The series premiere of Dead of Summer airs this Tuesday night, June 28 on Freeform after a new episode of Pretty Little Liars. Recently, Freeform hosted a Dead of Summer/PLL premiere event where we were able to speak with cast members from both shows, and in the lead-up to Tuesday’s airing of the show’s first episode, we’re sharing those with you and introducing you to the cast.
Right now, the spotlight falls on Amber Coney who plays Carolina aka “Cricket” in the new show which comes from the producers of Once Upon A Time. You can see video below, but if reading an interview is more your thing, you can do that first below.
KSITETV’s CRAIG BYRNE: What can you tell us about Cricket?
AMBER CONEY: Cricket is super warm and snarky. I have a little bit of sass, and I’m super excited about summer camp. School is out, and I’m reconvening with all of these former camp counselors; really meeting them for the first time because we’ve had so many years from when we were campers to now, when we’re coming together as counselors. So, it’s fun to have that past and meet everybody in present day 1989.
I’m positive, but I have sass, and I use humor and this warm and bubbly personality to really cover up for a lot of deep-seated insecurity and issues that I’m harboring.
Who win in a sass fight – Cricket or Blair?
In real life, it would be a match, but honestly, I think Mark [Indelicato] – he has it going on in terms of sass. But, our writers and creators are so smart and so intelligent that I would trust them to really — they can bring her sass to a tee, so hopefully I would win.
Where did Cricket get her nickname?
In my imagination, it was something that Alex gave me — one of the other counselors and former campers. It’s never specified, actually, in the script. I kind of thought that we were all around a campfire and we were hearing these crickets chirping, and since I’m so talkative and bubbly, Alex or one of the other counselors were like “Oh! Listen to the crickets! It’s like Carolina! We should just call her Cricket, so chirpy!”
What does she think of Elizabeth Lail’s character joining the group?
I think for everyone, having a new person, you always feel and suss them out. The fact that Alex perhaps wants her attention more than mine isn’t something that I necessarily like, but at the same time, I’m warm enough that I’m not going to totally ice her because of that.
Are there some more secrets about Cricket that we may find out in the first episode?
Maybe not in the first episode. I think there’s a lot of cliffhangers, and you have to really pay attention to see how those will come further into fruition, especially in Episode 3.
What’s it like to join the Freeform family?
It’s amazing. Everybody is so awesome and inspiring… I couldn’t be happier with the TV series and with the network.
What have you seen on the show that scared you the most?
I mean, I’ve experienced what scared me the most! [Laughs] Which is darkness… I am such a wimp. I can barely handle basic horror movies that people laugh at, so everything I can conceive of in my imagination for the story just freaks me out to a tee.
What excites you the most for people to see in the series premiere on June 28?
I just am so excited about the fact that this series has such a dual nature, in terms of it being a horror series and having those scares, but also the fact that you get to love these characters…. it’s like The Shining meets John Hughes. You get that thrilling aspect, but also these people that you know and you latch on to, and I think people are really going to enjoy that.
You can read more of KSiteTV’s Dead of Summer coverage here. Don’t miss the series premiere Tuesday night on Freeform!
