Lana Condor’s New Character “Would Eat Lara Jean For Breakfast”

Lana Condor is no stranger to the supernatural. Her latest project is a Netflix limited series called Boo, Bitch, in which a high school senior wakes up one day to learn she’s a ghost. But while the show is most definitely a comedy, Condor’s IRL paranormal encounters skew much more serious.

“It’s scary stuff,” Condor tells Elite Daily of the “weird, unexplainable instances” she’s experienced in her life. “I don’t like any of that. You can miss me with all of that.”

Luckily, Condor has no qualms about portraying fictional ghost stories. In Boo, Bitch, which premiered July 8, she does just that. Condor stars as the shy and awkward Erika Vu, who makes it a mission with her bestie, Gia (Zoe Colletti), to finally step out of the shadows and make their mark before high school graduation. There’s just one tiny issue: One of them has died and become a ghost.

The premise leans much more zany than spooky, which was definitely the goal, according to Condor, who produced the series in addition to starring in it. “I think one of the best things about our show is we totally embraced the campiness of it,” she says. “We tried to make a show that was highly amusing and sometimes very not believable, and a show that did not take itself seriously.”

Below, Condor shares details from the set of Boo, Bitch, her scariest real-life supernatural stories, and how she thinks Erika would react to her sweet and bubbly To All The Boys character, Lara Jean Covey.

Warning: Spoilers for Boo, Bitch follow.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Elite Daily: First off, congrats on the new series. What was your initial impression of the script for Boo, Bitch?

Lana Condor: Our original pilot was sent to me years and years ago. Then, once we got greenlit and the writers' room came on, there were quite a few changes that happened for the better. I think what drew me to the initial script, and thus to the script that we ended up going with, was the raunchy comedy, the pacing, [and] the mystery, paranormal aspect of the show.

ED: What kind of changes were made from the original script and what ended up becoming Boo, Bitch?

LC: I was really pleasantly pleased with the addition of Gia’s character, which wasn’t in the original pilot. I was so pleased because I was like, “Now this show can be about friendship and the journey that these two girls go on, for better or for worse.” And so that made me really, really excited and really stoked to be a part of it, even more so.

ED: A lot of Netflix fans know you from your iconic role in the To All The Boys movies. How do you compare Lara Jean to your new character, Erika?

LC: I say that Erika is basically two characters. We have the “Helen Who” Erika [her wallflower alter-ego], and then we have what we like to call “Bad B*tch” Erika. I think the “Helen Who” Erika is pretty similar to Lara Jean in the sense of like, they keep to themselves. I think “Bad Bitch” Erika would eat Lara Jean for breakfast. There are points in the show where she’s highly, highly unlikeable and a horrible person. She’s making really, really bad choices and being a terrible friend. And I think Lara Jean was always a great friend. They’re polar opposites.

ED: You talked a little bit about the friendship between Gia and Erika and how it’s at the core of the series. What resonates the most for you about their bond?

LC: I think Gia’s selflessness toward Erika, and Gia’s patience toward Erika, and Gia’s loyalty toward Erika. That obviously isn’t returned in a lot of scenes that we see of “Bad B*tch” Erika. But I think Gia is really a character to be admired because she’s so loyal and she cares for her best friend. I don’t think it’s quantity, I think it’s quality when it comes to friendships, and I think that Gia is probably the best friend anyone could have. I’m really excited for the world to see and further meet Zoe [Colletti] because she’s an amazing actress and she’s an even more amazing human being. I’m really excited for this adventure for her.

ED: Did you do any supernatural research to prepare for Boo, Bitch?

LC: Not so much research, but pulling from weird supernatural things that have happened to me that I can’t explain. So scary. I was shooting one time in Vancouver and we were shooting at this beautiful but abandoned mansion. It was abandoned for good reason because someone had kidnapped their date and then killed them in that mansion, and then stayed and laid with the body for, like, days in this, like, one room of the mansion. It was weird because the rest of the mansion was super warm but that one room was like icy cold. Doors would close when no one was there. Lights would go out and our electricians would be like, “Wait what’s happening?”

ED: So you believe in ghosts?

LC: Yeah, I do. I have had so many weird, unexplainable instances happen to me. I believe in energy staying around after people pass. I believe in spirits and energy staying around. And that stuff is scary. I don’t like any of that. But I do believe in it.

Boo, Bitch is now streaming on Netflix.