Redheads are Having a *Major* Moment in Film and Television RN

Isabelle Grill. Natural or nah? Natural

Catch her in: Midsommar, which hits theaters July 3 in the US. She plays Maja, a member of a Swedish cult that terrorises an American tourist couple. Fun!

 

Sadie Sink. Natural or nah? Natural

Catch her in: Season 3 of Stranger Things, where her character, Max, officially sheds her ‘new girl of the group’ title and (hopefully) becomes the epitome of friendship goals with Eleven. Binge it July 4.

 

Sophia Lillis . Natural or nah? Nah

Catch her in: It Chapter Two. 27 years after the sh*t that went down in the first movie, Pennywise is back to terrorise the adult versions of the crew on September 6.

 

It was a cold January night in 2017 when people first witnessed the hair/body/face of Archie Andrews, played by KJ Apa, on Riverdale. In the pilot, one character sees Archie through a window and says, “Archie got hot,” before saying his abs are “six more reasons to take the ginger bull by the horns.” In that moment, it was like the entire world had a ginger sexual awakening, because Archie was sexy—and his (okay, fake) red hair was a major reason why.

Since that fateful day, more and more redheads are stepping out of their kooky sidekick corners to centre-stage. And the world is a little more  because of it.

Now, some of the most-watched Netflix fare has redheads in the lead. Zoey Deutch’s Harper rocks red hair in Set It Up, and this summer, ginger Sadie Sink returns for Season 3 of Stranger Things. Sophia Lillis plays the younger version of Jessica Chastain’s Beverly Marsh in September’s It Chapter Two, and Isabelle Grill will scare you shitless in Midsommar.

For some characters, the casting is intentional. It Chapter Two is based on a Stephen King book featuring a redheaded Beverly. Archie, obvs, has red hair in the Archie comics. But -Isabelle’s mysterious character in Midsommar was definitely not written as a redhead, a rep for the movie confirmed. And Zoey made the decision herself to go red for Set It Up, according to Juliet Berman, one of the movie’s producers.

But why are flame-haired characters so popular these days? “There’s something very sunny and bright about that hair colour,” says Juliet. “That’s what Zoey’s Harper was all about this optimistic bright ray of light.”

Another reason: Prince Harry, aka Prince of Gingers aka literal redheaded royalty, dominated every headline in 2018. Or it could be because Amy Adams’ Sharp Objects was one of the buzziest shows of the year, giving the crimson-locked actress a whole new, younger fandom. Ed Sheeran, sly leprechaun, is probably also complicit.

However, these hot tamales came to dominate the pop-culture convo, flame-haired humans are now verified and we’re here for it.