Camila Mendes has opened up about how she prepared for her role in the latest film, Idiotka.

Speaking with People Magazine, the actress revealed that she binged watched shows in order to prepare for the role of a reality TV producer.

Mendes revealed that Project Runway was one of her go-tos, adding, “But also, the one that we kept referencing for this was The Hype.”

“I watched that one quite a bit, ’cause, tonally, it felt like this is more DIY reality,” Mendes admitted.

She said, “We’re the cutting edge of reality TV. Like, we’re trying to do things differently, and that also felt very in line with Nicol’s character. Like, we’re not those cut and dry fashion shows, like we’re doing it differently.”

Furthermore, Mendes also talked to people who had participated in fashion competition shows. The Riverdale actress admitted, “That was a very helpful perspective to have.”

“So then I wanted to get on the other side of that and think, ‘Okay, well if I were a producer who really took what I did very seriously, like a reality show producer, and I wanted to do my best work, what would that look like?'” Mendes said. “I was kind of grounding her manipulation in a place that felt honest and well-intentioned.”

” think ultimately, with the character I play in this film, Nicol, she’s really trying to uplift Margarita and give her the platform to succeed. And she’s doing that by sort of planting a few seeds and being a little manipulative,” she added of her role.

Camila Mendes’ upcoming film Idiotka is set to release on February 27, 2026.