“If I’m being honest, I didn’t think I had a shot at it because this is really different for me. But I knew that I could do it,” the actor tells EW.

There’s nothing pretty or little about what’s haunting Lucy Hale in Ragdoll.

The Pretty Little Liars alum is starting a new chapter in her career with AMC+‘s six-episode drama based on the novel by Daniel Cole. She stars as a “fish-out-of-water” American detective constable, Lake Edmunds, who’s working a gruesome case in London where six murder victims have been dismembered and sewn into one grotesque body nicknamed “the Ragdoll.”

“I feel like I’ve been preparing my whole life for this role because I love true crime,” Hale tells EW about the “dark” and “disturbing” new series. “I’ve always wanted to be a part of a show like this because this is the genre I gravitate towards naturally. I watch all the true crime documentaries and listen to the podcasts. And this show is right on the money for what true crime people are into.”

Ragdoll (premiering Nov. 11) also stars Henry Lloyd-Hughes (The Irregulars) and Thalissa Teixeira (Too Close, The Musketeers) as the two other detectives assigned to this case along with Hale’s character. “These three detectives become taunted by the serial killer, and they’re trying to hunt down who it is,” Hale says. But, she adds, this “serial killer thriller” is unique because it’s also funny — which makes sense, seeing as how it comes from the brilliant minds behind Killing Eve.

“There’s a lot of comedy within the whole gruesomeness of what the show is about,” Hale says. “It’s British humor so it’s not like slapstick at all, but it definitely makes for an interesting mix to have this very intense, dark case that these detectives are working on, but the banter between the detectives, they never really take each other or themselves too seriously.”

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Lucy Hale says she’s been preparing for a series like AMC’s upcoming crime show Ragdoll her whole life.

“I’m the first girl to listen any true crime podcast or to watch any of the crime shows,” Hale said during AMC’s TCA portion on Tuesday.

From listening and watching the horrors of true crime, Hale is now at the center of a horrifying web of murders in Ragdoll. Adapted for television by Freddy Syborn from Daniel Cole’s novel, the six-part series follows newly-reinstated DS Nathan Rose (Henry Lloyd-Hughes); his best friend and boss, DI Emily Baxter (Thalissa Teixeira); and the unit’s new recruit, DC Lake Edmunds (Hale) as they unravel the mystery behind the six people who have been murdered, dismembered and sewn into the shape of one grotesque body — nicknamed the ‘Ragdoll.’ The team must find the ‘Ragdoll Killer’ before he murders the victims for his next gruesome creation.

For Hale, Ragdoll is a new step in her career – following her teen drama days of Pretty Little Liars and her time on Katy Keene. The actress, who starred on Pretty Little Liars from 2010 to 2017 and Katy Keen from 2018 to 2020, wanted to venture out beyond the types of roles she was most known for, she said.

“When you’re a part of something like Pretty Little Liars or Katy Keene, people definitely want to keep you in that box and I’m very grateful for those opportunities,” she said. “But, I made the conscious decision that after Katy Keene got cancelled I knew that the next job I did really had to creatively excite me.”

The actress said that her supporters, who first started following her with the ABC Family drama, “have grown up with me” and believes that they, too, will take a leap into Ragdoll to continue their support.

The darker, more sinister AMC show isn’t just a new chapter for Hale’s career, but a new book, she said.

“Going to London and working with Sid Gentile, working with Freddy, I was so excited to work with Henry and Thalissa – it just feels elevated. I feel like I grew working with everyone,” she said. “Not even a new chapter, but a new book for sure. A darker, new book.”

Ragdoll will premiere on AMC Thursday, November 11. Syborn will serve as the lead writer and executive producer. The series will be executive produced by Sally Woodward Gentle and Lee Morris for Sid Gentle Films. McDermott and Kristin Jones oversee for AMC and Philippa Collie Cousins, Commissioning Editor, Drama for UKTV will be executive producer for Alibi. Lizzie Rusbridger will produce. BBC Studios is distributing the series internationally.

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