Lucy Hale said that her gritty crime drama “Ragdoll” kicks off a new phase of her career.
“I wanted to do something a little surprising and a little different,” Hale, 32, told The Post. “I just feel like I’m in a different chapter in my life. I didn’t know what genre that would land in, but I love this genre anyway – I naturally gravitate towards this type of stuff. I love ‘Killing Eve.’”
Premiering Thursday (Nov. 11) on AMC+, “Ragdoll” is a six-episode dark crime thriller set in the UK that follows a team of detectives including DS Nathan Rose (Henry Lloyd-Hughes, “Killing Eve,”), his friend and boss DI Emily Baxter (Thalissa Teixeira) and their unit’s new recruit, DC Lake Edmunds (Hale) as the trio tries to catch a killer who sews his victims together in a grotesque way that’s been dubbed “the Ragdoll.”
To make matters more complicated, Rose has a personal past connection to the case, while Edmunds, an American, is green enough to carry mint leaves to wave under her nose at crime scenes (since she’s not used to the smell of blood and death).
Hale is mostly known for rom coms and shows aimed at teen audiences such as “Pretty Little Liars” and the “Riverdale” spinoff “Katy Keene,” which was axed after just one season in 2020.
“After my last experience in TV,” she said, referring to “Katy Keene,” and its cancellation, “I wanted to do something darker and different and a little more grown-up. So, I’m just grateful that people gave me the shot to be a part of something that is really disturbing! I love it.”
Hale’s experience on “Ragdoll” was a case of life initiating art, since, just like her character Edmunds, Hale was a fish out of water as an American on a British production.
“She’s not naive at all, but, she’s new to this environment. She’s new to this sector of the police force and I think she’s relatively new to the UK. She’s probably been there a year or two. I think she’s just desperate to prove that she belongs,” said Hale. “Baxter and Rose are a joint pair, and she kind of finagled her way in. She’s definitely a third wheel a little bit, but she kind of breaks everyone down in the sense that she operates differently.
“There were interesting parallels because as Lucy, I obviously was in a foreign country. I had never lived or worked in London before, and I was meeting all new people on this project that was very different than what I’m used to doing. So, I also wanted to prove that I belonged there, that I wanted to do a good job. It was interesting to be feeling some of the things that Edmunds was feeling as well.”
Hale hasn’t departed lighter fare for darker dramas for good, however. Coming up, she’s also starring in a film adaptation of bestselling rom com novel “The Hating Game.”
“It was so fun,” she said. “I loved the book and I love rom coms. There’s something nice about knowing what’s going to happen in the end. [In] contrast, for ‘Ragdoll,’ we were like, ‘Who did it? I’m on the edge of my seat!’ There’s something really nice about watching a rom com because you know they’re going to find love and everything’s going to be fine. I did it with my friend Austin Stowell, and it was a blast. I haven’t seen it yet, but it felt great filming it. I know that the book has kind of like a cult following, so I’m sure they’re excited to see it.”
And as for the “Pretty Little Liars” reboot that’s in the works at HBO Max, Hale said, “I’m definitely completely supportive. But, I don’t think I don’t think I’ll be a part of it in any way except watching it. I’m very curious to see what they do.”