Meet the fab four, styled by Sasha Charnin Morrison and photographed by James White, and get the full Katy Keene scoop in the March-April 2020 issue of Watch—out now!

Watch Katy Keene Thursdays at 8/7c on The CW. Stream new episodes Fridays free only on The CW!

Magic moment

Noting that, unlike its predecessor Riverdale, The CW's new series Katy Keene is "bright, happy and optimistic," Lucy Hale cites the significance of just such a show during these trying times. "It can be that bright little light that people need," she tells us.

Follower of fashion

While Lucy Hale's Katy is not quite as fashion-obsessed as her TV alter ego, she tells Watch that she's always been interested in the sartorial side of life. "I don't sew or make my own clothes, but I love fashion, in that it's such a great representation of who a person is. There are no rules."

Not in Riverdale anymore

Ashleigh Murray, who plays aspiring singer Josie McCoy and is Katy Keene's only direct Riverdale transplant, tells Watch in their March-April 2020 cover story that there are real similarities between her New York struggling-actor years and her character's: "It very much aligns with what it was like for me starting out," she says. "Living in an apartment with very little space, having more than one job in order to support yourself."

Having a ball

"I've never done drag professionally but I've played a lot of drag queens," says Jonny Beauchamp, aka aspiring Broadway dancer Jorge Lopez who also performs in drag as Ginger. "I was never active in the ballroom scene, but I would call myself Ballroom Adjacent."

A little background

Fun fact: Julia Chan, who plays Katy Keene's slightly mysterious New York City "It Girl" Pepper Smith, grew up in Hong Kong and London and attended Harvard University before getting her Master's degree in New York.

Friends till the end

"I realized as I've gotten older and done multiple shows that it's great if you can make friends with the cast, but you don't have to. Then it's just a job," says Lucy Hale. "But with this show, it's been effortless and organic. I love these people."

Seeing red

"We wanted to pay respect to the comic," says Lucy Hale of her character's often red-toned fashion choices. "Katy Keene loves red and she loves pink and she loves hearts, so that kind of is the theme, at least throughout season one."

"I spend a lot of time wondering how it's possible that I'm getting paid to do this, to be quite frank," Julia Chan tells Watch in the March-April 2020 issue. "None of this is hyperbole; this is truly a dream job."

Birds of a feather

Citing the excitement inherent in the idea that Katy Keene is "another extension of the Archie Universe," Ashleigh Murray is betting Riverdale fans will flock: "There's a different type of drama that's grounded in more realistic situations."

Touch of class

The show's writer-producers have "always been boundary pushers," says Jonny Beauchamp, when asked about playing a character who is gay and Latino. "But they aren't doing it cheaply. They want to do it with honor and do it with respect and love, so I felt very confident that it would be done well."

Home again

"One of the really cool things for me was that when we shot the pilot we were pretty much 90-something percent shooting on location," Ashley Murray tells Watch in their March-April 2020 cover story, "and everywhere we went was someplace that I had either lived or had a monumental life experience working toward my career."

Broadway babe

"I love A Chorus Line, and it was a dream," says Jonny Beauchamp, referring to Katy Keene's pilot scene in which "the crème de la crème of Broadway dancers" participated. "They were so great; it was like working in a big hug."

Reality show

While New York City is sometimes called "a fifth roommate on the show," Lucy Hale notes that Katy Keene doesn't skimp on the realities of New York life: "It also shows the grit and the edge and the hustle of it, and being told no and the struggle of being a 20-something in the city."

Idol chatter

"Omg, I was quizzing Shangela left and right for tips," Jonny Beauchamp tells Watch, referring to a Katy Keene episode featuring the iconic Shangela from RuPaul's Drag Race. "And she was actually really sweet, but I was just fangirling over her."

Keen for each other

"I hope the audience will see the chemistry that the four of us feel that we have as people and also as characters," Julia Chan shares with Watch in the March-April 2020 issue. "I felt it right away as soon as we shot the first scene of the four of us in the apartment. I was like, 'This is special.'"

Watch Katy Keene Thursdays at 8/7c on The CW. Stream new episodes Fridays free only on The CW!