Lana Condor on Carving Her Path as a Producer, the To All the Boys Spinoff, and Balancing Mental Health


Lana Condor is so much more than To All the Boys's Lara Jean Covey. The actress, at only 24 years old, is one to watch. We know her for her leading role on the hit romantic-comedy series, but Lana has also added "executive producer" to her résumé. She's working on the upcoming Hulu action-comedy series Take Out alongside Randall Park and the upcoming Netflix comedy series Boo, Bitch. On top of that, we'll soon see her in a rom-com-meets-sci-fi HBO Max movie titled Moonshot alongside Cole Sprouse, whom she described as "a wonderful guy and an amazing friend and an incredible actor." Lana caught up with POPSUGAR while promoting her Pink favorites for the brand's Unwrapped campaign. She told us about learning to produce on the spot, whether or not we can expect her in To All the Boys spinoff XO, Kitty, and how she's mentally handling juggling all her projects.

Boo, Bitch is the first show Lana's produced. She told POPSUGAR, "That was a totally different experience than what I've been used to, but I learned a lot, and I feel like I will never be the same." She added that she's been pushing herself outside of her comfort zone when choosing future projects because her past three years have mostly been about To All the Boys. "I love that world with all my heart, but when we were picking, when my team and I were mapping out projects for the future, we were like, 'Let's just have every single one of them be wildly different and challenging for you because you've been doing the same thing.'"

She added, "[Producing] was very overwhelming because it's like learning a brand-new skill on the job. So it's the biggest amount of exposure therapy ever." Lana felt like she had a crash course in producing on the set of Boo, Bitch, she shared. "But it was awesome. And I learned so much, and, yes, did it come with its challenges? For sure. Mainly because I've just never done this before. There are so many things that I just don't know. But I learned a lot on the show . . . I really took the position of letting me just be a sponge and let me just learn as much as I can." When it comes to Lana's producing role on the set of Take Out, she said she's "really grateful" to be "working with these incredible producers." Producers Park, Michael Golamco, and Hieu Ho are behind the project under their all-Asian production company, Imminent Collision, something that was very important to Lana.

"[Producing] was very overwhelming because it's like learning a brand-new skill on the job. So it's the biggest amount of exposure therapy ever."

With all of Lana's upcoming projects, you're probably wondering: "But what about XO, Kitty?!" Netflix confirmed in October that a TV spinoff series about Lara Jean's younger sister, Kitty Song Covey (played by Anna Cathcart), has been green-lit for 10 half-hour episodes. Lana told POPSUGAR the spinoff is "fricking exciting," adding: "I lost my mind. Anna deserves it like no other. She is incredible. She's a wonderful human and incredible actress. She is, dare I say, the comedy in the movies. She is incredible. So she deserves it fully. And I'm so excited for her. It's obviously very fresh." No further details about casting were announced. Will Lara Jean make an appearance in XO, Kitty? Lana's guess is as good as ours. "It's a baby right now so no one has approached me yet. But I'm waiting for the call!" We are, too!

Lana's hustle is admirable — she's definitely a can-do type of person! So, how does she juggle it all? "When I have to prioritize myself, I need it to be quick and convenient and not feel overwhelming . . . Even just talking about mental health can feel overwhelming because it feels like such a big thing," she said. "With things back-to-back in my schedule and a lot going on, I don't have a lot of time." Lana's also taken quick mental health and self-care tips from Press Pause, an initiative created in a partnership with Pink and The Jed Foundation to support people this holiday season. Looking forward to the holiday season, Lana shared her advice to fans struggling during this time. "No matter how alone you feel, you are not," she said. "You are not. You should fall on your friends, fall on who's around you, lean on them for support." She added: "Don't be afraid to ask for help. There are resources." You can check out Lana's latest project for a pick-me-up. And stay tuned; she's taking over in 2022.