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Daybreak’s Return To Sender Cast Answers the Web’s Most Searched Questions
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Cora Madden 1.2 million subscribers
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The camera rolls: a fraction of the Daybreak cast relaxes on a couch, pictured against a white backdrop for the interview. Their outfits are themed to their characters but dressed for success.
“This is the Return to Sender Daybreak cast, Callum here!” The ginger waves, with a charm for the camera. He’s wearing a light red velvet suit, with a white shirt underneath.
“Hi, I’m Aaaqil.” The shortest of the group chimes in, wearing a cream vest on top of a white collared shirt. His hair is fluffed up and different from his nerd cut in the show, but he kept the glasses to keep the smart look.
“Heyy, it’s Eman.” She sits on the other end of the couch, clad in techwear cargo pants and a halter top, all black. To top it all off, she has her character’s signature beanie on.
“Yronica,” the final member of the main cast finishes, with a small wave. She wears a flashy pink, black, and white dress that compliments her figure, complete with dazzlingly pink acrylic nails and pumps.
“Plus, today we’re featuring Riley and Taylor,” Callum says, doing a little bit of jazz hands. The two sit on the far right part of the couch next to Yronica; Riley’s wearing a colorful navy graphic tee and designer shorts, while Taylor has on plaid beige slacks and a white, sleeveless turtleneck.
“Sup,” Riley says with a grin and wave. Taylor pumps their fists in the air with an enthusiastic “woo!”
From behind the camera, a female voice (presumably Cora) cuts to the chase. Subtitles appear on the screen for convenience. “So, today, you guys will be answering the web’s most searched questions, and then there’ll be a speed round of general questions. Ready?”
The cast cheers in mutual agreement, and the video cuts to the next clip.
The camera is zoomed in on Callum, holding a board in his lap: a printed-out Google search bar with covered-up dropdowns containing questions. It seems that each cast member is given just three, most likely because of how many people are in the interview, or because the author can’t think of any more questions.
Anyways, he eagerly rips off the first one, then raises an eyebrow.
“Does Callum Gallagher… kiss?” He murmurs the question, clearly pondering on how to respond to the almost gossip-inducing statement. “Well, you see me and Yronica in the trailers…” he smiles sheepishly, and Aaaqil looks over at Cal, shooting him and the viewers a coy glance.
“That’s for the watchers to find out,” Aaaqil winks at the camera, and Cal gives a thumbs up.
“Next one. Can Callum Gallagher… speak Malaysian? Wha- shouldn’t this be for you?” He says pointedly to Aaaqil, but Aaaqil shrugs. “Um, about as much as I can speak Irish!”
He peels off the next one. “Is Callum Gallagher… actually a ginger?”
The cast erupts in discussion, and the ginger (supposedly fake) thumbs at his bangs like a kicked puppy.
Cal clears his throat, composing himself like he’s taking an oath before the court. “Disclaimer, this is 100% natural ginger. I, Callum Gallagher, do not partake in any hair-dying activities of the sort.”
“I’ll bet you my acting career it’s dyed,” Aaaqil snickers, and Cal elbows him lightly.
“Then you’d be out of a job,” the ginger huffs. He finishes with a flourish, tossing the board off-camera. A hand gives Eman the next board, and she ooohs.
“All you, Eman,” Callum gestures, and she gets to work by tearing off the first strip.
“Can Eman Attia.. sing? Yes! I can! I mean, I hope? I don’t sing in the show, but one of my songs is featured as an ending,” she fingerguns. “I’m going on tour with Amari Taymiyyah this summer,” she whispers, not so subtly to the camera. “So, it’s a wonderful opportunity to touch base on both acting and singing for this project. Really a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” she adds, transitioning to the next question.
“Eman Attia… jobs,” the first dropdown reads, and her expression lights up.
“Uhhh, before this, I was working at a movie theater, and I was in a really rough place at the time. I was really waiting on a call from a band, but on a whim I auditioned for this show called Daybreak, you know, you might have heard of it,” she air quotes sarcastically, making gestures with her hands as she talks.
“Hmm, never heard of it,” Yronica murmurs, and the girls both laugh good-naturedly. Eman continues, “Turns out I got the role for the Daybreak’s wallflower, and well, the rest is history. Next!”
She tears off a strip, and hmms; Riley lets out a whistle. “That one Eman Attia… edit. Ooh, oh my god, what? I haven’t seen this.”
