Such Brave Girls Exclusive Interview: Star and creator Kat Sadler on the show’s second season

EXCLUSIVE: Brace yourself. Such Brave Girls is back for Season 2, and according to creator, writer, and star Kat Sadler, “everything is worse for everyone”, and that’s exactly how she wants it.

The darkly comic, BAFTA-winning series was praised in its first outing for its raw portrayal of mental health, family dysfunction, and sisterhood, delivered with unflinching honesty and an irreverent sense of humour.

Stream all episodes of Such Brave Girls now, only on Stan.

Now, Season 2 turns the dial up on chaos, comedy, and catharsis.

“We’ve made the stakes even higher,” Sadler tells 9Entertainment. “We’ve put our characters through even worse situations. There’s bigger comedy set pieces, and we’ve had so much fun making it.”

So what can fans expect? “There’s a boat,” Sadler teases with a grin. “There’s an episode on a boat, which you wouldn’t expect – and which was an absolute nightmare to film. There’s a car accident, there’s a cat who was the worst actor on set by far. I feel like he lied on his CV to get the job.”

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Despite the mishaps (both human and feline), Sadler says the response to Season 1 gave her the fire to be even bolder in Season 2.

“It really gave us some fire to be even more brave in what we talk about, what we deal with”, Sadler explains.

Much of Such Brave Girls draws from Sadler’s own life, specifically, her relationship with her real-life sister Lizzie Davidson, who plays Billie on the show. Writing the series, she says, was a way to process her past, but also to reflect the unique humour and rhythm of her family.

“I wanted to put me and my sister’s experiences on screen and talk about mental health and some of the trauma we’ve been through: but in a funny way. I haven’t seen our kind of family dynamic on screen before, so that was the exciting challenge.”

Working with your sister might sound idyllic or infuriating. For Sadler, it was a bit of both.

“She’s so talented, and it’s been lovely watching her confidence grow,” she says. “But season one had teething problems. We had to work out how to talk to each other on set. Season two, we were so aligned. It was a lot easier.”

That sibling trust proved invaluable, especially during more intimate or emotionally fraught scenes.

“I really trust her opinion and she trusts mine. I feel like I’m protecting her when I can be there, making sure everything’s okay.”

Also returning this season is director Simon Bird (best known for playing Will on The Inbetweeners), whose presence behind the camera brought a much-needed levity to the high-stakes subject matter.

“He’s so funny and just has comedy bones. You know if he’s smiling behind the monitor, you’ve got it,” Sadler says. “He sets the tone on set, and the tone was fun. It never felt like work.”

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Balancing brutal honesty with gut-busting comedy is no easy feat, but Sadler has developed a formula that works.

“I think I treat the writing like therapy. I work through the emotions as I write, and then strip all of that out when we get to filming. If I get too sympathetic, my sister tells me to cut it. She’s very harsh,” she laughs. “But I welcome it.”

While writing is her first love, Sadler admits she’s fallen for acting too.

“Writing comes with so much responsibility and stress. But acting? You just get to play with your mates. I get the giggles all the time on set. I feel like a kid again.”

As for favourite characters this season? Sadler surprises us by naming Dev, played by Paul Bazely.

“He’s very literal and logical, and it’s been fun figuring out how to give this lovely man a breakdown,” she says. “And of course, writing for Deb played by Louise Brealey, who is just a force. I know whatever I give her, she’s going to absolutely nail it.”

So, why should audiences dive back in?

“We’ve just made everything worse for everyone. Secrets from series one are coming out. Nothing is easy. It’s not an easy watch. But you have to watch it.”

Stream all episodes of Such Brave Girls now, only on Stan.

Nine Entertainment Co (the publisher of this website) owns and operates the streaming service Stan.

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