Jamie Lee Curtis Explains How Podcast Letters from Camp Draws from Her Own Adolescent Experiences
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Jamie Lee Curtis' latest project draws inspiration from her own life story.
The actress' Audible podcast series, Letters from Camp, premieres all episodes of its third and final season on July 21. Curtis, 63, tells PEOPLE that the series took a page out of her own adolescent experiences when coming up with storylines for the newest season.
Detailing that she and her collaborators "of course shared all of our many camp experiences, including first crushes," the Everything Everywhere All at Once star says, "Mine was on a counselor named Mark Tucker."
Tucker, Curtis explains, "had a speech impediment where he couldn't pronounce Rs, [so] he made my heart skip a beat because he would say his name was 'Mawk Tuckew.' "
"We wanted to make this show a family show that we could explore all of those issues of tween-dome that get much more complicated when you go through puberty," she adds. "And so we had always intended that it would be three seasons, ending with this last season of a first kiss, the innocence of having to make a choice over your heart versus your passions and your pursuits, and we wanted it to be innocent."
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Letters from Camp was originally crafted during the COVID-19 pandemic by Curtis and one of her godchildren, Boco Haft. The series' third season follows character Mookie Hooper, portrayed by Sunny Sandler, as she returns to Camp Cartwright for what will be her final summer at the establishment.
Curtis reprises her role of Director Sue, and continues to produce the series alongside Russell Goldman. Other returning cast members include Kirby Howell-Baptiste and Edi Patterson, while one new addition lending their vocal talents is Jacob Tremblay, who Curtis tells PEOPLE "was the only name on our list" for the role he plays.
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"It's a show about discovering who you are," Curtis says of the podcast series, which first premiered in August 2020. "The motto of the camp is 'Be You' — that message of you go to camp to learn who you are, to try on new aspects of yourself, to try new activities and to make new friends, not just your school friends."
"We just wanted to explore the beautiful innocence of youth without the distractions of social media, and so the show has this wonderful nostalgic feel, which is why I think it's been so successful," adds Curtis, who also hosts her other podcast series, Good Friend.
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Curtis says that creating Letters from Camp amid the COVID-19 pandemic allowed the storytellers behind the podcast to craft something really special for fans.
"I think we all opened our ears in a way that we hadn't been listening to things before," she explains. "The shutdown shifted our sensory responses to things, and I think it was a perfect storm to really let in storytelling. It certainly has exploded in its popularity."
"Audible has obviously been not only a pioneer, but a true leader in the auditory experience, and so it was great when they wanted to do the show three years ago," Curtis adds.
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The mother of two also says that Letters from Camp is a passion project for her, though she considers everything she works on to be such.
"Even selling yogurt that makes you s---," she admits with a laugh. "I'm enthusiastic. I wake up enthusiastic every day. I am happy to be alive and happy to have the opportunity to do what I get to do."
Letters from Camp's third season begins streaming in full on Audible July 21.
