“Heartbreak High” star Ayesha Madon on Amerie’s abortion episode: 'It’s important for young girls to see'

"Heartbreak High" season 2 threw a lot at Amerie.

Warning: This article contains spoilers from Heartbreak High season 2.

Heartbreak High threw a lot at Amerie (Ayesha Madon) in season 2. The beloved Australian comedy returned with Amerie wanting to make up for her social pariah status and not being there for Harper (Asher Yasbincek) in season 1. But Amerie's quest to become a better person is met with a few road blocks, including a creepy stalker, relationship problems with Malakai (Thomas Weatherall), and an unplanned pregnancy.

By the season's end, we find out that Amerie's childhood friend Rowan (Sam Rechner) is Bird Psycho and blames her for a major past trauma — but that reveal doesn't stop Amerie from making sure that Rowan safely gets out of the school during a fire. Malakai isn’t there to see her moment of growth, however, as he moved out of the country with his mother. Amerie (who declares her love for him at the school formal) doesn’t even get to see goodbye.

Below, EW talks to Madon about Amerie’s abortion episode, what she thought of the Bird Psycho reveal, and more.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: After the reception of season 1, did filming this season feel different in any way?

AYESHA MADON: It’s really rare for an Australian series to be on an international stage, so the success of the show was a pleasant surprise to all of us. In the second series, it felt special knowing that we had an audience and knowing these characters meant so much to every demographic of kid, teenager, and even all generations resonated with these characters. This series we were working on something bigger than us, whereas the first felt a bit more insular.

Amerie’s unplanned pregnancy and abortion gives you some really complicated material towards the end of the season. What stands out about filming that episode?

If I’m completely honest with you, it was equally the most special and most difficult day of filming for me. We shot all the abortion stuff in one day and some of it we only got a couple takes because we were running tight on time. By the end of the day, getting into that mentality — as cliche as it sounds, I’m not a method actor by any means — but getting into that mentality was emotionally draining. That plot line was so special and I wanted to handle it with extreme care because it’s something that is very important to me. The right to abortion is very important to me personally and it’s really rare that we get to see an abortion on screen where it’s not traumatic and it is the right decision for the character. It’s important for young girls to see that option portrayed on screen in that way.

It’s handled in the Heartbreak High way, which is to infuse it with humor. For that reason I have to ask about your reaction to Amerie naming her fetus “Lil Feats”?

What the writers do so well is injecting that very quintessential Australian humor into it. Again, I am going off the lack of trauma with the abortion, which is something that is a lot for anyone. The mix of something so heavy with just a bit of humor really added a dimension of beauty and humanity to the scenes. I like that Amerie remained herself throughout.

When did you find out about Rowan being Bird Psycho?

I’m going to claim something big and say that I was the only cast member to guess it was Rowan. I feel like everyone thought it was Quinni. I knew it was Rowan from the beginning and I don’t know how I did.

Rowan and Amerie seemed to start a nice romance before the twist with his character. If he didn’t end up being Bird Psycho, do you think they had a shot?

The way I played the whole unraveling of that eighth episode was that she does love Malakai. She has always loved him and she says it verbatim. I do feel like Amerie has this extreme desire to be loved and it’s such a natural human thing, to want to be loved. It’s Amerie’s main objective throughout the whole thing, and when it doesn't work out with Malakai she just often needs to bounce back in any way she can. Rowan was saying all the right things. It was that classic thing of Rowan was right for her head, but Malakai was always right for her heart. I don’t actually think they would have had too much of a shot.

Amerie has been committed to being a better person. How does her going back for Rowan show her growth?

Amerie grows up a lot in those final two episodes and she’s not even aware of it. She’s so preoccupied the whole season with this symbolism of being a good person that she just keeps f---ing up. In those final episodes, it’s really nice that she has it in her, she’s a good person by default and I’m not actually sure she wasn’t before. There’s an element of selflessness that develops with Amerie throughout the season where she grows up and puts other people first, which is lovely to see. You see it with Quinni and school captain as well. That moment of maturity for Amerie is special and I’m excited to continue to explore if we get a third season.

Amerie and Malakai clearly love each other, but where do you land on whether or not they are a good fit as a couple?

There are two sides of relationships. There’s chemistry and love and then there’s functionality. I tend to think when you’re in high school, the functionality of things doesn’t matter too much because you’re not looking at marriage at that point or kids. You’re not looking at the logistics of that, so Malakai and Amerie will be great together. Their chemistry is so beautiful and I really hope to see them together.

The season ends with Amerie asking what happens now, so I’d like to end by asking what is one thing you want to see happen next?

Whatever happens with the boys, happens with the boys. I’m excited for Amerie to find a passion. We haven’t seen much about what she likes to do or what she’s good at. She’s a very determined young lady and if she puts her mind to something she could be very good at it.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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