Elena, Stefan, and Damon. Belly, Conrad, and Jeremiah. Jackie, Cole, and Alex. Now, Lauren, Lucas, and Kit. Ransom Canyon, Netflix‘s Western drama, is the latest to throw its hat in the ring of messy brotherly love triangles as its sophomore season sees Russell siblings Lucas (Garrett Wareing) and Kit (Casey W. Johnson) vie for the affections of down-on-her-luck cheerleader Lauren Brigman (Lizzy Greene). Who will get the girl? Or maybe the more important question is, are you #TeamLucas or #TeamKit?
After some gentle prying, Greene has taken a stance. She’s #TeamKit for now—emphasis on “for now.” The former Nickelodeon (Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn) and ABC (A Million Little Things) star admits Lauren is acting messy this season, but that’s somewhat Greene’s doing. After season 1 concluded, Greene told showrunner April Blair she wanted to see Lauren suffer a bit in season 2. She asked; they answered. This season, we find Lauren dealing with the fallout of her career-ending cheer injury and her mother’s bombshell revelation, and it’s not going well. Her relationship with Lucas is on the rocks, and the return of his older brother stands to drive a further wedge between the young couple.
On a sweltering July afternoon, we caught up with the actress to discuss her kismet role in Ransom Canyon, turning up the drama for season 2, and starring in the highly anticipated film The 99’ers.
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Coming off season 1 of Ransom Canyon, what was the biggest response you got to Lauren Brigman?
I was pleasantly surprised by the young people that watched the show. I think that was really sweet. When it came out, me and Garrett spent days on my couch just watching people’s responses and reading things. We really loved all the fan edits that people made. Obviously, Lauren, she’s a little messy because she’s a 16-, 17-year-old girl, so she’s figuring stuff out in real time.
The Western drama has been having a big resurgence lately. Why do you think it appeals to audiences?
I think it’s because it is so niche in America, like farmers and ranch life. I’m saying this as someone from Texas. I grew up in Texas, but I grew up in the suburbs. I think it’s pure escapism. That’s why people have come to really love it. It’s been really sweet to see how it’s now become a cornerstone in media. Nowadays, we have a lot of media that’s very intense and very deep and dark, and I love that. I love to sit down and be really impacted by something that I’m watching. But I also think it’s really nice to have a fair share of shows [whose] only job is to let you just sit and really zen out watching something, and I think that Westerns have become that for people. Again, as a Texan, I love to see it. We’re having a moment.
You are a Southern girl at heart, growing up in Dallas. Was that an easy entry point for you to Lauren? What other ways are you and Lauren similar?
When I first got the audition for [Ransom Canyon], I remember it just felt so kismet because [Lauren] wanted to be a UT cheerleader, and my mom was a UT cheerleader. It was going to shoot in New Mexico, and my dad grew up in New Mexico. I grew up in Texas, and it’s a show that takes place in Texas. So I have so many things to pull from there in relation. Also, she’s a cheerleader, and gymnastics was such a big part of my life. It seemed like there were so many little idiosyncrasies that really resonated with me. And it was cast by an amazing friend of mine, so it was this “lightning in a bottle” situation. I’m so blessed that I got it and I’m here now.
Lauren is going through a lot this season, to put it mildly. I read that you told the showrunner that if season 2 did happen, you wanted Lauren to suffer and to give you the hard stuff. Well, you asked, and she delivered.
She gave it to me! From the beginning, I thought that she was on this high [in] season 1—until the end when she breaks her arm and she finds out this thing about her mother, this bombshell. It was only fitting for her to have a bit of this struggle in season 2, and that’s why I was really spearheading and wanting it. I was like, “Please, please!” As an actor, [I] love difficult things. I also just selfishly was like, “Give me some stuff that’s hard. Give me some mess. Give me some drama.” And they happily delivered.
I was also like, “You should go for the Kit thing” because I think that if you get an emotional response out of your audience—whether that be immense frustration, which I’m sure a lot of people are probably feeling after watching season 2, or just any kind of emotional response at all—it means that everyone’s doing their jobs correctly. TV is supposed to invoke some sort of emotional response, so I wanted her to struggle through season 2 because Lucas is in a great time in his life. … That’s probably really hard on her, and that’s why she finds solace in Kit, who’s also going through a very similar struggle just in life and trying to provide for his brother. I think that’s probably why they found a connection there.
What was most exciting for you in terms of picking things up with Lauren for season 2?
