"Motherland" Star Jessica Sutton Had an IRL Magic Moment in Her Audition (2024)

Freeform's Motherland: Fort Salem just wrapped up a wild ride of a debut season that followed three young witches coming of age in a time when witch magic is a military tool. As Raelle Collar (Taylor Hickson), Abigail Bellweather (Ashley Nicole Williams), and Tally Craven (Jessica Sutton) train to be full-blown witch soldiers, the trio learn to embrace their growing power and each other in the midst of chaos and a deadly enemy.

The show has officially been renewed for season 2, which means even more power struggles, sacrifices, and school-approved sex parties are likely on the way. Jessica, who plays Tally, is more than ready to see what show creator Eliot Laurence will come up with; and she's also reflecting on how far Tally (and her own acting career) have come.

You might recognize 27-year-old Jessica from her "tastes like green" role in Netflix's hit rom-com The Kissing Booth, but now she's immersed in the character of Tally, a naive yet enthusiastic young witch in training. From her home in South Africa, Jessica spoke to Teen Vogue about the first season of Motherland: Fort Salem and what fans can look forward to in season 2.

Teen Vogue: Before Motherland: Fort Salem, your first big role was in The Kissing Booth, where you played mean girl Mia alongside Joey King's Elle Evans. What was that experience like?

Jessica Sutton: In falling in line with this work, I didn't foresee myself, especially coming from such a small industry in Cape Town, South Africa, as a lead on an international TV show. The Kissing Booth ended up my first leg up. It happened to be a feature film that was shooting in South Africa, and some of the local actors were brought in to audition, and luckily I happened to fit in with the director's vision for the show. That was kind of a first exposure to an international market that was shooting in South Africa.

TV: With The Kissing Booth, the reaction to that was so giant, this intense fan response. What was that like?

JS: Oh, my gosh. When we were shooting it, we felt like we were making something fun and a coming of age, teenage drama/comedy. We could not have foreseen it blow up the way it did, and I remember that trailer hitting 7.3 million views overnight, or something like that. It just felt so surreal, an out of body experience. Seeing how it went on after the trailer to be on everyone's watch list and getting such great feedback from everyone all over the world. Yeah, it kind of took my breath away.

TV: Have you kept in touch with any of the cast since then?

JS: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. So most of the actors are from South Africa. I think the greatest part of that whole shooting experience was how much the cast became family. And then it was Jacob [Elordi], Joey [King], and Joel [Courtney] were the internationals who flew down, and they were just so amazing, such great leaders. Every day, Joey and Joel made us laugh. There's such great camaraderie. I remember when Joey got nominated for the Emmy, shooting her a message saying congratulations. Unfortunately, the making of the sequel clashed with the shooting of Motherland.

TV: With Motherland: Fort Salem, what first stuck out to you reading the script about who Tally Craven is and what she wants?

JS: The first thing I read about Tally was they describe her as a living exclamation mark, and my friends and family describe me as a boundless enthusiast, so I figured that I could definitely bring a lot to the character. And there was just something of a tenderness there that reminded me of my innocent 15-year-old self, and what I thought of the world then.

TV: One of the big episodes this season was episode four, "Hail Beltane," where Tally has a big sexual awakening. She gets sent the analog version of a d*ck pic from an early love interest. How did that episode stand out to you as particularly important for the character?

JS: I love how the show, the whole conversation around power is linked to voice and sex, and how these two characters seem to discuss [that] without any shame is really exciting. She's so young and so trusting and I think she's enthusiastic, dives into everything about waking that woman inside of her, waking that witch, and being the best she can be. She really does see men as being totally part of that experience and her growing in her power and sharing that commune of sex, and in the world of Motherland it's very much this ancient ritual, and it's a celebration. So yeah, the virgin gets her moment (laughs).

TV: I spoke about this with Ashley Nicole Williams, too, but the show has these interesting moments where situations you might normally see happening between men onscreen, you see happen between women; they're talking about strategy or about loyalty and duty, leadership. What is that like to act out?

JS: The whole narrative shift and the flip of gender roles is so seductive. And Eliot Laurence, our creator and our show runner, he's really orientated the whole show on this reimagining of the symbol of the witch to going away from the Halloween cackling crone or the temptress who fornicates with the devil and [instead] speaking to this ancient symbol, one of positivity and self-empowerment.

I remember the book that I was reading before I even auditioned for the show, Witches by Erica Jong. There's a line in that book, it's about how the witch is a mystic embodiment of the male fear of woman and female distrust of self. It's really speaking to what the show is trying to communicate and how that throughout history, the symbol of the witch has been seen as this embodiment of fear and desire and let's talk about that. He's gone even further and made us witch warriors, why not in this chaotic, alternative world that feels like ours but isn't? These questions pop up immediately when you go, "Where are the men?" Then little things start catching your eye, like we're not fighting with guns. And you're also seeing the lack of technology in terms of cell phones. The show is void of that and you are lured into this alternative reality that's still universal and still so applicable to our world.

TV: That's so interesting.

JS: And a little bit of magic in real life was that was a book that was plucked out by my mom and given to me at the beginning of the year even before I got an audition for Motherland. And when my manager called me saying, "Freeform wants to meet you, they love your take." I remember Eliot asking me what I thought of the witch and the story and of Tally. All I kept thinking about was this book that I had been reading for the better part of the year. So I went and I said, "Well you know what's crazy is that I've been reading this book by Erica Jong, Witches," and he just stopped and he's like, "That is crazy. That book was given to me by my mom when I was a little boy. It was one of the seeds and key influences of... what was going to become Motherland." It was spooky in the best possible way. The workings of the universe are mysterious.

TV: What can you tell us about Tally's journey throughout season one, and what can we expect in season 2?

JS: Tally often felt like my 10-year-old kid self, who believes wholeheartedly she can save the world. We know that growing up can bring some pretty tough lessons... often turning us hard and cynical and distrusting. That was something I was afraid of for Tally, was whether the price of having her eyes opened, would be at the expense of her heart …but come the finale, her sacrifice was the greatest proof for me that she hadn’t.

As for season 2, I hope we learn more about her power and maybe a whole new dynamic amongst the trio. I just know whatever Eliot has in store, it’s going to blow our minds.

Motherland: Fort Salem season one is available to watch on Hulu and Freeform.

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