The TV Chick

I was a huge fan of Mean Girls when it came out and I will still watch it just about every time it comes on TV (even though I own the DVD as well). So I was intrigued when I heard about Mean Girls 2, a sequel coming to ABC Family. As readers of my site know, I love just about everything ABC Family, so I am willing to give Mean Girls 2 a shot. Mean Girls 2 centers around Jo (played by Meaghan Martin) who arrives at a new high school and wants to just survive her senior year and not get involved with any typical high school drama. But of course nothing ever goes according to plan. Jo meets Abby (played by Jennifer Stone), who is often bullied by The Plastics (a different group from the first movie, of course). After defending Abby, Jo is brought in to the Plastic world that she wanted to stay away from. Also entering the picture is Tyler, the good guy, who falls for Jo. I recently had the chance to talk with Diego Boneta, who plays Tyler about his character and what drew him to Mean Girls 2. Boneta also plays Alex (Spencer’s boyfriend) on Pretty Little Liars and we talked about that relationship and whether A is going to interfere with it. He also has a big music career, which we chatted about too.

So tell us a little more about your character Tyler in Mean Girls 2?
Tyler is the moral conscience of the story. He is the normal guy. He’s very grounded. He’s the soccer captain at the high school, and he really falls instantly for Jo Mitchell [played by Meaghan Martin] because she seems like a very authentic, genuine girl who’s just different from all the other girls that go to that high school. So he really falls for her.

What originally attracted you to the role?
First of all, it’s a great project and the people involved are amazing. Melanie Mayron [the director of Mean Girls 2], it was an honor to work with her. She’s an incredible person and an amazing director. And Tyler — I saw some similarities between us and I thought that it’d be a great character because — first of all there’s a very cool twist that’s in Mean Girls 2 that’s not in the original Mean Girls. So that’s something that I really liked that you’ll find out.

Were you a big fan of the original movie?
Big time. I think it’s a classic. I’ve seen it many times with my family. And I think it’s a great film.

You mentioned that it has that twist that’s different from the original. Does it share a lot of similarities as well?
Yeah. There’s definitely some similarities with the storyline and the characters. I think that it’s a great film for the new generation, or the younger generation that didn’t watch Mean Girls.

I saw that ABC Family will be doing some Anti-Bullying PSA’s to air during the movie. Do you think this fits in with the overall message of the movie?
Yeah! I think that one of the big messages of the movie is you don’t have to prove yourself to anyone, just be yourself. And accept who you are. And not to let anyone bully you around.

And why do you think viewers — even if they’ve seen the original Mean Girls — should tune in to watch?
Because it’s a very fun movie. They will really enjoy it. And if you are a fan of the first one, hopefully you’ll enjoy Mean Girls 2. I believe the whole cast and team did a great job. I’m really happy, and I really look forward to people checking it out.

And switching gears just a little bit. Last week’s episode of Pretty Little Liars was a big episode for Spencer and Alex. What has it been like being a part of that show? It has become such a hit.
It’s been a blast, and I’m honored to be a part of Pretty Little Liars. The whole cast, the team, the producers, the writers. It’s just a great, great family. I love my character Alex. I love Spencer and Alex’s relationship. I love working with Troian [Bellisario, who plays Spencer]. It’s just a real pleasure.

Obviously the town of Rosewood has a lot of secrets. Are there any that maybe Alex has that we haven’t seen yet?
That’s a very good question. We’ll see if A gets away with Alex going to that tennis camp in Sweden. We’ll see.

Is there anything that you can tease that we can see coming up on that show?
I wish I could share more info. So far, just keep watching PLL and don’t forget to watch Mean Girls 2.

I know you’re very busy with this project and Pretty Little Liars. Is there anything else coming up that we can see you in?
Well right now, I’m also working on my music because I’m a singer as well. So I’m working on my 3rd album right now. Actually a cool fact is that “Siempre Tu” which is one of my songs, which is the latest song that I’ve released to my fans, aired on Pretty Little Liars. That’s the song that Alex and Spencer were dancing to at that Dirty Dancing scene in the kitchen [Ed Note: From the first part of the season].

I was going to ask you if we might see you sing on Pretty Little Liars or if we might hear your music, so that’s great!
Alex unfortunately doesn’t sing, although he does sing in the shower sometimes. (laughs) Alex is a good dancer.

Do you think we might hear some more of your music coming up on the show?
I’m not sure. But if you go on iTunes, you’ll be able to check out “Siempre Tu” in English and there’s a Spanish version as well. And hopefully, you all can check out my third album, which I hope will be released later this year.

I also noticed that you are on Twitter, so have you gotten some good fan reactions to the show and the upcoming movie?
Yes, of course. I have a big Twitter addiction. I’m on Twitter all the time. And that’s how I communicate to my fans. It’s great because I have fans who have been following me ever since I started my career. I have fans that are from Latin America and Europe, and now new fans who are here in the states so I’ve gotten some great, great feedback from Pretty Little Liars, Mean Girls 2 and 90210. It’s great to see how all these countries are watching them. Even if the show’s not out in their country, they will find the episode online or I’ll post the link to the episode and they’ll watch it. And there’s a PLL fan club in Spain that my fans are heading up. And people in Singapore, we have fans in Singapore watching PLL as well. It’s great.

Be sure to check out Mean Girls 2 on Sunday, January 23rd at 8 pm on ABC Family. And watch Pretty Little Liars, Monday nights at 8 pm, also on ABC Family!