Honestly, I think knowing where they were going was really exciting because I love drama. I love dramatic work. So being able to come into this season, you can see she has this level of discomfort within her body because she just doesn’t feel like she provides value anymore to cheer. She had that scholarship she was betting on getting, which didn’t end up happening, and now, she feels this level of guilt with Lucas because he’s soaring in his life, and she doesn’t want to feel jealous of her boyfriend. But also, she doesn’t really even know how to relate to him anymore, because she has gone through this massive struggle in her life with her family and her friends and future career. Knowing that that’s where we were going this season, I was really excited. I think it was necessary, given season 1. She was on such a high, and Lucas was the one who was struggling. I think having that switch really impacted both me and Garrett and what we got to do, and we had a blast.
As if things weren’t already rocky between Lauren and Lucas, Lucas’s brother Kit is home, driving a further wedge between the two. What is the deal with all these brother love triangles?!
Girl! You know what? The people want the love triangles with the brothers, and I’m happy to be part of the crew now.
Is it even fair to ask who you personally are shipping between Lauren and the Russell brothers?
I feel like it’s always so taboo when the actor plays into it, but then again, I like to watch these interviews and be like, “Wait, I want to know who she’s actually rooting for.” At the moment in her life where Lauren is, I don’t think she can be a really great partner to Lucas. And he’s such a golden retriever, so it really stings to watch. The way that she went about this relationship ending was a bit messy. I think Kit just makes sense for her right now. However, I don’t think I’m gonna rule out Lucas coming back to the table in the future, because there’s that scene where they say, “Maybe someday. We’re not okay right now, but we might be some day.” I honestly think that they’re so young when they’re together in this show, and in order for them to really grow and get to know themselves, they have to do that apart for a while. I think there’s a world where they come to the table in the future, and they’re both more mature, more solidified in who they are as people outside of just being a couple. So I think it was necessary. Maybe not in the way it went down, but I think that the heart wants what it wants, and Kit was that in season 2.
I did see Garrett say, “If Lucas and Lauren aren’t endgame, I’m never believing in love again.”
I think they are endgame. I really do. Their love story is so pure and so innocent and has this level of mutual care and understanding for each other. But again, I think the place where Lauren is in her life, she can’t be that person for him anymore, and I don’t think she wants to drag him down and be his Achilles’ heel when he is soaring in his personal life. It needed to happen in season 2. But season 3, who knows?
So much is happening this season. Are there any other storylines you loved watching play out?
Oh, I love Josh [Duhamel] this year. He’s always great. I think him being able to have comedy this year, and where his character was this season, was such an enjoyable watch, and he’s phenomenal. Honestly, I really enjoyed watching him squirm a bit, seeing that Quinn is now seemingly good, and she’s taking care of business, and she’s with this new guy, and he’s providing for her. Getting to see him be like, “I don’t like how this feels. I’m supposed to be this masculine, unbothered person,” and then this girl gets under his skin, I was just like, “Ah!”
Well, you are busy with a capital B. Next year, you are starring in The 99’ers, which is about the 1999 U.S. Women’s World Cup final match against China. With the Women’s World Cup taking place next year, what does it mean for you to be a part of this project?
Oh my gosh. I can talk about this all day. My dream as a kid was to be a soccer player. It’s all I wanted to do in life. When I got on Nickelodeon, I still was not letting go of my dream, and I told Nickelodeon how much I loved and wanted to be a soccer player on the show that I was on. They got Alex Morgan to be on it, and that made my life. It’s been such a large part of my life, and as the years have gone on, obviously, acting has become my forefront. But I’ve always kept a soccer ball in the back of my car, and when I was in Vancouver on the ABC show I was on, I would go play in Chinatown at the field out there all the time, and in L.A., during the [actors’] strike, I would go to the Autry Museum. There’s a little grassy field there, and I would play. It’s always been therapy for me, and when this came in my inbox, I was just like, “Oh my God, what I would give to be any part of this project, big or small—just the idea of getting to do soccer camp with these girls.” Thankfully, everything worked out, and we did six weeks of soccer camp, and it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. But us girls were forged in fire, and we had the best time, and it was such a wonderful experience. I have so many mementos around my house. I can’t wait for everyone to see, and with soccer fever everywhere now, hopefully it’ll resonate with people.
Catch up on Ransom Canyon season 2—now streaming on Netflix.
Photographer: Raul Romo
Stylist: Jenna Filingeri
Hairstylist: Eduardo Mendez
Makeup Artist: Kara Yoshimoto-Bua
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