Pretty Smart is not your average silly sitcom, according to the Netflix comedy's stars.
The new series, which dropped on the streamer on Oct. 8, follows scholar Chelsea (Emily Osment) as she moves into her free-spirited sister Claire's (Olivia Macklin) house, joining influencer Jayden (Michael Hsu Rosen), healer Solana (Cinthya Carmona) and personal trainer Grant (Gregg Sulkin). Initially, this situation feels like a personal circle of hell for Chelsea, but, over time, she soon realizes that there's more to these stereotypical Los Angeles residents.
In fact, as Osment told E! News in an exclusive interview, her character learns a thing or two from this sunny bunch. "I think there's something to be said about unscrewing yourself a little bit," she said. "Chelsea comes in...very put together, very stiff. I don't believe I am that way, but I think there's always a lesson to be learned, to not let stigma get in the way of getting to know someone."
Per the Hannah Montana alum, this series broke one stereotype right out of the gate by casting her as an intellectual blonde, noting, "I haven't been given that opportunity as much as I'd like."
Similarly, Osment's co-star Macklin learned to embrace her inner child while playing the sweet-natured Claire. "When you play a character like Claire, it's really hard to unscrew your smile at the end of the day," she explained to E! News. "I really enjoyed living in Claire's world for a while and indulging that side of myself a little bit."
For instance, she was inspired to re-watch her favorite guilty pleasure movie, The Princess Diaries, while filming Pretty Smart.
Osment and Macklin's co-stars also embraced their quirky characters, with Rosen highlighting how Pretty Smart tries to subvert these stereotypes by complicating the characters a bit more. He relayed, "Our show is strongest when the jokes kind of crack open a space for us to get a little real."
Expanding on this, Sulkin called their show a celebration of those West Coast archetypes. Specifically, the Faking It alum was particularly proud of Rosen's portrayal of Jayden, since influencers tend to get a bad rap.
"I think it's very easy for an influencer to sort of be laughed at," he said. "I know so many people in their 20s and younger who are on these social media platforms and are basically their own young CEOs...There's actually a real craft to it and it's really hard work."
For all of this and more, including the inspiration behind Carmona's character, watch the exclusive interview above.
Pretty Smart is available to stream on Netflix.