It’s the power of Jake C. Mason Versaw stars in Boo, Bitch as the lovable and charming character who gets caught up in a love triangle between girlfriend Riley and new love interest Erika Vu. While Jake C. could have easily been a one-dimensional character, Mason and the writing give the character a surprising depth.
“I think there’s a certain energy with Jake C. in just the layout of the character,” Mason told HollywoodLife. “When you audition for these things, you only get so much information about the project and even how your character really is. It’s just like a small little fraction of the story. But what I liked was he wasn’t just the boy next door. There was some depth in his character. He had more heart, and he’s a little bit more real and a little awkward in his charm than just full-on confidence. He had a little bit of a facade going on, which was sort of refreshing that he wanted to own up to the real him.
He added, “It was interesting as I read on in the story to see where it went. But for me, it was really refreshing where Jake C. found himself and sort of acknowledged his habits and maybe just realized that he’s got to work on himself first before continuing on in relationships.”
The most shocking twist of the Netflix series is that Erika is not the one under the moose. It’s actually Gia, her best friend. Mason admitted that he “somehow missed Gia being the one under the moose” when he initially read the script. “But when I found out I was like, ‘No way.’ It kind of excited me to read a story that has such a shocking twist attached to it,” he noted.
Mason pointed out that it’s “terrible when you have a character that you’re attached to in some way be killed off or die or something. There are some beautiful lessons to be learned. There are so many lessons actually in that show. I was shocked by the depth you could really pull from the story.”
Jake C. has his fair share of romantic woes over the course of the season. Whether it be his toxic relationship with Riley or the ups and downs of what’s going on with Erika. Despite reuniting and sharing a kiss in the final episode, Mason doesn’t necessarily think Jake C. and Erika are endgame.
“Even though maybe they kiss at the end there, I think Jake C. needs to take care of himself first. I’m sure therapy is on the horizon for him,” Mason quipped.
A bulk of Jake C.’s future therapy sessions would likely discuss his relationship with Riley, his ex-girlfriend. “That type of dynamic is a very specific one that I feel like we all have, someone who comes across in our lives, and that relationship somehow never ends,” Mason told HollywoodLife. “And you’re like, how are you guys maintaining this toxicity so awfully well? Even in my high school, I found myself in similar situations. In a more realistic way, I was able to relate to that situation. But then the fact that there was some comedic relief through it made the situation more fun and almost sort of healing for the trauma I went through.”
Mason, who appeared on the Gossip Girl sequel series and tick, tick… BOOM! before Boo, Bitch, admitted that he’s been a “little hesitant about having to play a boy next door type. Sometimes we get these auditions where it’s like sort of leaning into a jock. It’s typically written in a sort of shallow way. What can you really give that performance? What’s nice about this show that what Lauren [Iungerich], Erin [Ehrlich], and Tim [Schauer] created was that they added these details about the characters and serious, deep situations that people can relate to. These characters aren’t just stereotypes. They might just appear that way at first.”
Mason is already working on new projects, which he has to stay quiet about for now. While he enjoyed diving into the comedy of Boo, Bitch, he’s ultimately drawn to “more artsy type of projects and then drama.” He added, “I feel like that’s where I thrive more. Comedy’s such fun, but I’m trying to like steer the ship in a more artsy direction.” Boo, Bitch is now streaming on Netflix.