'Paper Girls' Cast Explain Why All Contact Was 'Cut Off' Ahead of Shooting

The lead stars of Paper Girls were asked not to contact each other when they were officially cast in the Prime Video show, Sofia Rosinsky, Riley Lai Nelet, Camryn Jones, and Fina Strazza told Newsweek.

Rosinsky, Nelet, Jones, and Strazza portray Mac Coyle, Erin Tieng, Tiffany Quilkin and KJ Brandman in the show, 12-year-old girls who meet during their paper route hours after Halloween in 1988.

Their first paper route together takes an unexpected turn, though, as the quartet get sucked into a Time War between two rival groups and they are suddenly catapulted into the year 2019.

The four actors were urged not to speak to one another, virtually or otherwise, before they stepped out on set for the first time, as the creative team felt it would be good for them to meet each other at the same time their characters would.

This, Rosinsky, Nelet, Jones, and Strazza told Newsweek, was actually a benefit, and really helped them develop a close friendship together while working on the show, which premiered on Friday, July 29 and is based on Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang's comic of the same name.

'Paper Girls' Cast Explain Why All Contact Was 'Cut Off' Ahead of Shooting

Rosinsky told Newsweek that she enjoyed how her and her co-stars friendship was able to grow in the same way it does for their characters.

"It was really interesting, because before actually arriving in Chicago and beginning filming, none of us had met each other or spoken to each other," the actor said.

"We were asked not to, and so as the Paper Girls got to know each other, we also were getting to learn more about each other.

"I think that was interesting that our relationship was growing alongside what we were filming. So, as filming progressed, we learned more about each other, and bonds were formed."

When asked if she felt having no communication until stepping out on set helped, Rosinsky said: "Well, I mean, I think that it just kind of dropped us into the situation, just like how the Paper Girls are dropped into this situation, so that was pretty interesting.

"Just to see how our dynamics would change in the series and all of this, and I think that it may have helped."

Strazza agreed with Rosinsky when asked about the request not to communicate before going on set, saying: "As I'm sure Sofia said we were cast and then all communication was cut off.

"They said 'no DMing, no texting, don't, we want you guys to meet in person and have it be this moment of the Paper Girls are here and they're meeting and they're about to go film their meet-cute also where they meet each other.'

"'It's gonna be great and they're going to bond and grow together,' and I think that definitely formed our characters' experiences as well as getting to know each other."

Nelet said: "Yeah, a lot of the times it felt like there were eight of us rather than four girls. It was the characters we play, and then us as actors."

Jones also spoke about what it was like for the quartet on set, as she said: "It was awesome. I feel it was great to work together and get to know them, and I feel like we've grown really, really close with each other.

"Like we would always go out for ice cream for every big occasion or celebration, and it was just great to make some new friends as our characters did, and as we did."

'Paper Girls' Stars on Their Characters and Their Journeys

The Paper Girls have quite the journey in the show's first season, with all four learning new things about themselves as they are faced with their future selves.

Rosinsky explained that she enjoyed playing a character as brash as Mac, who isn't afraid to start a fight, steals and smokes, and said she is so unlike her in real-life that it was interesting to embody her.

"I love Mac, and I love the way she is and how she interacts with other people. For me, as a person, I don't really feel the need to be quite so brazen, brash, I suppose," Rosinsky said. "So, I can't say it was something that I really looked forward to doing, you know, really letting people have it. But, I really did enjoy diving into her character and just being her."

For Nelet, portraying mild-mannered Erin was an interesting task, particularly when it comes to how she reacts when she is face-to-face with her adult self, played by Ali Wong.

Nelet said of her character: "I think the really interesting thing about Erin is that she starts off [being] really quiet and keep[s] a lot of her feelings to herself, because sometimes I think she's sorry about how she feels, and after all these crazy things start coming at her [that's] when we really start to see how she is internally and she gains more confidence."

Tiffany, Jones' character, is the more steadfast member of the group, and her quick-thinking and wealth of knowledge quickly becomes the Paper Girls' biggest asset, particularly when trying to find a way to return home by decoding text after they time-travel to the year 2019.

Jones told Newsweek that she "loved" that side of her character, saying: "I thought it was so cool because while we were filming I got to work with the different actors my character got to work with and we would be, like, decoding the stuff together and we're, like, 'okay, so this is [how] we're gonna make this word.'

"I got to work with the set designers and we're, like, 'can this be this letter?' Like, we were drawing spirals and saying 'is this gonna be A, or something?' And it was just cool to be able to play around as the character, and as actors, in making the code and decoding it on the screen."

Strazza's KJ has a more personal journey in the season, as she learns a truth about herself that she doesn't expect when she meets her future self (played by Delia Cunningham): she is attracted to women.

"I knew that it was a very important story to bring to life and I wanted to keep in the mindset of who KJ was, and where she's coming from," Strazza said of the storyline.

"Because, you know, the girls start in the '80s and our show especially does not glorify the '80s, and we emphasize the homophobia and just general bigotry that was present during that time.

"So I made sure to keep KJ in that mindset of she has this inner turmoil because she's so struggling with coming to terms with something that she's been told her whole life is wrong. But for some reason it feels so right to her, and it was very special to tell that story."

Paper Girls is available to watch in full on Prime Video now.