Representation matters.
The Wilds' Mia Healey highlighted this very point while discussing her queer storyline on the Prime Video survivalist drama with E! News. For those unfamiliar with the show, Healey plays Shelby Goodkind, a beauty queen from a deeply religious family who struggles with her sexual identity.
However, after ending up on a deserted island following a plane crash, Shelby finds love with fellow survivor Toni Shalifoe (Erana James). While LGBTQ+ relationships are no longer anomalies in film and TV, it was incredible to see this romance at the front-and-center of The Wilds.
And, unsurprisingly, Healey shared that she feels similarly.
"I think it's really important to see queer storylines at the front-and-center. I think for a long time that hasn't been done, especially a lesbian storyline," Healey exclusively told E! News. "It's so important to show young women and young queer people that these stories are beautiful and they're complex. And, you know, they have so much gravitas and it's beautiful."
Often in film and TV, queer characters are put into trope categories. We're talking the gay best friend or the queer woman who has been killed off—here's looking at you, The 100.
As she continued, Healey praised The Wilds for showcasing a lesbian relationship "authentically and beautifully and with respect." She went on to say that this kind of respectful relationship is one that everyone "should be witnessing."
One moment that stood out to fans was when Toni got consent from Shelby, who struggled with internalized homophobia, before taking things to the next physical level.
"I think it's always important to showcase consent and I think it's great that you're seeing that through a lesbian relationship as well," Healey relayed. "Everyone should be asking for consent, it's a very important thing."
On her on-screen chemistry with James, Healey said they had that "in buckets."
"We were such close friends when we first met on the pilot," she recalled. "Maybe it was epic casting because they could just maybe tell that…our energies just got along well with each other. We had a lot of harmony."
The Wilds has been nominated for Outstanding Drama Series at the 2021 GLAAD Media Awards.
In addition to Healey and James, the show also stars Sophia Ali, Shannon Berry, Jenna Clause, Reign Edwards, Helena Howard and Sarah Pidgeon.
The Wilds is streaming now on Prime Video.