirit” shown through Witherspoon’s performance, the series focuses more on “how she got started.”
“When you ask who Elle Woods is alone in a room wearing a T-shirt, this is her deer Moore said briefly.
the deer The cast members, writers, director and producers all sang Minetree’s praises.
“Working with Lexi is a dream come true,” Dries said. “She’s so funny, she’s smart, she’s goofy, she’s kind, she’s all-around, she’s all the things you’d expect to find in Elle Woods. She’s also a wonderful actress, which I don’t think we stress enough because we’re so incandescent with her character. She’s so perfect that it’s almost an afterthought, her performance. We take that for granted.”
In addition to her gentle disposition and acting ability, Moore admired her attention to detail and preparation.
“You can tell that this young woman thinks like Elle Woods or Reese or Tracy Flick or these characters, and she’s organized, thoughtful, determined, vocal, articulate, funny, and that’s just who she is naturally,” he said. “Watching the amount of detail she gives, I’ve rarely worked with actors who have so much thought. She thinks through the entire series. I think she had all the scripts memorized when she started shooting the first episode because she’s that kind of actor.”
According to Neustadter, Minetree nailed the task with its initial audition tape, famously inspired by Elle’s Harvard Law admissions video essay from Legally blonde.
“We really saw through that how incredibly intelligent she was, and how well she understood the character and what we were trying to do,” she said. “And then when I read the scenes, we were blown away. I think she’s imitating Reese without imitating her at all, and I think she does a great job of becoming Elle Woods’ character.”
Neustadter hopes that this series will provide “a dose of joy and optimism” at a time when “the world feels very heavy.” Meanwhile, Scott, who reconnected with his ’90s roots on the show, shared how proud he was to be part of a franchise that was so inspiring to his daughter, who accompanied him to the premiere.
He recalls how he got the audition when he was visiting New York with her to help her find an apartment, and they watched the original film, “and my daughter told me how important this character was to her, how inspiring she was. And I thought, ‘No pressure, but maybe I should book this.'”
The next day he auditioned, got the role, and celebrated with her “over a slice of pizza.”
“For me, it was really fun and personal,” he said. “I’m glad this character exists for young women and men of any age and anyone who’s been told they can’t do something knows they can do it.”
