We were joined on the Popternative show by Maya McNair who plays Patty, the leader of the “Patty Cakes” clique in the prequel horror series, IT: Welcome to Derry, set in the world of Stephen King’s IT universe. The series is set in 1962 and expands stories established by Andy Muschietti in the feature films It and It Chapter Two.
Bill Skarsgård reprises his role as the terrifying Pennywise from IT and IT Chapter Two, and the series also stars Taylour Paige (Zola), Jovan Adepo (Fences), Chris Chalk (Perry Mason), James Remar (Dexter), Clara Stack (The Naughty Nine), Amanda Christine (Black Box), Stephen Rider (Daredevil), Madeleine Stow (Revenge), Blake Cameron James (We Grown Now), Rudy Mancuso (Música), Miles Ekhardt (Turtles All the Way Down), Arian S. Cartaya (Juego de mentiras), Mikkal Karim-Fidler (Boy in the Walls), Matilda Lawler (Station Eleven), Joshua Odjick (The Long Walk), Kimberly Guerrero (Reservation Dogs), Jack Molloy Legault (Interstellar Ella), Maya Misaljevic (Seven Veils), Hannah Storey (Thanksgiving), and Matilda Legault (Beacon 23).
We are introduced to Lilly (Clara Stack) who is still mourning the loss of her father on top of dealing with being made fun at school for her time spent in Juniper Hill Asylum. Maya plays Patty, the ring leader of a group of girls referred to as the “Patty Cakes.”
“They’re not the nicest girls but I have found through working on it for a long time, that each one of them has a lot of depth to their characters. They’re really not just mean girls. Everything they say, there is intention behind it. If it’s Patty trying to get the attention back because she doesn’t feel seen enough, or the other girls wanting to please her so that they get recognition and feel seen. Playing a mean girl, for me, is fun but [also] very challenging to make it not seem fake,” Maya says.
Watch the full conversation with Maya McNair below.
A new episode of IT: Welcome to Derry airs on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max through December 14.