Brec Bassinger doesn’t believe in coincidences. So, it’s downright serendipitous that the Stargirl star finds herself cast as the lead in Lifetime’s new limited series, V.C. Andrews Dawn. “It was a very full circle moment,” she said of starring in the show. “The first time I ever went to L.A., back in 2013, I was 13 years old. I actually auditioned for the original Flowers in the Attic, the 2014 version of it. I went pretty far and met with the directors. When I auditioned for this, I was very familiar with it and V.C. Andrews’ work.”

The four-part limited series tracks the story of Dawn Longchamp (Bassinger), who discovers a shocking truth about the people who raised her. Suddenly, she’s thrust into a new family whose dark secrets put her life into a tailspin. Starring alongside Bassinger is Jesse Metcalf and Khobe Clarke, who play her “father” and “brother,” respectively. Joey McIntyre and Fran Drescher also star. Donna Mills turns in wickedly fun performance as Dawn’s grandmother, Lillian Cutler.

Speaking to a panel of journalists, Brec Bassinger and other castmembers shared more about the limited series in this exclusive interview. Dive in.

Dawn Gets Deep and Dark Very Quickly

V.C. Andrews’ books are among the highest selling in history. Beginning with 1979’s Flowers in the Attic, Andrews’ collection of novels has sold more than 106 million copies and have been translated into 22 foreign languages. Andrews died in 1986 and Andrew Neiderman took over the creative reigns after that, and the success continued.

The cult following of V.C. Andrews’ novels generated plenty of buzz — the stories have been adapted into more than 19 films at this point. Fittingly, this year, in conjunction with what would have been Andrews’ 100th birthday, a new paperback edition of Flowers in the Attic is available. Recently, Lifetime acquired the rights to the works and now we have Dawn.

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The Dawn Cutler novels captivated readers for decades. The first novel in the series, Dawn, follows the story of Dawn Longchamp as she struggles to fit in with her new family, all the while battling her wicked grandmother Lillian. Other family mysteries emerge, which doesn’t give Dawn much hope. All of it gave Bassinger plenty to work with. The actress brings a level of believability and depth here, exhibiting a wide range of emotions during different facets of Dawn’s life.

I got to watch the first two screeners with my family and within the first 10 minutes of Dawn finding out… about her biological parents, my dad was like, ‘You don’t mess around. They get right into the craziness.’ Jesse Metcalfe plays Ormand Longchamp here, Dawn’s adoptive father, and Khobe Clarke her adoptive brother. Jason Cermak is Dawn’s father Randolph Cutler; Miranda Frigon is Dawn’s mother, Laura Jean Cutler; and Elyse Maloway (Super Monsters, The Magicians) and Dane Schioler (Prom Pact) as Dawn’s siblings, Clara Jean and Philip Cutler.

“For me, one of my favorite parts about this was getting to go through three decades of Dawn’s life,” Bassinger told the panel. “So just the story arc I went through was very challenging, but very rewarding.”

On Handling Those Intense Scenes
Lifetime

Because the story moves along chronologically, the production was filmed in two blocks, which Bassinger appreciated. “We figured out our characters more and matured them,” explained Bassinger. “Having time with the material, we were able to do that with our acting as well. I very much pull from my own life experience. I haven’t been a parent, I don’t have a kid, I’ve never been married. So, I did have to kind of go about this role differently.” She continued:

“I’m a big advocate of watching content that relates to it in some way. And I remember a scene Khobe and I were filming — and this isn’t too much of a spoiler, I hope — but it’s the first scene where we’re seeing each other knowing we’re not siblings. And there’s just this underlying thing between us. It’s these two people who have gone through tragedy together, and the connection and bond they have is going to be so different.”

Related: How the Flowers in the Attic Lifetime Movie Improved on the Original

Things heat up for sure in Dawn. Bassinger’s scenes with Donna Mills stand out. As do those she occupies with Khobe Clark. The actor noted several scenes that took him aback and which he found most challenging. “It was scenes where they recognized there was an element of great loss, and that loss was unfamiliar to me and unfamiliar to Brec,” shared Clark. “And as an actor, I had never had to explore that depth of sadness before. Without ruining the movie… there was a couple of those in particular that when people watch it, they will know.” He admitted:

“I think [my character] Jimmy is just a happy-go-lucky dude. But there was this one moment where it was the only time where I felt emotionally exhausted by telling the story. Any way you spinit , V.C. Andrews Dawn is bound to entice and spur even more film versions. Stay tuned. V.C. Andrews Dawn premieres on Lifetime July 8, and streams the following day. You can watch the entire 35-minute cast junket below.