Boo, Bitch stars Lana Condor and Zoe Colletti might have been among real ghosts while filming

Warning: Spoilers for Boo, Bitch ahead.

Lana Condor and Zoe Colletti experienced some paranormal activity while filming their Netflix limited series, Boo, Bitch.

The comedy from creators Erin Ehrlich (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, King of the Hill) and Lauren Iungerich (On My Block, Awkward) follows Erika (Condor, who also executive produces), a high school senior who decides to live it up after she's played it safe for the last four years. Her plans hit a snag (or, er, stag) when she wakes up one morning and discovers she's a ghost.

Her spirit lingers and she can converse with others, including best friend Gia (Colletti), since "ghosts are ghosts because they always have unfinished business in their mortal life," an occult-expert classmate says. While Erika figures out her unfinished business, she decides to also "get down to business" and live her best afterlife. Erika and Gia then make a last ditch effort to be seen in a series that evokes the likes of Booksmart and Mean Girls.

True to the paranormal aspect, Condor and Colletti tell EW they may have been among real spirits while filming — namely, during one scene set in a cemetery. "When we were filming in the cemetery, there was the ghost detector that we were using in the scene and it was a real ghost detector," Colletti says. "It kept going off while we were filming in the cemetery."

Kevin Estrada/Netflix Zoe Colletti and Lana Condor in 'Boo, Bitch'

Below, the costars speak to EW about the script, other paranormal encounters, and the very big plot twist revealed towards the end of the series.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What was it about the script and roles of Erika and Gia that made you both want to take on the project?

LANA CONDOR: I was part of the project from the very beginning. I had gotten this script and I thought it was absolutely hilarious, so we packaged it up and sent it to Netflix in hopes that they would want to do this show. We were so, so lucky they said yes. And then the script went into the writers' room and as all scripts do, change, develop, become better, more fully flushed. By the time I got the official locked version of the pilot, I was really, really excited. Originally it was going to be just me [but] the writers were like, "Let's give Erika an awesome best friend, an awesome sidekick where they can carry the show together."

I felt really excited and joyful to be able to work with a female costar. I've been working with male costars now for years, so that was really, really exciting for me. It was a little bit of a change of a pace. And then just kind of seeing how each character in our show is very, very different. I think there's a character in our show for everyone. We have a very diverse show. It was important for myself, Netflix, and everyone else behind the camera that our show was female-led and female-led behind the camera as well. So all of that were big reasons that I wanted to do it for sure.

ZOE COLLETTI: There's not a ton that you get to see in the regular audition process beforehand. They give you such minimal information, such minimal pieces of the script. So that says a lot to be super excited about a project from the little stuff that you get to see, and I was immediately intrigued by it. I haven't done a ton of comedy, so getting the opportunity to be in a comedy was something that was really exciting for me. Gia's a character that I feel like I have a lot of similarities to. And I agree with what Lana was saying: Being a part of something that is so diverse, that does have so many amazing females in it, in front and behind the camera; all our directors were female. It's super, super cool. There's a ton of great aspects. Having that great balance of comedy and such a heartfelt storyline and just the great friendship between the two main characters is something that I was really drawn to as well.

It feels like a homage to beloved teen films, including Booksmart, Mean Girls, and Pretty in Pink. Can you speak more on these influences? Did you revisit any classics to prepare?

CONDOR: Not necessarily. I actually did watch Mean Girls because I've never really played a character like bad bitch Erika, when she becomes a bitch. I've noticed [that] mean girls talk differently. Like, they have more crack in their voice [and] more like, vocal fry. I watched The Devil Wears Prada. Emily Blunt's character in that, she's mean, but subtle about it. So those are a couple of things that I watched, but ultimately, I did try and create my character based off of what was on the page and my own instincts.

COLLETTI: I would say the same thing for me. You kind of just read it and you can feel out the character and get a lot of inspiration from what you feel like you want to do. Like I said, it was similar to myself, so it was an interesting experience trying to pick what parts of myself I wanted to add to the character. But I was watching New Girl for the first time while I was filming the show. I adore Zooey Deschanel. I think she's so cute. And I think Gia actually has some similarities to Jess in New Girl. So she was a lot of inspiration, I'd say for just a lot of like the funny goofiness of Gia and of just the tone of the show in general. So I wasn't watching it as inspiration, but I noticed myself finding it as I was watching the show while we were filming.

Netflix Zoe Colletti and Lana Condor in 'Boo, Bitch'

How different (or similar) were your own high school experiences compared to your characters?

COLLETTI: In terms of who Gia is, I feel like we have some similarities. I'd like to think I'm a bit of a goofy person. So I feel like that kind of goes hand in hand with how Gia is. I would hope that the people in my high school would say that I was a little bit less awkward in school than she was. I think that I was a little bit cooler than she was. Not to hate on Gia, but I do think that I carried myself a little bit cooler than her. But in terms of her passion for being there for the people around her that she loves — I really value my close friends and my family and always want to make sure that they're okay before I'm thinking about what I care about. And I think that's a quality that Gia has. It's a huge theme [with] her character [and] I really enjoyed connecting with that aspect of her.

