A Privileged life! The fan-favorite series aired on the CW for just one season between 2008 and 2009, but its star-studded cast — including JoAnna Garcia, Lucy Hale and Anne Archer — certainly made waves.
While Garcia was already a TV veteran by the time she landed the lead role of Megan Smith on Privileged — she kicked off her career in the ‘90s with starring roles on Are You Afraid of the Dark? and Reba — Hale was a relative newcomer on the small screen when she scored the part of Rose Baker. Both Rose and her twin sister, Sage (Ashley Newbrough) were tutored by Megan on the series after she became close with their grandmother (Archer). In 2010, one year after Privileged‘s cancellation, the Scream 4 star landed her breakout role as Aria Montgomery on Pretty Little Liars, which ran on Freeform for seven seasons.
She followed her star turn as Aria — one of four best friends plagued by text messages from the mysterious “A” — with roles on several TV shows, including Life Sentence and Katy Keene. Hale also made her way to the big screen both during and after PLL, scoring lead parts in multiple horror-thriller films like Scream 4, Truth or Dare and Fantasy Island. She released her debut album, Road Between, in 2014.
Newbrough, for her part, soon became known for her roles in multiple Lifetime thrillers, including 2016’s You May Now Kill the Bride, before moving on to the lighter side of the network with starring parts in several holiday-themed films.
Archer, for her part, had already been nominated for a supporting actress Academy Award and a Golden Globe before starring on the teen comedy. The actress earned both nods for her turn as Michael Douglas character’s wife, Beth, in the 1987 thriller Fatal Attraction — the critically-acclaimed film that also scored costar Glenn Close the best actress nods for the same trophies.
After roles in popular films like ‘90s and early 2000s Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger and Rules of Engagement, along with stints on multiple TV shows and roles in several TV movies, Archer scored her part on Privileged in 2008.
At the time, she discussed the process of filming the sitcom in front of a live audience. “In a comedy, which this was, you are very aware of it. That’s the give-and-take of a live audience. As an actor you want to be in communication with your audience,” she told the Daily Herald in September 2008. “You want to feel them and that only makes you better. They feed you, and you feed them, and it’s a dance. It’s a wonderful thing. You just know when the music is happening for everybody.”
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