The Birch Season 2: Chatting with stars Xaria Dotson and Jordyn DiNatale

Hidden Remote: Xaria, now that you’re back for another season, is horror a genre you find yourself drawn to? Is it something you would want to keep working in?

Xaria Dotson: What’s funny is when I got this audition for the first season I was like, “Oh no horror!” Because when I was little, I was terrified of gore and blood and guts. I mean I had a nightmare of this giant brain chasing me and it traumatized me for so long! It’s so silly [Laughs].

That’s what is so surprising about getting this role with such an iconic character is that I’m pretty much terrified of horror but I do enjoy the story that’s being told here and I love the Birch design so much. I love the idea of dark fantasy and modern dark fantasy because I grew up reading the Grimm fairy tales. I watched the original short and I was just entranced by it, so seeing how that’s being translated now, I just love it.

Hidden Remote: When you’re acting alongside the Birch is there any kind of green screen or model or anything?

Xaria Dotson: So, we get to see the Birch right there in front of us live. We have a creature actor named Brady [Romberg] and he’s awesome. He’s right there and he’s always doing his thing, and putting on this air and he’s hilarious, too, so it’s hard to keep a straight face sometimes. Jordyn, you know.

Jordyn DiNatale: Yup [Laughs].

Xaria Dotson: He’s so funny and so great and it’s so comfortable to work with him. But when you see it you forget there’s a person in there because he just embodies this creature and is always doing this [mimes the Birch’s movements] with his hands. I can’t help doing it when I’m talking about the Birch! But that’s why I adore practical effects because we get to see it live happening right in front of us. It’s so tangible.

Hidden Remote: Coming into the second season, what was your experience like working with each other on set?

Xaria Dotson:  We got some time to talk to each other and we wanted to be able to meet up and talk and we got along super well right off the bat. I mean in the trailer it says “we’re like sisters,” and what’s so funny about that line is we were hanging out and we were like, “We have so much in common and we’re getting along so well!” It did feel like we were long-lost sisters.

Hidden Remote: Same to you Jordyn, were you intimidated coming into the show for its second season? What was your relationship with Xaria like on set?

Jordyn DiNatale: There definitely is that thought at first, that you’re coming in for the second season, but right away I remember we all met on Zoom because we were all quarantining after everyone got to Portland. So, we met on Zoom and Xaria called me up and we kind of chatted and we talked for, I don’t know, I think it was like almost two hours? About our characters.

It was a really long time, which was great! And Xaria was even telling me about her experiences on the first season and how filming went and filling me in on stuff. It was really nice. I immediately knew it was going to be a great experience!

The Birch Season 2 premieres this Friday, March 26, on Facebook Watch with new episodes dropping weekly on Fridays at 3 p.m. PT/6 p.m. ET. You can watch the official trailer for Season 2 HERE.