CONDOR: That's a tough question for me because I [approached] Erika as if I was playing two totally different characters. That's kind of how I was able to compartmentalize that in my head. Because we have the 'Helen Who' Erika and we have the bad bitch Erika. So they were two very different characters for me. Which oftentimes like... I would say that, in terms of the Erika that we meet in the beginning, I very much am someone who [is] totally fine with having one friend. As Lana, I'm totally fine with being able to count my friends on my hands and just vibe. I think Erika, right or wrong, she's very comfortable with just herself and with Gia. So that's very similar to me. I'm definitely more outspoken than the Helen Who version. And then as we transition over to bad bitch Erika, I would like to think that I can't totally relate, but in terms of her presentation and the way she walks into a room very confidently, I would say that I'm a fairly confident person. So I would say that that's a similarity, but I'd like to think I'm not a royal bitch.

Let's talk about that big twist. Lana, you were involved in the project from the start so you saw it coming, but Zoe, did you? What was your initial reaction to it in the script?

COLLETTI: Yeah. Well, I knew about the twist before I actually read it formatted in the script. Obviously a lot of the ways that I go about doing the scenes really changes once that aspect is brought in. Because how I'm talking to Erika, how I'm talking to other people, knowing that I'm the one that's dead, it changes a lot of the way the scenes work from Gia's perspective. So when I was doing my auditions, not knowing that, that's kind of hard. So then before I had my final meeting with Netflix, when I was kind of reading with Lana, Lauren, and Erin, they did give me a call and kind of [explained] what the ending of the show was going to be so that I would have that backstory, which is super helpful in portraying the scenes correctly.

My initial reaction is that I think that's awesome. I think having any kind of twist in a show, I mean, it's awesome. I don't want to be dead, but in terms of sacrificing myself and looking at the plot of the show, I think it's really cool. I think everyone loves a big twist in a show. I think it is totally out of left field. I don't think a ton of people are going to really be figuring it out. It was a totally fun arc for my character. It gave me a lot more to play with throughout the show — the balance of how I'm interacting with these characters and I have to somewhat play it like the emotion of knowing I'm dead, but also not so much that the audience will figure it out. It was a fun challenge. It added a great element to the show, which just made me more excited about the possibility of being able to bring that to life.

Erik Voake/Netflix Zoe Colletti in 'Boo, Bitch'

Given the subject matter of the series, I'm curious if any of you have had any paranormal encounters. Do you believe in ghosts?

CONDOR: You know what, just going full circle back to your original question about what brought us to the show in general: My entire life, I have had very weird paranormal things happen to me or happen around me. And so when I initially got the original script, I was drawn to it mainly because paranormal stuff happens to me. I remember I had a dinner with the producers early on. I was telling them all these scary stories. But yeah, listen. I'm afraid. Like, don't. Please don't. Like stop doing this. Leave me alone, ghosts. But paranormal things do happen to me and often, unfortunately.

COLLETTI: Oh my gosh. I am really fortunate that I haven't had any interactions with the paranormal because I would literally never sleep again. I can guarantee that. I'm still scared of the dark. I have to sleep with a little light on because I hate it. I literally used to sleep with my mom. But I've filmed a movie in an abandoned psychiatric hospital. They were like, 'Don't explore in the basement.' The tunnels of the basement literally were like multiple miles long. They just went on and on forever. It was a huge, old hospital. And so obviously the cast, we went in the basement even though we weren't supposed to. Of course we did. And I had zero paranormal interactions. So I'm happy for that. I think there could be ghosts out there. But I also feel like maybe they vibe with me, so they're not trying to upset me. I feel like if any of the places that I've been [that] there would've been a ghost, it would've been there. Like they—

CONDOR: Well, the cemetery that we shot at.

COLLETTI: Yes. That too. Yes. When we were filming in the cemetery, there was the ghost detector that we were using in the scene and it was a real ghost detector. And—

CONDOR: It kept lighting up.

COLLETTI: It kept going off while we were filming in the cemetery.

Erik Voake/Netflix Lana Condor in 'Boo, Bitch'

The series has an endearing message of living life to the fullest. What do you both hope viewers, namely teenage girls, take away from the show?

CONDOR: I hope that they take away that friendship is so important. When you have a best friend, don't ever take that for granted. Treat people with kindness because you never know what someone's going through. Remind your loved ones that they're valued and loved. And not to be super morbid, but you never know what's going to happen. So every day, live your days as if it could be the last.

COLLETTI: It's true. It's true. And I think being in high school, there's such a massive pressure to fit into whatever is cool. And that's a really muddy thing to have to go through. I think it's rough for pretty much anyone and everyone that has gone through middle school and high school. So I think just knowing that you're going to get through it. If it's a difficult experience [or] the most fun time of your life, you'll be fine and you'll make it through. But also like [Lana] said, if you've got a close friend, stick by them. Don't feel like you have to match what everybody else is doing. If it's something that you like and makes you feel happy and confident in that even if people are like, 'That's dumb and that's weird,' be like, 'Well, I like being weird.'

This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

Boo, Bitch is streaming now on Netflix.

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