'The Sex Lives of College Girls' showrunner says that Nico 'genuinely cared' about Kimberly, but 'time will tell' if he can redeem himself
- Warning: There are spoilers ahead for the season one finale of "The Sex Lives of College Girls."
- Showrunner Justin Noble spoke to Insider about how Nico's actions affected his dynamic with Kimberly.
"The Sex Lives of College Girls" showrunner Justin Noble broke down where the season one finale leaves Kimberly Finkle (Pauline Chalamet) and Nico Murray (Gavin Leatherwood) after his betrayal, and what their future could look like now that a second season is on the way.
"I think he genuinely cared about her from the start," Noble told Insider. "We see that moment when he locks eyes with her in the common room in the pilot. That doesn't happen for no reason."
"He's kind of interested in this very bright-eyed student who's excited to be there," Noble added of Nico's initial attraction to Kimberly. "There's something magnetic about Kimberly, and Pauline's performance, of course. It just shows that he did have true feelings for her, although he is an incredibly imperfect character."
Initially, it was announced that Disney Channel alum Dylan Sprouse would be making his return to TV with his role as Nico, the older brother of Leighton Murray (Reneé Rapp). The role was later recast, with "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" star Leatherwood portraying the character.
"Like any TV show, sometimes we just don't know exactly what the chemistry will be like between two performers until we get filming and we just had to make a change," Noble told Insider.
Noble and cocreator Mindy Kaling previously told Entertainment Weekly that they faced challenges during the casting process because the coronavirus pandemic necessitated a reliance on virtual auditions.
The showrunner also told the publication that a video of Leatherwood sensually basting a turkey for a Netflix video further showed why the actor was a good fit for the role.
Midway through season one, Nico and Kimberly began having a sexual relationship in secret so that Leighton, Kimberly's roommate, wouldn't find out.
The secret inevitably came out, when it was revealed that Nico was a cheater who was having sex with Kimberly while his girlfriend, Maya, was studying abroad in Barcelona.
As Kimberly became further entangled with him, she started neglecting her studies and her job. It resulted in her getting caught cheating on her economics midterm — thanks to an old exam that the Theta house stashed in a cabinet with other recycled tests — and facing expulsion from Essex.
On the finale, Nico let Kimberly hand over the rest of his frat house's stashed exams to the disciplinary committee, telling her that if it helps her not get expelled, it's "worth it."
Kimberly was able to keep her spot at the college, with the caveat that her merit-based scholarship has been revoked and she'll have to somehow scrape together an extra $23,000 per semester. The episode ended with the cliffhanger, and season two will likely address the consequences that Nico and his frat house will face for their cheating ring.
"Time will tell," Noble said when asked if Nico is redeemable.
"That's a very hard thing for someone to come back from, at least to where they were, because you always then wonder if it happened once, would it happen again?" he continued.
"So I don't know, but we obviously opened the door to something a little more nuanced with him in the finale, where he seems to be exposing himself to risk to do the right thing for Kimberly," the showrunner said. "Not that he's by any means a hero in the story at all. But at least it shows that he cared about her on some level."
"He was not just, for lack of a better phrase, a fuckboy."