Simply put, Skyler Samuels is Chloe King.

The 17-year old grew up in Los Angeles, enamored by Hollywood and the industry. She wanted to be on screen, playing dress up every day, acting as different people, using her imagination.

The rising star started getting roles at the age of eight, and has been acting for almost half of her life. In a recent conference call, Samuels told me about stepping into the lead on the new ABC Family drama The Nine Lives of Chloe King, which premiere tonight after Pretty Little Liars.

On the audition process: When I walked into the audition, I introduced myself as Chloe! I was totally embarrassed because I accidentally said Chloe instead of my own name, but sure enough, they agreed, because here I am playing Chloe King, and having the time of my life!

On how closely the show will follow the books: We've taken a lot of creative liberties for our adaptation. We have the same basic ideas as the books with some of the mythology and most of the main characters. But we've made it more exciting, action oriented and spiced it up. I think fans of the book will really appreciate what we've done with the show.

On her character: Chloe is definitely more of a super hero than a supernatural creature. On her 16th birthday she discovered her heightened abilities - super speed, super hearing, claws and the ability to read people's feelings. This incredible combination leads Chloe to want to help people who are in trouble, which is a little difficult because people are always after her in their quest to get rid of the feline race, the Mai.

On the progression of the season: I've seen the first episode, and it was cool, but we just started filming episode eight, and to look back at the pilot and compare it to where the show is now, it's like a completely different show. It's taken the most incredible twists and turns and I think our audience will be really pleased with how the season ends.

On what makes playing Chloe King so exciting: I'm a lot more cautious than Chloe is, and Chloe's kind of taught me how it can be fun to take a risk. The things I've done playing Chloe King have been some of the most incredible experiences of my entire life. She's fearless, she's fun, she's funny, she's quirky, she's honest and she's cool!

Return to TV Fanatic immediately following tonight's series premiere for a detailed review of all the action.

Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.