Netflix’s Crew Girl cast learned that authentic rowing on screen demanded more than clean catches and perfect timing during a cold autumn in British Columbia.
Miku Martineau, who plays 16-year-old single-sculler-turned-coxswain Teagan Tao, fitted weekend lake sessions around night shoots for another film. Sam Braun and Kyle Clark also trained for the eight-episode drama, which premiered on Netflix on 10 September.
Training Around the Night Shift
“I was doing night shoots all week, but then on the weekend it was my only free time, so I would have to get up to do rowing training on a lake,” Martineau said in a joint E! News interview. “But I had such a blast.”
The cast attended a rowing boot camp. The male cast members trained first, and Martineau joined them afterward, mirroring Teagan’s arrival among a crew whose athletes had already formed team bonds.
Martineau said accuracy mattered because athletes want to see their sport represented correctly. The cast had some leeway on screen because Easton Prep’s rowers are themselves learning to become a crew.
Fog, Rain and 15 Heat Packs
Production began in Victoria in September 2025 and continued through the autumn, as Row360 reported when the series was announced. October brought one of the coldest days on the water.
“I remember it was really foggy and it was cold ‘cause you’re in your leotards and you’re waiting for the drone to get set,” Braun said.
Clark said rain compounded the conditions. The actors used heat packs inside their costumes, with Martineau carrying about 15, while Braun recalled keeping “blankets in the back of the boat”.
Rowing for the Cameras
Filming on the water required the production to coordinate rowing technique, boats, camera work and safety. A delay in setting the drone could leave lightly dressed actors waiting on the water before another take.
“Because it’s another ball game—making sure everything is done safe and properly and also the use of cameras with the boats,” Martineau said. “It’s a very technical thing.”
In the Netflix series, Teagan heads to Easton Prep, a school without a girls’ rowing team, following a family scandal. To get back on the water, she takes the coxswain’s seat in the dysfunctional boys’ varsity crew.
Braun plays captain Josh Regis, while Clark plays local underdog Cam Dillinger. Teagan must earn the crew’s trust while the two rowers compete for her attention, adding an internal rivalry to the team’s struggle to work together.
