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Just like the training their characters had to endure, the cast of Netflix’s latest YA hit series “Crew Girl” attended a two-week rowing intensive in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, before filming. The show’s lead
Miku Martineau and her pack of rowers hit the open water to soak up as much information about the sport as possible. In the meantime, they developed the camaraderie and chemistry required to be teammates on and offscreen — and even had some memorable recreational races.
In one of these high-speed competitions between co-stars and onscreen love triangle members Kyle Clark and Sam Braun, Martineau came out on top as the duo tumbled into the water repeatedly, struggling to find their seats.
That training has paid off, because “Crew Girl” has sat in Netflix’s English TV Top 10 since its Sept. 10 release, and the coming-of-age sports drama has already amassed more than 16 million views in its first two weeks — a “surreal” statistic, an “ecstatic” Martineau tells Variety.
“It’s such a beautiful thing when you get to collaborate with so many people on one project, and for it to finally come out and for other people to enjoy it as well,” Martineau says.
“Crew Girl” follows Martineau as 16-year-old Teagan Tao as she adapts to her new life after her father’s financial fraud forced her family to move across the country and back to her mother’s hometown. There, Teagan must navigate the choppy waters of her elite prep school Easton Academy and its all-boys crew team. Unwilling to give up her own rowing dreams, she finds a spot for herself as coxswain, leading the team to victory and falling in love with some of her teammates along the way.
While Season 1 focused on Teagan navigating her place on the boys’ team, Season 2 of “Crew Girl,” which was confirmed on Tuesday, will likely focus on the creation and development of an all-girls team, especially if Martineau has anything to say about it.
“I hope there is a strong sense of friendship and teamwork and mutual respect,” she says. “I think, guys aside, the female friendship that she and Brittany could potentially have through rowing could be very special and powerful.”
Like her fanbase, Martineau is just as torn over Team Josh or Team Cam — but is ultimately choosing Team Teagan.
“I think [Josh and Teagan] developed a very intimate and close relationship,” Martineau says. “However, with Cam, she relates to him because he’s kind of the underdog as well as her. And he’s also just such a sweetheart, but he has his own things as well. So it is like, what’s happening with this girls’ team?”
As the lead actor in a YA drama, the 22-year-old felt the responsibility to try and accurately depict teenage hardships and resilience. But she also had the added weight of representing women in male-dominated sports.
“I hope that Teagan represents just how powerful and strong women are,” Martineau says. “I hope it gives young girls who see Teagan onscreen permission to feel like it’s OK to take up space. It’s OK to be competitive and it’s OK to not back down from a challenge, even if you’re underestimated and even if you are the underdog. It’s unfortunate that we have to go the extra mile to almost earn a seat at the table. But if anyone can do it, it’s a woman.”
This spotlight on women in “Crew Girl,” especially in less-mainstream sports like rowing, is what drew Martineau to the project. That, and of course, the juicy love triangle.
“I love the duality of a really strong-willed woman pursuing her greatest desire while also allowing herself to be human, and that’s OK,” Martineau says.
Martineau acknowledges how influential characters like Teagan and the other players on her team can be for young audiences.
“When we’re very, very young, all we want to do is fit in,” Martineau says. “The media we consume, we look for things that we can relate to to feel like we’re a part of the community. So that’s why it’s important to represent a lot of communities and people of diverse backgrounds, so that it feels like the world that we are living in.”
Martineau appears to be similar to Teagan in her sunny demeanor, passion for her work and determination — but she wants you to know she’s not playing herself. She prefers each character of hers to be distinctive. For her starring role as Yumeko in the 2025 Netflix original series “Bet,” Martineau rocked blunt bangs to differentiate herself from the character and for Teagan, she proposed going fully blonde.
She also had to establish mutual trust and respect with showrunner Vivian Lin and the “Crew Girl” directors. “I want to do my best job to bring the story to life,” Martineau says. “They do as well, so it’s me trusting them and them trusting me.”
Before she settles back into her single scull for Season 2, Martineau is taking it day by day just like Teagan, grounding herself with long walks and self-care.
“I wish I could say what else I have in store, but it’s been so full of so many blessings and it’s so amazing,” Martineau says.
