Sophomore year is in full swing for the ladies of Essex College as The Sex Lives of College Girls‘ third season is underway!
Along with the characters that fans have fallen in love with in the show’s first two installments, newcomers on the block, Kacey (Gracie Lawrence) and Taylor (Mia Rodgers), have ventured to the fictional prestigious college, and they’re bringing themes that directly coincide with showrunner Justin Noble’s own college experience.
Introducing new characters to the show
Coming from the world of pageantry, Kasey is a transfer student introduced in the show’s third episode this season, and she brings her North Carolina flair to Essex. While she seemingly feels like a girl’s girl as the new roommate to Whitney (Alyah Chanelle Scott), Bela (Amrit Kaur) and Kimberly (Pauline Chalamet) following Leighton’s (Reneé Rapp) departure, her approach can come off a little shady, which is a direct result of her life as a pageant girl growing up. Yet, Kacey symbolizes the people-pleasing girls who come to school and have to learn quickly that life is not peaches and rainbows, or in her case, tiaras and trophies!
Another newcomer, Taylor, an international student from the United Kingdom, becomes Bela’s latest focus as she looks to redeem herself from her track record of screwing over other women in previous seasons of the show.
“It was fun coming up with new ideas for new girls who could be on the show as soon as we came back from the writer’s strike,” Noble told Blavity’s Shadow and Act. “When we were starting this season, we, the writer’s room, came up with an ungodly long list of different types of girls who could be on the show. Because it’s true, you go to a college campus, you’re gonna meet 1,000 different types of people that could be characters on this show.”
He added, “I think Taylor is very much a foil for Bela. She spends a lot of time with her because she is the latest person who would ever give Bela a drop of water, and I think Bela is just one of those characters. It’s fun to watch Bela struggle. It wouldn’t be the same show if Bela were just killing it in all directions; she just wants it so badly. She gets great things this season, too, but adding in Kacey was fun because we haven’t had a girly girl vibe on the show before, and I think that’s one thing that the writers zoned in on us, she feels like a little Reese Witherspoon character.”
The power of an unlikely friendship
Portrayed by Rodgers, Taylor’s introduction to the show starts a bit rocky before she ultimately finds someone to lean on during her college experience — Bela.
“Through her friendship with her, Taylor kind of learns about herself and what it means to have a friend for the first time and experience care,” Rodgers told Blavity. “And I think it’s really important that people have others and friends like that that they can kind of have as a crutch.”
She added, “They’re yin and yang. They’re two ends of the spectrum. They move through life differently. Taylor is on the defense, and she’s quite abrasive. Bela is definitely an open person, but she’s much more on the optimistic side. And I think having a friendship that’s balanced like that and can bring out the other sides, like bringing out Taylor’s vulnerable side. Or vice versa, Bela, having someone be like, ‘You need to stand up for yourself.’ That’s something that we need to learn, and I think definitely having friends like that makes it happen.”
Kacey’s North Star
Initially, Kacey comes to Essex with one goal: to find her high school sweetheart, but this quickly changes as time passes.
“I would say her North Star changes as the show goes on, but I think her initial feeling when she transfers to Essex is her boyfriend and maybe not being considered a misfit in any way — she’s someone who cares about perfectionism and kind of fitting in, and I think that’s her world,” Lawrence said of her character. “When she enters, being her boyfriend’s girlfriend is sort of her world. And I think as she goes on, figuring out who she is and what she cares about becomes sort of her new North Star.”
Kacey’s story is like a fish out of water: It is the story of a girl who comes from pageant culture.
“There are some really beautiful things about pageant culture, but one of her takeaways, certainly from that and her family, is the importance of beauty, perfection and appearance,” she told Blavity. “And I think that when that is kind of the only thing that you’re consumed by, that can be challenging for your mental health. And when she finds this new group of friends where — the show talks about so many things — one of the things that the girls are never saying to each other is, ‘Oh, you look better in this, than that.’”
Lawrence added, “That’s never a conversation between this group of friends, and I can only imagine that’s the conversation she’s having back home. So, I think what I have learned through her is a journey to self-confidence. It looks different for everyone. And she’s going through it and struggling to figure out how she feels, if she feels beautiful, and how to grapple with that. That is something everyone can relate to. I think we all have our insecurities, and when we’re forced to confront them, it’s really challenging, and I really empathize with that. I wish her so well because I’m like, You’re so capable, you know?”
The Sex Lives of College Girls is now streaming on Max.
