The Sterling Point Cast and Crew Shares How to Build the Perfect Teen Drama
Creating the perfect teen drama TV show depends on many factors, but the creators of Sterling Point know a thing or two about that. It takes a great cast, a fun script, a storyline that feels aspirational but still relatable. Think of all the best teen dramas of the past, like Gossip Girl and The O.C. Those two classics have two very important things in common: Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, who were instrumental in both shows’ success and are now bringing their talents to Prime Video’s latest coming-of-age TV sensation Sterling Point.
Schwartz, Savage, and Sterling Point stars Ella Rubin and Amélie Hoeferle appeared at the 2026 Teen Vogue Fest on July 25 to share what all goes into creating a TV series with longevity and relevancy. In a conversation led by Senior Editor P. Claire Dodson, the group discussed how the creative team and cast work together to create the kind of onscreen magic that keeps you watching and waiting for new episodes to drop—a.k.a. the hallmarks of a classic teen drama. “We were drawn to coming of age dramas because the stakes feel so high, everybody was a teenager once or everybody wants to be a teenager,” said Schwartz.
Sterling Point, which is set in Canada, is a series about family secrets, first love, and how one summer can change the course of your life. It follows in the footsteps of the aforementioned shows, plus classics like Dawson’s Creek and new faves like The Summer I Turned Pretty.
The group got very close on the Canadian set. “It was a dream,” said Rubin. “Josh and Steph are legends in general, also specifically when it comes to television and the teen drama, we were in such good hands.” Everyone lived close to one another, which made it feel almost like a “college experience,” as Rubin described it. “It felt like a sleepover,” said Hoeferle. “Playing in the water, playing in the grass.”
Rubin and Hoeferle play long-lost sisters, Annie and Ramona, in the series, and the two stars found an instant connection. “From the moment I met Ella, it was very clear we were made to tell this story. Everything that Ramona and Annie go through… they get each other through all the pain and loss and grief, it feels like a gift to the show and a gift to me in real life.”
According to Savage, Annie and Ramona are the core of the show—not a romance, though there is some in the show. It’s not a Blair and Serena dynamic, however. The two sisters are very different but find their common ground during the pivotal summer, and the actors did too. “It was so organic in that we have so many similarities and differences, opposites getting to ‘fish out of water’ meet each other, enter each other’s worlds, was an incredible canvas for conflict, resolution, and love,” Rubin said.
Schwartz said the show deals with trauma, loss, pain, romance, sisterhood, and friendship. “Of all the shows we’ve done, it’s one of the most emotional. I think it’s really going to move people,” he shared. (There’s also very little technology in the show, so if you crave a show without iPhones, time to queue it up!)
Both main actors have appeared in popular coming-of-age franchises; Rubin had a role in the Gossip Girl reboot—a small one that was expanded due to her impact—and Hoeferle appeared in The Ballads of Songbirds and Snakes. “It was a very small part, but when it came in my inbox, I remembered loving the books,” she shared. While she said she isn’t necessarily drawn to a coming-of-age story, she likes stories that resonate with younger people at a “conflicting point in their lives”—much like Annie and Ramona in Sterling Point.
