A sabotaged cheerleading stunt lands Stephanie in a coma. She wakes up 20 years later in a 37-year-old body but mentally still 17 and aching to complete the senior year she never got the chance to finish.
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Rebel Wilsonstars as (the older) Stephanie, a grown woman fresh from a coma whose only wish is to go back to high school and become the prom queen like she once dreamed.Senior Yearis available to stream on Netflix, but Rebel Wilson isn’t the only recognizable face among its cast.
Angourie Rice: Young Stephanie
Seventeen-year-old Stephanie was finally living her best life: captain of the cheerleading squad, proud owner of a Cabriolet, girlfriend to quarterback Blaine, the cutest boy in school. Friends Martha and Seth missed her as she relentlessly pursued her goals of popularity and prom queen, but Stephanie was young and beautiful, and nothing could possibly go wrong.
Like Rebel Wilson,Angourie Riceis an Australian actress, so the accent is authentic. Audiences will no doubt recognize her as Betty Brant from theTom HollandSpider-man films. She’s appeared oppositeKate Winslet in HBO dramaMare of Easttownand in the Rachel, Jack, and Ashley Too episode of Netflix’sBlack Mirror. She co-starred inSofia Coppola’sThe BeguiledwithNicole KidmanandKirsten Dunstas well as inThe Nice GuyswithRussell CroweandRyan Gosling. She also starred inLadies in Black, for which she won the Australian Academy of Cinema & Television Arts and the Film Critics Circle of Australia awards for Best Actress.
Mary Holland: Martha
Grown-up Martha has continued to be a faithful friend to Stephanie, visiting her diligently throughout her two-decades-long coma. She is now the principal where she, Seth, and Stephanie once were students, and she’s taken over as cheer coach as well, though her social justice messaging may fall a bit short of what Stephanie considers appropriate for cheerleading, not to mention her outlawing of sexy dancing or revealing uniforms.
Mary Hollandhas recently starred in Hulu’s 2020 queer holiday romance,Happiest Season, withKristen StewartandDan Levy, Apple TV series,Physical, withRose Byrne, and Netflix’s satirical crime thriller,The Woman In The House Across The Street From The Girl In The Window, alongsideKristen Bell. She also appeared in season 2 of Prime Video’sHomecoming, withJanelle Monae, and has made guest appearances on all kinds of shows, fromVeeptoCurb Your Enthusiasm.
Sam Richardson: Seth
Stephanie’s bookish friend Seth grew up to be the school’s librarian, having recently returned to town after a bad break up. Having once nurtured a crush, Seth has a surprisingly high tolerance for Stephanie’s selfishness, but even saintly Seth has his limits.
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Sam Richardson’s been having a bit of a moment; in fact, viewers may find it difficult to avoid him, as ubiquitous as he’s quickly become. That’s not a bad thing: Richardson is talented and funny and a welcome addition to any film or series. Richardson starred in popular television seriesDetroitersandVeepand has done voice work forBoJack Horseman,Hoops, andM.O.D.O.K., among others. He had roles inEmerald Fennell’s Oscar-nominated 2020 film,Promising Young Woman, starringCarey Mulligan, HBO Max’sSuperintelligencewithMelissa McCarthy, and Prime Video’sThe Tomorrow War, oppositeChris Pratt.He has recently appeared on Apple TV as a Ghanian billionaire inTed Lasso, and a murder suspect inThe Afterparty.
Zoë Chao: Tiffany
Tiffany was and is Stephanie’s main rival. She goes unpunished as the architect of Stephanie’s life-changing accident and enjoys her current status as the wife of former high school quarterback and love of Stephanie’s life, Blaine. She’s also a pushy stage mom to Bri (of Bri Loves), a popular influencer through whom Tiffany lives vicariously.
