INTERVIEW: Lucy Hale from AMC’s Upcoming Thriller Series ‘Ragdoll’ Discusses What is Was Like to Take on a Gruesome Role

AMC+’s imaginative serial killer thriller, RAGDOLL, gets a linear debut on AMC on Monday, February 28 at 10pm ET/PT, with new episodes weekly following the network’s airing of Killing Eve.

The captivating and horrifying, this six-part original series is from the award-winning producers of Killing Eve and features similar mind-blowing plot twists, intense characters, and dark humor. This stylish drama packs an emotional punch and will keep viewers on the edge of their seats until the very last minute.

Lucy Hale took some time to discuss her role as Edmunds on the upcoming series that goes to some dark places.

Edmunds is the outsider in this show. Can you talk a little bit about that? 

HALE: Edmunds is definitely the new kid on the block. For sure she’s an outsider, but what’s so great about her is she’s really brave and will do anything to succeed and do the right thing. She’s smart, brilliant, and well-educated. What’s nice throughout the series is you see her start as this lone ranger, but towards the end she makes her way into the group and starts to fit in. I felt like an outsider when I got here, but everyone welcomed me with open arms, so there’s a nice mirroring of art and real life. 

What do you like about the characters on the show? 

HALE: What I love about the characters on this show is they’re all really flawed, they’re very human, and you get an inside look at their pasts and the skeletons in their closets. When you meet Edmunds, you wouldn’t realize that she’s harboring a dark secret that she’s literally trying to run away from. Throughout the series you realize that her people pleasing at the beginning is almost to make good for what she’s done in her past. It definitely catches up with her. She wants to be more like Baxter, who she really respects, but ultimately she’s more like Rose in that she’ll go to any lengths to protect the people that she loves and that she cares about. What’s so great about the show, especially with Rose, is you see what people will do for revenge and what people will do to try to do the right thing. It’s been really fun to play her arc, because she’s carrying some dark, dark stuff with her. It goes to show that everyone has emotional baggage, everyone has trauma, everyone has things they’re running from, but eventually they it catches up with you. I saw a lot of myself in Edmunds from the standpoint of wanting to do the right thing and wanting to please everyone. 

What do you think the audience will love about Edmunds? 

HALE: People will hopefully like Edmunds because we can see the other characters through her eyes. Since she’s an outsider, and the audience is also an outsider, you can see the show through her lens. But she’s also really quick witted and funny, and has some great one-liners. She’s the only American on the show. I haven’t told any of my friends and family back home that I’m playing an American, so everyone is expecting me to be doing a British accent. Edmunds says the things that everyone else wants to say but is too scared to, and she leads with her feelings. Throughout the show, Simmons tells her, “No one cares about your feelings, this isn’t about your feelings, this is about business.” It’s a blend of both of those worlds. She doesn’t let anything stop her. She’s a go-getter and puts on a brave face, even when she probably shouldn’t.

What’s unique about Ragdoll from other serial killer thrillers? 

HALE: I think what’s so unique about Ragdoll is that it’s obviously very gruesome and very disturbing, but the context of what these characters are going through and what they’re seeing is also really dark and messed up. But the dialogue and the characters are really funny and really light, and it’s very quick. All the characters are really quick-witted, so there’s this nice balance of the comedy with the thriller, which is something new for me. Having both elements at the same time is fun, but also a challenge because everything is heightened. What’s so great is that the characters don’t take themselves too seriously, and the show knows exactly what it is. It’s the best of both worlds. 

What drew you to this project? 

HALE: I wanted to be a part of it because the characters are really flawed, really human, and it’s more about trauma and mental health and all that good stuff. As a viewer, I love these types of shows. I love true crime documentaries and true crime podcasts too. It’s like I’ve been preparing my whole life to do this show, no joke. When I signed on to do it, everyone was like, “Yes, that makes sense, this is what you love to explore anyway.” When I got the script, I knew what type of genre it was, but I was really blown away by the characters and how developed they were, and how much I cared for them right off the bat. I remember they felt really human – even though they do some shady stuff throughout the show, you really feel for them. 

I’ve never done a crime show before – and I’d definitely never played a cop before. It’s also the characters, and how Freddy created this whole world from Daniel Cole’s book. I feel really honored to be here. It’s been so incredible working with Thalissa and Henry. The UK has some really good actors. They work a little differently than I do, so I feel like I’ve learned a lot from watching and working with them.

What was it like stepping onto the set and seeing the Ragdoll for the first time? 

HALE: I saw the Ragdoll for the first time when we shot the scene of the characters seeing the Ragdoll for the first time. We did that intentionally because we wanted to see it in real time and react in real time. No joke, it actually took my breath away because it looked so real. I didn’t touch it, but apparently it even felt like flesh. The hair, the veins and the details of it were spot on, so it was disturbing to say the least. We were all wide eyed, like, “What are we doing?” It was crazy. 14

What do you hope that people will take from watching Ragdoll? 

HALE: What makes Ragdoll unique is that it’s not your regular whodunnit. The audience is in on the secrets, more so than the characters, which is cool. There’s a nice balance between being a really scary serial killer thriller and being really funny too. 

Check out ‘Ragdoll’ on AMCMonday, February 28 at 10pm ET/PT.