The season one finale of ABC Family’s newest drama Chasing Life is almost here!
In the episode titled “Finding Chemo,” April begins her battle and month-long hospital stay with mixed emotions. Her resolve to fight starts to wane as her treatments take a toll. Not sure she can be cooped up in the hospital for much longer, April begins to panic. With her family by her side, April makes a surprising outreach to someone who may be the only person who can help her.
Meanwhile, Dominic returns to a much different April then when he left.
Haley Ramm, who plays Brenna on the show, chatted with press about what viewers can expect from the season one finale. For those of you who don’t know Haley’s character, Brenna’s reputation as a rebellious teen who will always choose a party over homework has gotten her into serious trouble in the past. She continues to test the patience of her well-meaning mother, Sara, and envies the perfect image her sister April seems to effortlessly uphold. But inside, Brenna is struggling to discover who she really is, and she does deeply care for her family. Developments at home will lead her to open her eyes to new possibilities with love, friendships, self-confidence and trust.
Check out the Q&A with Haley below. Make sure to tune in to the season one finale of Chasing Life this Tuesday August 12th @ 9PM ET/PT on ABC Family.
How does the relationship between Brenna and Greer progress through the season?
Haley: “It’s definitely progressing! I’m looking back on filming those episodes; it was really fun to see how they were leading up to what was going to happen. It was like every episode it was almost going to happen, and then in the sixth episode it was really almost going to happen, and then seventh it finally happened. I think a lot of people were really happy about it, and that made me really excited. It’s a really fun TV relationship to be a part of, just to play a young girl who is going through that and is trying to figure out herself and her sexuality. It’s really cool to be that voice for younger teens. Hopefully if someone is watching it and they don’t feel comfortable or sure of who they are, they’ll watch it and know they aren’t alone.”
Are we going to see Brenna’s reluctancy to relationship labels change throughout the season?
Haley: “She’s never really too pressured by putting a label on anything. The thing that I love about Brenna is she really makes it clear that she is bisexual. She doesn’t need to be anything so she doesn’t attach herself to anything. It’s really cool that she can be a free bird like that. I think everyone wants to be a little bit like that.”
Is Brenna going to continue on this straight & narrow path that she’s been on since finding out about April? Or is she going to fall back into her more mischievous ways?
Haley: “I don’t think she’s going to be entirely straight and narrow path, but she definitely does step up for her family. Before I knew where any of the scripts were going I thought maybe they would send her down an even darker path since she was a little rough to begin with, but they didn’t. She keeps stepping up for her family, and I think a situation like that really makes you realize the important things in life, and not to dwell on the little things. Even her little high school problems, she doesn’t really see as big problems anymore. She can get past it because there’s more to life than those little mundane dramas.”
Are we going to see more of Brenna and April’s half sister Natalie throughout the season?
Haley: “Natalie will come around a lot more. She will cause problems, but not with everyone. When we first got to know Brenna, nobody really loved her that much. She was kind of annoying, bratty teenager and I think that Natalie’s kind of the same way. One of my favorite things about watching the show is getting to know all of the other characters, and see how they unfold. I don’t see the other stuff that they film, I’m not there when they’re filming it so I like to watch it as a fan. I like seeing the other characters and where they’re going.”
What did you draw on for the compassion that your character Benna shows for her sister when she is diagnosed, when she undergoes a procedure and with some really strong care giver thinking about April’s treatment down the road?
Haley: “I watched my aunt take care of my uncle. I helped take care of my mom after surgery. I can’t imagine anyone not being compelled to do all they can when someone they love is fighting cancer.”
Photo: ABC Family