“You haven’t seen that?” Callum says incredulously, sitting up straight. Taylor does a dramatic gasp, then excitedly explains. “Okay, for some reason Riley is a fan favorite-“
“That I am,” he chimes in.
“-but there’s this edit of you snapping at Yronica? Top tier scene, by the way, your acting was amazing,” Taylor adds.
“I thought she wasn’t acting,” Yronica shivered.
Eman hums, eyes starstruck. “Guess I have some scrolling to do, then,” she smiles. Cora pops in from the side, handing Aaaqil a board. He rubs the back of his neck and takes it with slight apprehension.
He rips off the coverup without much thought, and reads the question. “First one. Is Aaaqil Che… good at math.”
“Pop quiz- what’s eighteen squared?” Riley chimes, and Aaaqil’s curse is covered up with a loud bleeeeep.
“I- uh- god, I really failed my Asian genes, didn’t I?” Aaaqil facepalms while Yronica laughs.
“Three hundred twenty-four,” Eman says, looking up for her phone after a few taps.
“Oh thank god, because I didn’t know either,” Riley declares.
Taylor lets out a snort, and everyone has to stifle their giggles. Aaaqil tears off the second one, saying “next!”
“Will Aaaqil Che… ever grow taller?”
He sighs, and puts the board down for a moment. “You know… people keep laughing at the screencaps where Callum and I stand next to eachother.”
“It’s a nine-inch height difference…” Riley remarks, making a pfff noise.
“...Come on, guys, I’m 19, there’s still hope.”
“Is there, though?” Callum says pointedly, and Aaaqil kicks him lightly in the foot as he picks up the board to move onto the next question.
“Is Aaaqil Ch… is Aaaqil Che-” He reads, but fails to finish the sentence. His glasses slide slightly down his nose.
There’s a stunned silence that fills up the room, and Yronica takes one glance at the question before snorting loudly. Embarrassed, she covers her mouth as she tries not to laugh.
“...is Aaaqil Che pregnant? ”
Callum clutches Yronica’s shoulder, covering his face flushed with giggles. Riley elbows Taylor, and they elbow him back harder.
“That’s not even…” Aaaqil starts by giving the camera a deadpan stare, but it’s horribly obvious he’s trying not to smile as the others die of laughter in the background.
The camera zooms in on him, demanding an answer as the chaos goes out of focus. Even Cora can be heard cackling in the background. He rolls his eyes, and cracks a smile. “…yes, guys, I might name him Aaaqil Junior.”
After a solid thirty seconds and everyone’s calmed down, Aaaqil throws his hands up in the air. “I mean seriously- who’s searching this sh**???” He says, a loud bleep erupting on the video.
A board gets handed to Eman, who hands it to Aaaqil (still flabbergasted), who throws it over Callum and straight to Riley. Straight to the point, he tears off the first of three coverups.
“What is… Riley West’s zodiac sign? Oh, Saggy- Saggi? How do you say it?” He stumbles, murmuring the words.
“Saggitarius,” Aaaqil corrects, and Riley nods.
“Yeah, that! The horse guy,” he grins, and he moves on. “Riley West… dancing video. Oh, nonono, that was one time-”
“You know what that is?” Cora wonders aloud, and Riley looks around, guilty as charged.
“You know, I searched for that too,” Yronica muses, and she absentmindedly taps at her watch. After a few moments, she looks up for the camera. “Uh, context! We were recording the prom night scene? And a club music track came on, and Riley started dancing-“
He interrupts, a whirlwind of talking with his hands as he stresses his point. “Digital footprint, guys. Digital. Footprint.”
She snickers, continuing, “You weren’t even in that scene, but I did not know you could throw it back-”
“Okay, next!” He announces, and unceremoniously tears off the next strip. At the sight of the question, Riley wolf whistles. “Oookay,” the thrill seeker’s actor says.
“Can… Riley West flirt. Salacious,” he expresses, with a coy smile at the camera, but gets off track as an idea lights up his expression. “Oh, here, here, watch this. Hey, Callum?” Riley turns his head a bit, still holding the board, and gives him an upward nod.
“Yeah?” Callum looks up, almost innocent, but there’s a look of mischief the other cast members spot from nearly a mile away.
“You’re looking mighty fine today, man,” Riley murmurs, tossing the board over his shoulders.
