Rowan Blanchard is very online on Letterboxd, but if you feel like she only ever has nice things to say, you are not imagining it. There is a simple reason: she refuses to post about movies she does not like. It is not coyness. It is career management.
Her Letterboxd ground rules
In a new Teen Vogue interview, Blanchard says she keeps her Letterboxd strictly movies-only (no TV), and she only writes up films she genuinely loves. She has posted some impressively thoughtful entries — including one for Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh's 'Heavenly Creatures' — but you will not catch her dunking on a bad watch.
"No, because I'm an actress and I want to be employed."
Honestly, fair. That also explains why you will not find a self-review of her current Hulu series, 'The Testaments' — even if she wanted to, she does not cover TV on her account.
Where 'The Testaments' stands right now
Hulu launched a three-episode premiere on April 8, and the show has reportedly piled up 45 million streaming hours worldwide. A second season is already a go, and Blanchard is expected to return.
On the series, she plays Shunammite — often called Shu — and she has thoughts about where that character goes next. Blanchard wants to see what finally shakes Shu awake. In her words, she is curious about the moment that makes Shu realize something is off, because that realization only really lands toward the end of Season 1. In other words: what cracks her, and how?
Growing up in Hollywood, but not that version
Blanchard started working young and spent most of her life in Los Angeles. She is pretty clear that the glossy, over-the-top LA stereotype exists, but it was not her reality. Her version was less Champagne, more grind. She points to the stuff she landed as a kid — not as a fluke, but as the result of a lot of work — and then the pivot into more adult roles.
Quick catch-up on Rowan right now
- Letterboxd presence: active, thoughtful, and strictly positive; she only reviews movies she loves (see: her 'Heavenly Creatures' write-up) and avoids TV entirely.
- The Testaments: three-episode premiere dropped April 8 on Hulu; reportedly at 45 million global streaming hours; Season 2 is greenlit; Blanchard plays Shunammite (Shu) and is expected back.
- Career snapshot: early roles in 'Spy Kids: All the Time in the World' and Disney Channel's 'Girl Meets World'; more recently in 'Snowpiercer' and now 'The Testaments'.
The takeaway
Blanchard’s approach to Letterboxd is basically a professional survival guide in public: celebrate the work you love, leave the rest alone, and keep your TV chatter off the app. Meanwhile, her Hulu series is humming along, and if she gets her wish next season, Shu is due for a reality check — the kind that makes for good TV.