IMDb TV has found its leads for High School, a coming-of-age dramedy series based on the memoir by Tegan and Sara Quin, from Housebroken co-creator Clea DuVall, Plan B Entertainment and Amazon Studios.
Discovered via TikTok by Canadian indie pop duo Tegan and Sara themselves, TV newcomers and twins Railey and Seazynn Gilliland have been tapped as series leads, portraying the high school versions of Tegan and Sara. Cobie Smulders and Kyle Bornheimer will also guest star in the series, playing the twins’ parents. High School will start filming on March 21 in Calgary, AB.
High School is a story about finding your own identity—a journey made even more complicated when you have a twin whose own struggle and self-discovery so closely mimics your own. Told through a backdrop of ‘90s grunge and rave culture, the series weaves between parallel and discordant memories of twin sisters growing up down the hall from each other.
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In the series, Railey will play the high school version of Tegan, a gregarious, confident and extroverted teenager who turns to music to explore her vulnerabilities. Seazynn will portray the high school version of Sara, a reserved, observant and sensitive 15-year-old who, for the first time, starts to access her own self-confidence through playing music.
Smulders will play Simone, Tegan and Sara’s funny, sharp, and supportive mother, who strives to define herself outside of her family. Bornheimer is Patrick, Simone’s boyfriend and Tegan and Sara’s pseudo-stepdad, who is a gentle everyman.
“It felt kismet when I saw Railey and Seazynn for the first time on TikTok,” said Tegan Quin. “There was something undeniably intriguing about them: They were sweet and original, impossible not to watch. I felt compelled to send Sara the video. ‘Too bad they don’t act,’ I texted her. Sara wasn’t deterred. They were performers, musical and dynamic. ‘You can’t teach charisma,’ Sara said, which they had in spades. Sara was relentless — these were the twins that had to play us. We were overjoyed when they were cast, and we couldn’t be more thrilled that it all worked out.”
Tegan and Sara Quin, DuVall and Laura Kittrell will executive produce alongside Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner from Plan B Entertainment. Plan B’s Carina Sposato is a co-executive producer. DuVall will also write and direct multiple episodes, including the pilot. Amazon Studios in association with Plan B Entertainment will produce the series.
Railey and Seazynn were born and raised in Fresno, CA. They are repped by The Osbrink Agency.
Smulders is best known for her starring roles as Robin Scherbatsky in the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, and as Maria Hill in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She most recently appeared in a cameo reprising her HIMYM role Robin Scherbatsky in spinoff How I Met Your Father, and starring as Anne Coulter in FX’s critically acclaimed American Crime: Impeachment. She’s repped by UTA and Gang Tyre Ramer & Brown.
Bornheimer was most recently seen in a recurring role on Brooklyn Nine-Nine and in a starring role on Armando Ianucci’s HBO series Avenue 5. His most recent film credits include the voice of Wilden Lightfoot in the Oscar-nominated Disney/Pixard film Onward. Bornheimer is repped by Gersh, Haven Entertainment and attorney Todd Rubenstein.
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