“Oh, you too ,” Cal grins, and it’s practically ironic how he leans over Yronica to get a better look at Riley. He tips the shorter of the two’s chin upwards playfully with a hand.
They stare at eachother for a moment into each other’s eyes, even tilting their heads a bit for what looks like a kiss until they start laughing uncontrollably. Riley grins and Cal reclines back.
“Am I available to think you guys will be a thing in season 2, never mind Yronica and Aaaqil’s characters?” Cora intercepts, but the jokesters whisper “no comment”.
“ Am I interrupting something? ” Yronica says, covering her mouth. Eman is a little flabbergasted, but she rolls her eyes with a knowing smile as if this is a regular shenanigan the two pull off.
“Um- wow! Hello??” Aaaqil says, “Callum, you ought to save that for when- nevermind, spoilers, next!”
The next board is handed to Riley; he glances at it, and hands it to Yronica. “For the misses, milady,” he says, in a fake British accent.
Carefully, she adjusts it in her hands, then delicately peels to reveal the first question.
“Can… Yronica Ayala pick up Callum Gallagher?” She raises an eyebrow at the camera, clearly asking what kind of pickup, but she shrugs and continues with her own interpretation of the question.
“You know, in the prom scene, Callum carries me, but I can definitely carry him,” she states for the record. “I wasn’t required to work out as much for this role, but carrying Cal is a piece of cake,” Yronica notes, smoothing her dress out before standing up.
“Let’s!” He hops up like a kid excited for a piggyback ride. She cracks her knuckles, and Callum falls into her arms all Disney-esque like he’s Sleeping Beauty. After a few moments, he’s scooped up into her arms bridal-style.
“There should really be more princesses carrying princes. I actually like this,” he grins, looking quite snug in Yronica’s arms.
“All right, off you go Cal,” she says, putting him down, and they both sit. Yronica picks up the board, rinse and repeat.
“Onto the next… will Yronica Ayala… be in Daybreak season 2? Ooh, that’s tough- they really leave it on a cliffhanger, and a lot of people debate if she’s going to get a redemption arc or not. Excited to see all your theories,” she says, with a smile that knows all, not too far from her character’s disposition.
“And finally, drumroll,” she murmurs, tearing the paper off to see the last question, “has Yronica Ayala… gone to jail…?”
“Oooh, have you?” Eman inquiries, leaning forward.
“No! Well, I mean,” she shrugs, flipping her hair over her shoulder, and the surrounding cast eggs her on.
“Okay, it was a speeding ticket,” she admits, crossing her arms and shaking her head good-naturedly. She twirls the board in his hands and whirls it to the side, landing somewhere as Taylor gets handed their board.
“Uh, here I’ll hold yours, Taylor. I feel like the Wheel of Fortune chick,” Riley says, taking it from them so they can peel off the questions properly.
“Thanks. Hey hey, best for last,” they remark. “Okay, cutting to the chase…”
A strip of paper falls off. First question. “Can Taylor Dalton read… Well, I just read this, didn’t I? I mean, my hair gets in the way a lot in the middle of filming, but it’s doable.”
“...How do you see through those bangs?” Yronica points out, and Taylor comments “Magic.”
They tear off the next one. “Taylor Dalton… on representation,” they read aloud. “Ohh, well, I think they’re referring to me being nonbinary on and off set. You know, it’s really refreshing to see all these sexualities and colors on the cast of Daybreak, and to feel seen. Me and Emery Rivera talked about this as well.”
“It’s so refreshing that it makes me think the mist targets minorities,” Riley whispers, and Aaaqil makes a stifled noise of laughter as Taylor reads the second question.
“Does Taylor Dalton… like kpo- yes, yes, ohmygod, it was literally like being in a dream. It was so cool to actually meet the members of STARSTRUCK, Chaoxing Lai, Nami Deng.. I’ve been like, such a fan! I mean, since a lot of us are fairly new to the acting industry, it was… amazing for all of us. It’s funny, because they’re idols who play as idols, but me being a fan is real as well.”
Taylor cracks the board over their knee, and tosses the pieces off-camera with a woop. The first part of the interview wraps up, and a title on the screen pops up: General Questions!
“Speed round: general questions!” Cora calls out, and the cast goes ooohs. “It’s amazing that you guys, as the younger part of the cast have such a good chemistry, as I can see. So here are some questions to test your knowledge of the show and eachother. Starting off: what audience is Daybreak for?”
