Exclusive Interview
‘Crew Girl’ Stars Tease ‘Juicy’ Love Triangle in Rowing Teen Drama
Get ready for some row-mance! Crew Girl is Netflix’s next teen drama, following a talented teenage rower (Miku Martineau) as she navigates relationships at her new prep school — including a love triangle with her teammates.
Before Season 1 drops on September 10, introducing fans to a world of rowing rivalries and more complicated dynamics at school, Martineau, Samuel Braun, and Kyle Clark dished all about the drama ahead.
“I think what makes any romance so juicy is it being so intense, and rowing is a really intense sport,” the lead actress, best known for Netflix’s Bet, told Swooon. “It involves a lot of coordination, a lot of trust, a lot of respect, a lot of listening — all the great qualities in a romance.”
When a scandal derails her life in California, Teagan and her mom move back to the latter’s hometown on the East Coast. Teagan starts over at an elite prep school, which she finds has no girls’ rowing team. She becomes the coxswain — the person in charge of the boat — of the dysfunctional boys’ crew team.
Showrunner Vivian Lin told Swooon in a separate interview that they cast Martineau first and built the crew around her. “All of those actors are intensely curious and light and just magnetic people,” she said. “They’re so warm, so I think that it really translated to the screen. They all just really support each other.”
The actors learned to row together during a boot camp, building their chemistry in that setting. “It was the idea of our producer Jay Fisher, where he was like, ‘Let’s have all the boys row together, and then when she’s ready, we’ll throw her in last, so that we can mimic the kind of feeling of the whole of the show altogether,'” Lin said. “So she could feel like she was walking into a scenario where everyone had bonded, and then quickly, obviously, they all became real good friends.”
Netflix
Among the crew is the team’s snobby captain, Josh (Braun), who butts heads with Teagan right away. His rival is the talented underdog and scholarship student Cam (Clark), who Teagan instantly clicks with. As her relationships with each guy evolve, Teagan is tasked with getting the crew into shape.
“It’s kind of interesting because it’s like, she’s kind of dividing these two guys, but then more importantly, they need to come together to win,” Clark said. “So there’s two things that they’re seeking, and they kind of contradict one another.”
Lin explained that she wanted to create a love triangle that keeps people on their toes. “Where will we make things similar, and where will we make things really unexpected or different?” she said.
Martineau clarified that romance isn’t Teagan’s first priority. “It’s not like she’s thinking about the romance and then determined to get it,” she explained. “She’s 16 years old. She’s deeply passionate about rowing. So she’s doing this, but she’s also 16. And when you’re 16, you make new friends…. and then also romances come in and you’re like, ‘Oh, I kind of have a crush,’ and that’s always so fun.”
Clark thinks it’s going to be tough for viewers to decide which rower is the better option for Teagan. Martineau explained how Teagan’s connection with each guy is different. “I think Teagan and Josh, they’re both quite fiery, opinionated people with a hard backbone, so their relationship is kind of spicy,” she began. “There’s a lot of tension.”
Netflix
Her relationship with Cam is on the opposite end of the spectrum. “I think Cam is a little bit more gentle and very kind,” Martineau said. “And I feel like they’re both more earthy [and] grounded. And I think Tegan helps Cam really stand his ground more and prove himself, and I think Teagan helps Josh soften a little bit, so there’s a good mix going on.”
“We got earth, fire and water,” Braun quipped.
The Team Josh and Team Cam debate has already begun. When the Season 1 trailer came out about a month ahead of its release, viewers started making edits of each guy on TikTok. “I saw my first Josh edit today,” Braun said, adding that he’s going to brush up on his editing skills.
“All of the Josh edits are going to come from Sam,” Martineau joked.
“I also saw a Cam edit though,” she said. “I saw the Cam edit first. Both are amazing, you guys.”
“It’s gonna be a duel for sure,” Braun said.
Crew Girl, Season 1, September 10, Netflix
