EvenCruel Summerstar Chiara Aurelia didn’t know what to expect from the twisty YA thriller when she first accepted the role.
Sami Drasin/ Freeform
The Freeform thriller takes place over three summers as a girl goes missing, while another seemingly — and mysteriously — takes over her life.
Aurelia said she was excited at the idea of revisiting the ’90s inCruel Summer, which takes place from 1993-95.
“The fashion is amazing,” she says. “I currently have a pair of the chunky Steve Maddens that I’ve been wearing everywhere since we started filming.”
The actress says her castmates got “super, super close” while shooting and admits that between takes “we did have some serious prank wars.”
“I have a scarring video on the last day of filming ofOlivia [Holt]jumping out from behind a curtain. She waited behind there for 25 minutes to scare me, and screamed at the top of her lungs. I jumped out of my skin across the room with everyone watching,” Aurelia continues. “We had a fun time.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
And of course, the cast embraced the show’s namesake song, Bananarama’s 1984 hit. “We listened to lots of that song in the course of filming,” Aurelia says.
Due to COVID-19, executive producerJessica Bielcouldn’t be physically on set often, but Aurelia says themom of tworemained “super involved in the process.”
Bill Matlock/ Freeform
“We spent a good amount of time together,” Aurelia says of Biel. “She kept really connected with the cast and there was so much communication that was involved in every scene that was shot.”
And while the role was nothing short of a dream come true, Aurelia admits that she didn’t even think she’d get the part.
Want to get the biggest stories fromPEOPLEevery weekday?Subscribe to our new podcast,PEOPLE Every Day,to get the essential celebrity, entertainment and human interest news stories Monday through Friday
The New Mexico native hopes to be back here once more for a possible season two: “Hopefully, I’ll be spending this next summer with theCruel Summercast again.
Cruel Summerairs Tuesdays (10 p.m. ET) on Freeform.
source: people.com