“I think it’s rated mature, but..”
“Uh, teens and up? There’s like, blood, and some doable gore?”
“Our season honestly feels like an extended teen slasher film.”
“There’s a lot of cursing. Lots.”
Cora hmms, and she shoots back a question. “Oh, who cusses the most?”
“Aaaqil!” All four shout almost simultaneously, and the shortest in the group sighs dramatically.
“Fine, you got me,” Aaaqil groans, and Cora chuckles.
“Oldest to youngest actor?”
Eman raises her hand, confidently proclaiming oldest. “Twentieth birthday is next week,” she says matter-of-factly, and congratulations ring around the couch. Aaaqil chimes in next as the second oldest, then Yronica and Riley, until Callum is the last one left.
“Youngest… just turned nineteen.” he shrugs, with a bit of a smile. “I’m the baby of the group, and six-foot-two.”
Next question. “Who snagged things from set?”
“I’m gonna be real, I took a few pairs of socks,” Riley admits, putting his hands in the air.
“A t-shirt or two,” Eman muses. “Also Riley, eight pairs of socks is not just ‘a few’."
“Oh, come on… they were funny socks.”
And the next question. “There are a lot of similarities I’m noticing, but what are the main differences between you and your character?”
“My character can do math, I can’t,” Aaaqil facepalms. To add to this Callum notes, “Uhh, I didn’t fail Algebra II?”
“I haven’t broken a bone yet,” Riley mentions.
“I have never been, nor never will be in a robotics club,” Taylor notes.
“I’m actually an ambivert,” Eman says, with a small wave.
“Uh… I don’t blackmail little kids?” Yronica finishes, shrugging.
A click of a pen, a few pages flip, and Cora moves on to the next question like rapid fire. No wonder she played an investigative journalist. “Who was the most intimidating at first?”
“Ooh, you know, kind of Yronica. I knew she had way more acting experience than all of us,” Eman inputs.
“Callum and Eman, but that immediately went away after Callum ran into the fridge, and me and Eman started nerding out about music,” Taylor admits.
On the fly, Cora asks, “Everyone’s favorite blooper?”
“When Eman said ‘screw me,’ instead of ‘screw you,’ to Yronica when they were fixing the generator!” Aaaqil says the sentence so fast he nearly jumps off the couch.
‘Okay, that was an honest mistake-” Eman interjects, and the second victim of Aaaqil’s callout laughs. Everyone else takes a moment, then adds to the conversation.
“When Finley’s fish parts fell off.”
“When Callum dropped Yronica on the floor during the prom dance!”
“When Dae-Jung Pak sang and had a voice crack.”
“Seo forgot all her lines when she starts chanting to summon the ghost, and they didn’t know she was just cussing in Korean until Ye-jun started laughing offset.”
“And Arlo had to ask how to tie a bandage…”
“Wowza, I’m gonna have to look for those moments on tape,” Cora notes, clearly intrigued. “And finally: who would survive the Mist?”
“Uh-”
“None of us?”
‘I’m surprised I’m still even alive in the show, with all the stupid stuff my character does,” Riley remarks.
Finally, the video cuts, and some light outro music plays in the background.
“Alright, that’s a wrap!” Cora calls out, and the cast noticeably relaxes.
“Thank you all for watching us act silly for twenty-something minutes! Watch Daybreak on April 1st,” Callum smiles, running a hand through his hair.
“Watch it , you get to see Aaaqil trip over a dead body,” Riley adds.
“Hey!”
“Special thanks to Cora Madden for setting up this interview, love you girl, all my hugs and kisses,“ Yronica says with a mwah from her pink acrylic nails. Eman does a peace sign for the camera.
“All the kisses,” Aaaqil remarks. “To our director, Brenda, and all our fans, love you guys.”
“Like and smash that subscribe button,” Taylor yells, and the cast cheers and claps as the video fades out.
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Comments (32,420, sort by: top comments)
gab.cole2
you guys were so funny in this LOL
kylewolf
flashback to that scene in the blooper reel where callum falls off his chair in detention, no wonder he ran into the fridge
Jun_inagaki
Incredible to work with such a talented cast of young actors, hope you guys go great places
daejuuuuung010
you guys are wonderful <3
also nice dance moves riley, saw the gram video