Ladysmith’s Kayla Lorette is the co-creator and star of the new Crave series: New Eden.
Lorette plays Katherine Wryfield alongside co-creator Evany Rosen, who plays Grace Lee. The show is a true crime parody about Katherine and Grace’s attempt to start a large-scale feminist utopia that devolves into a drug addled, alien-worshiping cult. The show will follow the development of New Eden through the 70s, 80s, and 90s.
“Evany and I knew we wanted to put a show together, so we talked about our mutual love of the true crime genre… and then we’ve always been a bit obsessed with cults,” Lorette said. “We started from there, but then we were questioning – what if there’s not the traditional male cult leader at the centre of it, what if it’s these two women? Then it just grew from there.”
The relationship between Katherine and Grace is built around an ‘unhealthy co-dependency’. Katherine is a narcissist who wants to make herself the victim or get attention from others. Grace is extremely loyal and will do anything to give Katherine the attention she needs.
“Our first analogy about it was we imagined Katherine was the girl that invited her entire class to her birthday party, but no one shows up except for Grace – and Grace sees nothing wrong with it,” Lorette said.
The show is set in Halworth B.C. Lorette said that setting the show in B.C. was important because at the time, many communes were forming in B.C.
“We like that they end up in the Interior. It’s not as cool as the Island or something, but it felt natural and logical that that’s where these women would end up,” Lorette said.
New Eden will be the second Canadian Crave original series after Letterkenny, Crave’s smash hit about life in small town Ontario.
Lorette said that working with Crave has been a great experience. Since Crave is a streaming platform, it gave Lorette and Rosen the freedom to explore unconventional story telling. They also have the freedom to play with the length of their episodes, and they don’t have to build structures around commercial breaks.
“I feel proud that [Crave] is taking those chances and letting creators make the show they want to create,” Lorette said.
Lorette is a graduate of Ladysmith Secondary School. During her time at LSS, Lorette was heavily involved in the improv and theatre program. She credited LSS drama teacher Bill Taylor with creating the space for people like her to explore drama.
“It was the best. Bill Taylor built such great spaces to be creative. The improv there was so fun, supportive, and amazing. I started doing it in Grade 8, and it unlocked something for me creatively, but also from a confidence space,” Lorette said. “I don’t think I would be the creator I am now without the environment that was created there.”
Season one of New Eden is available on Crave starting January 1. There are eight episodes loaded with Easter eggs and hidden details that make the show not only binge-worthy, but a series to rewatch again and again.