A seemingly perfect world hides dangerous secrets. That’s the core of “Wild Cherry,” a new drama exploring the lives of mothers and daughters in an exclusive community, where a provocative scandal threatens to unravel everything.
Creator Nicôle Lecky didn’t rely on imagination alone. She immersed herself in the reality of the world she was building, speaking directly with teenagers attending private schools – some even boarding – to capture the authentic complexities of their lives. The insights were startling.
One conversation revealed a shocking detail that made its way directly into the series: a scene involving morphine. Lecky discovered that, for some, the pressures and experiences were far beyond anything she’d known growing up in East London, the daughter of an electrician and a mental health nurse.
Her own teenage years were a stark contrast. While today’s teens navigate a world of constant connectivity, Lecky recalls a simpler time, limited to playing Snake on her phone. She acknowledges the potential difficulties of growing up under the intense scrutiny of social media.
But the digital dangers extend beyond Instagram and TikTok. “Wild Cherry” delves into the hidden world of “ghost apps” – disguised as innocuous tools like calculators – and the potential for misuse, particularly among young people sharing increasingly explicit content.
The series doesn’t shy away from the mothers’ stories either. As the scandal unfolds, their own carefully constructed facades begin to crack, revealing hidden vulnerabilities and long-held secrets.
Lecky herself portrays an intriguing outsider, a new American life coach and recent addition to the close-knit group of mothers. Her position grants her access – through therapy sessions – to private information, giving her a unique and potentially dangerous perspective.
This isn’t Lecky’s first exploration of these themes. Her Bafta-winning series, “Mood,” tackled the world of online influencing and paid content, demonstrating her commitment to examining the impact of the digital age on young women.
The path to success wasn’t immediate. After being signed by an agent at 18, over a decade passed before “Mood” finally reached the screen. Lecky candidly admits to a string of short-lived jobs, working as an agency hostess at countless London venues – many of which later served as filming locations for her projects.
Those years spent observing people, blending into different environments, provided invaluable insight into the nuances of human behavior. It’s a skill she’s now honing with roles in series like “Sweetpea” and the recent film “Jay Kelly,” alongside George Clooney and Adam Sandler.
Looking ahead, Lecky is driven by a desire to continue telling compelling stories, challenging herself creatively, and building on the lessons learned from “Wild Cherry.” She’s eager to explore more film work, both in front of and behind the camera.
“Wild Cherry” promises a gripping and unflinching look beneath the surface of privilege and perfection, a story of secrets, danger, and the complex bonds between mothers and daughters.
