No one understands the core of what Netflix’s new teen horror drama, The Body, is all about more than Gabby Windey.
**Spoilers ahead for Season 1 of the series, now streaming exclusively on Netflix**
In the series, the former Bachelorette gets to step into a world that is all too familiar to her, playing the coach of an elite dance team at a Catholic school where the Bible is the letter of the law. Set around Halloween 2004, The Body follows the squad as they come to terms with the initiation of a new member that goes sideways and derails their seemingly perfect lives.
As for the sapphic elements of the series, Windey — who publicly came out in 2023 and wed comedian Robby Hoffman in 2025 — says seeing teenagers explore their sexuality in a safe and narratively compelling way is the antidote to a generation of women who only had one lesbian idol.
“Coming out in my later years, I could have used this,” Windey told DECIDER of why the show spoke to her when reading the scripts. She adds that The Body even nails the doubt and questioning that teen girls had in the early aughts when one of the only representatives of queer women was Ellen DeGeneres. Windey says, “I didn’t wanna look like Ellen DeGeneres, that wasn’t gonna ever be me.”
To that, Sara Boustany, the actress behind the role of Elise in the show, chimed in with the reveal that series creator Quinn Shephard had the exact same feelings, something that is even reflected in The Body. “It’s crazy that you said that because Quinn [Shephard] — I don’t know if I should say this — Quinn, she was like, ‘When I found out I was gay, I was just like, ‘I don’t want to be Ellen,’” Boustany shared.
Of course, the women noted that there is no shade to Ellen in all of this, they just feel like nuanced and diverse representation would have only served them when they were coming of age.
“That’s like the only lesbian we knew that was at that time of that era. We knew her not because she was lesbian, but because she was a comedian and had this talk show and then she also happened to be a lesbian, which is what all the dynamic of these characters are also giving,” The Traitors winner says.
Windey adds of her own show, “It’s not just about being gay, it’s about being hot and gay.”
Check out DECIDER’s full interview with the cast of The Body below.
DECIDER: What was the moment for you guys that you knew you had something special on your hands?
SHIRLEY CHEN: I have an immediate answer for this. During the table read, actually, some of our cast members were on Zoom because we were there early for dance training, and I remembered watching Geena and Jackson Kelly, who play siblings on the show, and when they read together, I got really emotional watching you two together. I knew that their performances were really gonna speak.
KRISTINA BOGIC: And they do.
GEENA MESZAROS: You’re making me emotional, but it’s also three days before my period.
CHEN: I’ve been waiting for mine too, I’m a little late.
SOFIA WYLIE: Oh no, oh my god.
SARA BOUSTANY: I felt like I knew immediately and I had no idea why. I just felt it. I mean, after getting so many auditions for reruns of reruns and just like different things that have already existed and maybe things that are just kind of like a [cash] grab, I think what people forget is that what really makes good film and tv is like the director’s connection to the story, and just being fresh and new, and that’s what people crave. So when I saw that, I craved it too, I guess.
CHEN: Really.
And the director’s connection obviously is there, but then for each of you, what was the connection to the character that made you say, like, “I need to be a part of this?”
BOGIC: I think Anya was a character that I probably would have needed when I was younger, like, just to watch. I think there’s a lot of characters like Lisbeth, I would have been like, “I see myself in her” and like with Elise, I would’ve been like, “Wow, maybe like I wanna be her or like I see myself in her in this way.” I think like it was probably something I would have needed, when I was little, I think.
BOUSTANY: That’s a good answer. I think I’m a little too honest, just like her. And it kind of bites me in the ass, sometimes. But I’m not as cruel. I don’t have that debate, so I guess. No, sweetie pie. No, thanks. But yeah, I feel like I really turn a lot of ways. I mean, yeah.
CHEN: I think for Maddie, she transforms a lot in the show, which is always such a gift you get to do as a young actress and young actor. But then on top of it, she’s such a loyal friend, which is just really important to me.
This show reminded me of so many different things and one of them is Jennifer’s Body, which is a lot of people’s sexual awakening. I think there are gonna be people who tune in and are like, “Wait, this is kind of making me feel a certain way.” How do you guys feel about that?
