Disney Channel has often experimented with drama series, as seen with the critically-acclaimed Andi Mack. But for the first time, the show will have a mystery drama series in Secrets of Sulphur Springs. The genre-bending series also has some supernatural and kid-friendly thriller/horror elements. Think about Stranger Things…if it were on Disney Channel.

The show follows 12-year-old Griffin Campbell, whose family has “just uprooted their lives to move to a new town and take ownership of an abandoned hotel in hopes of restoring it back to the lively vacation destination it once was. Not long after Griffin begins his first day at a new school, he learns that the hotel he’s just moved into is rumored to be haunted by the ghost of a girl who disappeared decades ago. Along the way, Griffin befriends Harper, a bright-eyed, mystery-obsessed classmate. Together, they uncover a secret portal that allows them to travel back in time where they’ll uncover that the key to solving the mystery may lie within Griffin’s own family.”

Harper is played by Kyliegh Curran, the young actress known for her role in the 2019 Stephen King adaptation, Doctor Sleep. She is also a The Lion King on Broadway alumnus, playing Young Nala.

In an interview with Shadow and Act, Curran admitted she was also surprised by the show’s content. “When I first read it, I was like, are we sure this is Disney?” she joked. “I think people know that it’s going to be different for Disney, but they don’t know how different it is once they watch it. They’re going to be like, ‘Whoa,’ because of the lighting, the music, the characters, the plot…it’s just very interesting and very different. I think the characters too, there’s a lot of adult characters that parents can relate to [and] there [are] younger characters that their kids can relate to, which I think is exciting.”

The thriller-lite content of Secrets of Sulphur Springs its pretty easy for Curran, considering she was in Doctor Sleep. “[I was] learning to really immerse myself in the role and kind of learn more about myself and the character as I’m going along. With Abra, I brought little pieces of myself into the character, but mostly I did my own research so that I could play her well. Same thing for Harper at first. I wasn’t really sure how to play her considering I think she’s very different from myself laughs], but as I went along, I really started to get to know Harper.”

I think getting to know the characters, the arcs, um, when we first meet the characters, they’re very different from when we get to know them later in the series. You’ll hit a lot of twists and turns with certain characters and learn a lot more about them and their backstories, which I’m excited for everyone to see.”

Watch the full interview below, in which Curran talks about her favorite Disney Channel series and more: