Two years into building her character, Miku Martineau is seeing the payoff for Teagan Tao. The Netflix YA show Crew Girl has held its place in the platform’s English TV Top 10 since its Sept. 10 launch, and within its first two weeks it has drawn in more than 16 million views. To the 22-year-old lead actress, the figure feels almost unbelievable.
“It’s such a beautiful thing when you get to collaborate with so many people on one project, and for it to finally come out and for other people to enjoy it as well,” Martineau tells Variety.
Rowing Under the BC Sky
The performers put in serious work before filming began. They spent two weeks in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, going through a rigorous rowing program. There, they absorbed all they could about the sport. The training was grueling, and it forged the kind of connection that is evident on screen.
Martineau and her fellow actors built the chemistry needed to work together both on camera and behind it, and they still found room for enjoyment. During one fast-paced contest, she raced against Kyle Clark and Sam Braun, the actors who play the two men competing for Teagan’s affection. She emerged victorious, even as the three of them kept tumbling into the water and had difficulty finding their seats.
The Story of Teagan’s New Life
Crew Girl follows Martineau as 16-year-old Teagan Tao, whose father’s financial fraud forces her family to move across the country and return to her mother’s hometown. There, Teagan must adapt to the elite prep school Easton Academy and its all-boys crew team. Unwilling to give up her own rowing dreams, she finds a spot as coxswain, leading the team to victory and falling in love with some of her teammates along the way.
The show’s first season focused on Teagan navigating her place on the boys’ team. Season 2, which was confirmed on Tuesday, will likely shift its gaze to the creation and development of an all-girls team. Martineau is doing her part to push that idea forward.
“I hope there is a strong sense of friendship and teamwork and mutual respect,” she says. “I think, guys aside, the female friendship that she and Brittany could potentially have through rowing could be very special and powerful.”
Team Josh or Team Cam?
Crew Girl‘s driving force is its love triangle, with Martineau caught between two men. The bond between Teagan and Josh comes across as intimate and close, yet Martineau also understands what draws Teagan to Cam.
“With Cam, she relates to him because he’s kind of the underdog as well as her,” Martineau says. “And he’s also just such a sweetheart, but he has his own things as well. So it is like, what’s happening with this girls’ team?”
The show gives both men’s feelings room to breathe, and Martineau is ultimately choosing Team Teagan, the girl herself, over either one of them.
Representing Women in Sports
Portraying a teenager brings its own demands. Martineau took on the challenge of faithfully showing the difficulties and strength of youth. She also bore the extra strain of standing in for women in a field run by men.
“I hope that Teagan represents just how powerful and strong women are,” she says. “I hope it gives young girls who see Teagan onscreen permission to feel like it’s OK to take up space. It’s OK to be competitive and it’s OK to not back down from a challenge, even if you’re underestimated and even if you are the underdog. It’s unfortunate that we have to go the extra mile to almost earn a seat at the table. But if anyone can do it, it’s a woman.”
What attracted Martineau to the project was the emphasis on women, particularly in niche sports such as rowing. She appreciates the tension between a determined female athlete chasing her biggest goal and letting herself remain vulnerable and human.
“I love the duality of a really strong-willed woman pursuing her greatest desire while also allowing herself to be human, and that’s OK,” Martineau says.
Distinct Characters, Not Just Herself
When it comes to playing herself, Martineau avoids doing so. Instead, she wants each character of hers to stand apart. To mark her starring role as Yumeko in the 2025 Netflix original series Bet, she went for blunt bangs to set herself apart from the character. With Teagan, she suggested a full blonde look.
Mutual trust and respect with showrunner Vivian Lin and the Crew Girl directors had to be established, according to Martineau. “I want to do my best job to bring the story to life,” she said. “They do as well, so it’s me trusting them and them trusting me.”
Taking It Day by Day
Just like Teagan, Martineau is approaching the return to her single scull for Season 2 one day at a time. Her routine involves long walks and self-care.
“I wish I could say what else I have in store, but it’s been so full of so many blessings and it’s so amazing,” Martineau says.
Since Sept. 10, the show has held the No. 10 spot, and Martineau is taking pleasure in the success.
Here is what stands out most about Martineau’s account:
- Her deliberate approach to character work, from the rowing intensive to the emotional triangle to the commitment to strong female representation.
- Her choice to ground herself in daily routines like long walks and self-care as she prepares for Season 2.
- Her ambition for the show’s next chapter, particularly the push for an all-girls team.
The show’s success is real, and so is the work that went into it. Martineau’s own journey — from the rowing intensive to the emotional triangle to the commitment to strong female representation — is the story behind the stat.
Source material: “‘Crew Girl’ Star Miku Martineau on the Show’s Love Triangle and Her Hopes for an All-Girls Team in Season 2,” Variety.
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