Nickelodeon debuted its newest live-action series, The Other Kingdom, Sunday (April 10) at 7p. The show is about a fairy named Astral, who travels to the human world to decide whether she wants to remain a fairy and inherit the crown of her royal kingdom, or become human. CynKids stopped by Nick HQ to talk with its star, 20-year-old Esther Zynn, about the show and her experience filming in Toronto.

What qualities do you share with your character?
She’s a dreamer, she’s headstrong and she goes after what she wants. I think I share those qualities too. We share other similarities. She’s bubbly, and she wears her heart on her sleeve. We definitely have a lot of differences, too. She takes things at face value. I like to think I’m a little less naive and cooler but maybe if you ask my friends they’d disagree.

How will viewers relate?
In the fairy world vs. in the human world, it’s really cool because in the fairy world especially she’s really just a regular girl. She looks different, but she’s not, and anyone can relate to her, not just as s human. And I think parents can always relate to their kids growing up and wanting to do different things. For me coming to Toronto, because I’m from New York, I felt like a fish out of water. You don’t have to be on a TV show to relate to that. Anyone starting high school and wanting to branch out and start something new can relate to what she’s doing.

How did you get into character?
I love to listen to music, so I had a playlist for Astral. Songs like New Soul, and Girls Chase Boys by Ingrid Michaelson. A lot of her music inspired me. Also Regina Spektor.

How did you watch the premiere?
A fairy-themed party with my friends. Ten to 15 people, nothing that crazy, and everyone had to dress up. Even the boys were like, do we have to dress up as fairies? I said, you can dress up as a troll if you want, but you’ve got to dress up!