Filmed-In-Chicago Amazon Series ‘Paper Girls’ Premieres July 29th; Plus: Will There Be a Season Two?

It is finally here! After much anticipation across the globe, Amazon will introduce its audiences to Paper Girls. Amazon Prime will launch the series this Friday, July 29th. And the question is still looming: Will there be a Season Two? Let’s dive in…

First things first, here is the official trailer at Paper Girls, which filmed in the Chicagoland area and North Suburbs for much of 2021…

Will there be a Season Two of Paper Girls?

When Season One wrapped last October, it was considered a foregone conclusion that Season Two would be filming in 2022. There had been reports Season Two filming could begin in Chicago and Illinois as soon as this June. However, sources tell SCREEN Season Two has not yet been ordered, and that Amazon Studios will await the reception of the first season before making a final decision.

With the first season release date set, we can expect a decision on the future of the show by the end of the Summer. And so the prospects of Season Two filming in Chicago will be moved down the calendar, likely into 2023.

What to Expect from the First Season of Paper Girls

In addition to the brand-new trailer above, let’s look ahead to the premiere of Season One… “We describe it as STAND BY ME meets TERMINATOR,” said writer and co-creator Brian K. Vaughan in a past interview with Entertainment Weekly. “It’s a story about nostalgia and childhood, but with an action-packed, sci-fi bent.”

Sofia Rosinsky (Fast Layne), Camryn Jones (Cherish the Day), Riley Lai Nelet (Altered Carbon) and Fina Strazza (A Christmas Melody) play the four leads in Amazon’s Paper Girls series.

Paper Girls follows four young girls who, while out delivering papers on the morning after Halloween in 1988, become unwittingly caught in a conflict between warring factions of time-travelers, sending them on an adventure through time that will save the world. As they travel between our present, the past, and the future — they encounter future versions of themselves and now must choose to embrace or reject their fate.

Here is a deep dive from Matt Draper into the comic book series which led to the TV show, exploring its themes of nostalgia, maturity, and what it means to make the most of our short lives…

According to Deadline, “Rosinsky plays Mac Coyle. A working-class Catholic girl, Mac is the first paper boy in Stony Stream who isn’t a boy. Mac inherited the paper route from her older brother, someone for whom she has undying loyalty and love… which might be the wrong place to put it. Mac’s toughness however is no act, she has a sharp tongue and quicker fists. Like most bullies however, Mac is perhaps masking a deep well of insecurity. Usually a loner by choice, events conspire to cast Mac as the unlikely leader of our Paper Girls on Hell Day 1988.”

“Jones portrays Tiffany Quilkin. The only child of success-oriented, mixed race parents, Tiffany has big plans for her future and no intention of seeing them derailed. While she is at times willing to improve on the truth when in a tight spot, there is no denying that Tiffany is crazy smart. She boasts an encyclopedic knowledge of pop culture, a love of gadgets and technology. She has been delivering papers for a little over a year.”

“Lai Nelet is Erin Tieng. A dutiful daughter, sister, and yes, newly-minted newspaper employee, Erin often feels caught between worlds. On the one hand, she’s a dual-language immigrant with deep Chinese roots, on the other, she’s an All-American kid on the verge of her teenage years who desperately wants the TV-perfect life she often sees depicted in the Western culture all around her.”

“Strazza plays KJ Brandman. KJ is one of the only Jewish girls in Stony Stream and comes from the wealthiest family in town, two things nobody will let her forget. It is perhaps only when playing field hockey that she feels truly seen – an image that conflicts starkly with her mother’s desires for her. KJ is guarded, sensitive and underneath her veneer, emotionally roiling. She doesn’t need the paper-delivery job, but it makes her feel free.”

The Team Behind Paper Girls

Paper Girls is produced by Amazon Studios and Legendary Television, in association with Brad Pitt’s production company Plan B. Joining Brad Pitt in the ensemble of producers are Christopher Cantwell and Christopher C. Rogers as executive producers. Rogers served as showrunner on the first season.

Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang are co-creators of the series, based on their popular comic book franchise.

“As huge fans of what Brian and Cliff created in Paper Girls, we couldn’t be more excited by the opportunity to bring this incredible adventure to life,” Cantwell and Rogers said in a group statement. “This is a story with so much heart, and so many unique colors and dimensions – our sincere hope is not only to do justice to the source material, but to make Paper Girls unlike anything else currently on TV.”

Next up for Paper Girls: the Season One Premiere on July 29th!

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