Netflix’s new mystery thriller, I Will Find You, boasts a star-studded hodgepodge of actors from some of television’s biggest hits. Among them is Dear White People alum Logan Browning, who’s making her Netflix homecoming in the eight-episode miniseries, which also stars Sam Worthington, Britt Lower, Milo Ventimiglia, and Chi McBride.

“Coming into [I Will Find You], I was such a fan of a lot of these actors,” Browning told DECIDER when she stopped by our studio earlier this month, sharing that she had predicted Lower’s 2025 Emmy win for Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series for her role(s) in Severance on the first day of filming the Harlan Coben series.

“I watched Severance, I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I’m working with Britt Lower. She’s incredible,'” Browning recalled. “When I saw her on the first day, I said, ‘I just want you to know you’re going to get the Emmy.'”

In I Will Find You, Lower plays Rachel Mills, a former reporter who presents David Burroughs (Worthington), her ex-brother-in-law who’s serving a life sentence for the murder of his son, with information that could potentially clear his name. Browning, for her part, plays Sarah Greer, a member of the FBI’s Fugitive Task Force who is assigned to recapturing David after he escapes from prison.

“I’m happy for every actor who continues to get to do their craft, even Sam. He’s done just the highest-grossing film [Avatar]. No big deal,” Browning joked. “Acting and being employed is not to be taken for granted and to be able to do work with people that you want to do work with is not to be taken for granted.”

When DECIDER sat down with Browning, she also spoke about working directly with Coben, the advice she got from her friend in the FBI, and how she’d feel about a Bratz: The Movie sequel. Check out the full interview below — but beware of spoilers for the ending of I Will Find You!

---

DECIDER: I’m so excited to talk to you about your new Netflix show, I Will Find You. What initially drew you to the character of Sarah Greer?

LOGAN BROWNING: It’s based on Harlan Coben’s book, and I am obsessed with all of the series he has. I don’t know if you’ve ever just typed his name in on Netflix, but he has no short of a million mini-series, and they’re all so good. The people behind it drew me to the project. Also, I love Netflix. I obviously have worked with Netflix a couple of times before. I’ve never really played law enforcement. This was new for me. This was a new lane, and I just felt like [Sarah Greer] has so many redeemable qualities. I don’t know if this is TMI, but I know an FBI agent, personally. I have one that I’m very close to, and when I met her, I was like, “Yeah, you are a real person.” I could see the character not just as words on a page, but I was like, “Yeah, you are a real person. You’re not a unicorn. You’re a person that exists in the world.” So, I was excited to try something new. 

Did your friend give you any advice? 

Oh, I called her all the time. I was asking, “What do you think of this?” She’s like, “Okay, now listen, it’s the movies, right? So they might not be doing things the way I do it, but this is how I would do it.” I would ask her, “When you’re leaving the house to go to someone’s house, what are you bringing in the car? Do you have snacks? Do you have water? What’s in your trunk? What do you pack? Do you wear sneakers? Do you wear dress shoes?” I was so curious. But at the end of the day, the director is going to tell you what it is.

You are known and loved for your role in Dear White People. Did you find it easier walking in a straight line of drama in a show like I Will Find You, versus that ever-changing back-and-forth between drama and comedy like in Dear White People? 

That’s such a good question. I loved Dear White People so much. It’s obviously satire, so there was that comedic element, and the sets were always so fun. I think the difference for me in doing I Will Find you is coming into it, I was such a fan of a lot of these actors. I watched Severance, I was like, “Oh, my gosh, I’m working with Britt Lower. She’s incredible.” When I saw her on the first day, I said, “I just want you to know you’re going to get the Emmy.” She was like, “I don’t know.” I was like, “You’re getting the Emmy, because you’re so good.” This was a new experience for me to work with these people who I admire so much, and to get to watch them work, as well. 

We mentioned him before, Harlan Coben obviously wrote the book this show is based on. How involved was he in everything behind the scenes? What was it like working directly with him? 

