Tegan and Sara explain why high school had to be a period piece

“I’m really excited that we can see 90s queer art,” said executive producer Tegan Quin. Result on High school. Based on the memoir written by Quin and his longtime sister/collaborator Sara Quin, the new Freevee series takes a unique approach to adaptation, anchored by strong early performances from Railey and Seazynn Gilliland as twins named Tegan and Sara. , whose complicated relationship grows stronger as they discover a mutual love for writing and performing music.

Thanks to showrunners Clea DuVall (who also directs several episodes) and Laura Kittrell, the series serves as both an authentic portrayal of Tegan and Sara’s experiences growing up in the 1990s, as well as a relatable narrative capturing the essence to grow and discover your true potential.

Below are the Quin sisters and the Gilliland sisters, along with DuVall, Kittrell and co-stars Cobie Smulders (who plays Simone Quin, the twins’ mother) and Kyle Bornheimer (who plays Patrick, the twins’ stepfather) dig into key questions surrounding the series, including the importance of keeping the show a period piece, their favorite needle drops from the first season, their thoughts on future seasons, and…

Do High school Want a biopic?

It’s not uncommon for the life stories of musical artists to inspire movies and TV shows. But this series ends up being something unique, which is why actors and showrunners have different perspectives on this matter.

Laura Kittrell: I mean, when you say that out loud, I’m like, “Yeah, right.” But it never really crossed my mind to be honest. And I don’t know if it’s because it’s television or if it’s just because of the specific story we’re telling. Plus, much of it is obviously very memoir-inspired – Tegan and Sara are real people; they have real parents, they have real friends – but a lot of the characters became fusions or were made up or things they were doing were made up by us. I think the further we got from the book, the less it would feel like we were doing a complete biopic.

Cobie Smulders: For me, that worked a lot, because of the period we were shooting – it was like we were jumping back in time. It felt like we were telling a story from the past, so a biopic. And also, I was always thinking about that family dynamic and really trying to make it realistic. So I was constantly thinking about family and what it would be like. So it always felt like we were shooting something that was a true story.