GABBY WINDEY: Hopefully. I feel great about it, but it’s like we get these stories about gay men all the time. So it’s like this is the first one — not just because of the queerness — there are so many other things: great performances, great costumes, great storylines. I mean, it’s a huge cast, so it’s an amazing show. Plus, coming out in my later years, I could have used this. I didn’t wanna look like Ellen DeGeneres, that wasn’t gonna ever be me.
BOUSTANY: Oh my God, it’s crazy that you said that. Because Quinn [Shephard] — I don’t know if I should say this — Quinn, she was like, “When I found out I was gay, I was just like, ‘I don’t want to be Ellen.’”
WINDEY: Right? That’s like the only lesbian we knew that was at that time of that era. We knew her not because she was lesbian, but because she’s a comedian and had this talk show and then she also happened to be a lesbian, which is what all the dynamic of these characters are also giving. You know, it’s not just about being gay, it’s about being hot and gay.
That’s my favorite moment in the series, too, when the computer shows just the picture of Ellen when they Googled “girls kissing.” Another moment is easily the dance scene at the end of Episode 1. Do you guys have a favorite moment?
BOGIC: Oh, one of my favorites is Anya looking up “how to orgasm – I am female.” It’s like the most Anya thing I’ve ever seen. I saw it in the final cut and I was like, “You fucking bosses, I knew you would do this to me.“
MESZAROS: I love when all the lions are together, they’re just so funny and they got to improv a lot. They’re just genuinely brilliant and funny, but I’m also with you on that dance sequence at the end of episode one that gives me goosebumps every time.
And I have to say, that’s one thing where, as an actor, you probably just have to trust the process because you’re like, “I feel like it might be good,” but then you get to see it come to life on the screen. What was that moment like watching it back for the first time?
CHEN: I still get chills every time we watch it.
MESZAROS: I always have to re-watch that.
BOGIC: Me too. It’s funny because the first time I saw it, it was like a very rough cut and then it was like I saw in ADR, and so I’ve seen it in all these different versions. I didn’t have like a drastic “Oh my god [moment]” but I think once the score became a part of the show, it changed the tone of it completely for me and it was so exciting to see it all come together.
WYLIE: I feel like I got to see the show with completely fresh eyes, because even the scenes I was in…
ALL: Your eyes were closed, girl.
WYLIE: I’m watching them and I’m like, “That’s where he was standing?” or “Oh, he was doing that around me? Crazy!”
BOGIC & CHEN: Release her! Release her! Release her!
BOUSTANY: Also, I know every time that you’re actually asleep, by the way.
WYLIE: Oh, I think everyone else can tell because I’m either giving this [looks relaxed], or I’m giving this [looks actually asleep].
BOUSTANY: No, it’s not that. You have this face going on, a very serious face.
MESZAROS: I used to have to clean under her fingernails and while we were filming, she was snoring.
WYLIE: I think I have, like, mild narcolepsy or something.
What was the split on this? Like, 50/50 acting and sleeping?
WYLIE: Probably like 80/20, 80 sleeping for sure. And then 20, I was like, “All right, what am I going to do this day?”
I have to jump to the end because you finally get to wake up, Grace is there, she’s awake. What do you guys think is happening? She says something that I feel like maybe people are going to be like, hmm, what’s happening right now? What were your reactions to that and what do you think Grace knows that everyone else doesn’t?
BOGIC: I think it’s interesting, like we’ve all talked about this, that we don’t even have a solid opinion and it’s really not our job to do that. Even the writers, I think when you’re dealing with faith, it’s like, “How could you possibly know?” I think we wanna leave it for people to decide for themselves what they think. I think that’s the fun of it, as well. But I mean, you could play it like she’s been listening in her coma, maybe something supernatural is happening. I thought it was such a great scene. And then once I heard the song that they used for it, like, once again, it changes it completely.
MESZAROS: Everyone should watch it through the lens one way, the whole way through. And then watch it again the other way.
BOGIC: I actually did that. I think the first time I watched it, I was very much almost watching it through like Lisbeth’s eyes, actually and I think that’s why I really understood her and why I really loved her. Lisbeth is my favorite character.
So we’re all on board for a Season 2 if we get it?
ALL: Absolutely. Of course.
BOUSTANY: But also with Grace, I feel like it could be played either like that or she’s been listening the whole time and obviously she has a close relationship with God, so she could have been waking up just purely out of a coma and just hearing things around her.
WYLIE: There’s so much confusion.
The Body is now streaming on Netflix.
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