Zoë Chaohas also been busy; when not starring with Sam Richardson onThe Afterparty,audiences may have caught her withAnna Kendrickon HBOMax’sLove Life. Her recent film credits includeI Used To Go Here, withGillian JacobsandJemaine Clement,The High Note, starringTracee Ellis RossandDakota Johnson,and the Julia Louis-Dreyfus/Will Ferrell dramady,Downhill.
Justin Hartley: Blaine
Stephanie and Blaine were high school sweethearts. In Steph’s mind, they were destined to be prom king and queen, followed swiftly by husband and wife. Blaine, however, seems to have transitioned rather quickly back to his ex-girlfriend and Stephanie’s biggest rival, Tiffany. When Stephanie wakes from her coma, she goes straight to Blaine’s house, and finding Tiffany in her place is the ultimate betrayal. How will she fulfill her dreams now?
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Justin Hartleycut his teeth on soap operasPassionsandThe Young And The Restlessbefore doing stints on series likeSmallville,Revenge, andMistresses. He appeared in 2017’sA Bad Moms Christmas, starring Kristen Bell,Kathryn Hahn, andMila Kunis, and bothJexiwithAdam DevineandLittlewithIssa RaeandRegina Hallin 2019. Hartley is best known for playing Kevin, one of Pearson triplets on uber-popular NBC drama,This Is Us. Fun fact:Mandy Moore, who plays Kevin’s mom on the show, has her 1999 hit song Candy on theSenior Yearsoundtrack.
Stephanie’s widowed father Jim, a Blockbuster-cum-Best Buy employee, never gave up on his daughter during her 20-year coma. Her happiness is his happiness. No one would blame him for indulging her when she makes her miraculous recovery, but Jim’s love has to get tough when he realizes he may be enabling her stunted growth.
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Chris Parnellwas aSaturday Night Livemainstay and pivotal cast member for eight seasons, 1998-2006, remembered for his Lazy Sunday video withAndy Samberg, a Lonely Island song that went viral overnight, driving traffic to a little-known video sharing website called YouTube, and the infamous Cowbell sketch which earned him the nickname The Iceman for being the only cast member not to break. He has since had a storied voice career, includingAdam Sandler’sHotel Transylvaniafranchise,Archer,American Dad!,Family Guy, andRick and Morty. He has appeared in television series such as30 Rock,and films including Netflix’sFinding ‘OhanaandBattle of the Sexes.
Alicia Silverstone: Deanna Russo
Seventeen-year-old Stephanie looks up to glamourous Deanna Russo, a former cheer captain and prom queen currently living in Stephanie’s dream house with a dreamy husband and all the trappings of the successful live Stephanie fantasies about. The future, however, has different plans. Stephanie’s ex-boyfriend Blaine ends in the dream house all right, but married to Stephanie’s arch-nemesis, Tiffany, instead. And things haven’t turned out as expected for Deanna either. Thirty-seven-year-old Stephanie encounters Deanna driving for Uber. She’s divorced and downsized to an apartment, but her happiness shows Stephanie that life can be good even if it doesn’t follow a certain plan.
Alicia Silverstone, queen of high school rom-coms herself, cameos as the former prom queen. Since her days as Aerosmith music video muse and her breakout role in 1995’sClueless, and follow-up asGeorge Clooney’s Batgirl, Silverstone now spends her days on Netflix, where you can find her starring as the harried mother of club president Kristy onThe Baby-Sitter’s Club, or as the voice of Queen Marlena onMasters Of The Universe: Revelation. Eagle-eyed fans may also have caught her in a very à propos but uncredited cameo in 2020’sValley Girl.
Michael Cimino: Bri’s boyfriend, Lance
Bri, better known as her IG handle, Bri Loves, is a high-caliber influencer who carefully curates every aspect of her life, including boyfriend Lance. Lance is somehow up for the task, impeccably styled, effortlessly cool, yet somehow still kind-hearted.
Not many young actors could pull off such a brief, butMichael Ciminois no stranger to flexibility. He stars as Victor Salazar inHulu seriesLove, Victor. And he sings, too, like all young heartthrobs must.