Harlan was there. He is on set, and he kind of towers. He’s got a presence and he’s there and he’s so lovely. He’s so personable. We filmed in Washington Square Park, My brother lives here, some of my girlfriends from college live here in New York, and they came to set and I was like, “Harlan, my friend’s a fan, can they say hi?”He was just so lovely and warm, and he brings that energy to set, and I think that’s why all of the characters feel like real people, because that’s his vibe. He’s warm and lovely.

You and Chi McBride are so good at playing a father-daughter FBI team. I thought it was really great how you guys struck that balance between moments when you’re family versus when you’re coworkers. What kind of conversations did you two have going into this? 

Wow. Working with Chi was such a treat for me. He is fascinating on a set. One of his favorite lines is when is when [it’s] time to go, he’s like, “I am off Netflix time and on my time. I gotta go.” He’s about the business. He shows up, he does his work, he does a great job, and leaves. I really learned as well from Chi how to speak up for a character. Our writers are incredible, but sometimes you see something and you’re like, “I don’t know if this resonates or if I would say it like this.” Chi is very upfront about that. I think he instilled in me like a permission to speak up on my thoughts. When I watch some clips, I remember that moment. I remember what the line was, I remember how I felt, and I believe this was the right choice. There’s usually guardrails when it comes to dialogue, and that’s what’s so great about our writers is they’re really open to it being authentic. I learned a lot from Chi. The other cool thing, and maybe actors will appreciate this in terms of tips, he watches adjacent television and film in between scenes. I’m telling his secrets. I didn’t even get consent from him, I’m just doing it. But he does, and I’m like, that is such a good idea because we are sponges and we absorb what we watch, and I thought, ‘Wow, next project, I need to do more of that.”

Everybody in this show is just so good. I do want to talk a little bit about Britt Lower, who has skyrocketed since being in Severance. You’ve been in this industry for a really long time. What’s it like to see her finally getting her flowers? 

You know what’s so interesting? I am being exposed to Britt’s resume prior to Severance now. I’m able to go back and be like, “Wow, she was in this and she’s so wonderful in this.” I’m happy for her. I’m happy for every actor who continues to get to do their craft, even Sam [Worthington]. He’s done just the highest grossing film. No big deal. Acting and being employed is not to be taken for granted and to be able to do work with people that you want to do work with is not to be taken for granted. I think any actor would say that. I think it’s a blessing, especially when you consider how a pandemic and two strikes shut our industry down. It’s a blessing. They all were so generous. There’s a scene we did and Britt texted me after the scene, I got home and she was like, “You were so good today.” I’m like, “Britt Lower thinks I’m good?! That’s so cool.” They’re wonderful humans, and only up. 

It was a bit of a cat and mouse game between you and Sam. There were some really great scenes that you guys shared, one of which was when you were chasing him and you were jumping over rooftops. Were you doing your own stunts, and what do you remember about those more physical scenes? 

Yes and. I was on the roof, but I also had an incredible stunt double. Her name is Marley, and I think she was maybe 19. She’s young, she’s got a whole career ahead of her. She’s a dancer, she’s wonderful, and she was so game. Her dad was there, I think, because this was a big deal. That roof jump that she had to do, anyone would be nervous to do that, and she did it so beautifully. I, too, for two days, was running across a hot roof and jumping and climbing on things, and I have the bruises to show for it, but it was a lot of fun. It was awesome. I want to do more of that. I want to do more action. It’s just such a dope, physical challenge to push yourself to those limits. 

There was one moment – it’s not really captured in the series, but we filmed it – where on the roof, Sam climbs and jumps and then I follow him. Our director wanted it in the same shot, but I hadn’t done the thing before. Sam goes, and they’re like, “And Logan!” And I was like, “I don’t know if I can do this. I don’t know if I can do this.” And they’re like, “Logan!” I’m just sitting there like, “I don’t think I can do this.” I was talking myself into it because they were rolling. You don’t get to see any of this, so I’m gonna tell you. I was like, “I need an apple box. I need an apple box,” because I couldn’t climb up on this ledge. A PA brings an apple box. One of our producers on set could hear me saying, “Logan, you got this. Logan, you got this. Just go, just go, just go.” I just ran. I jumped on this apple box. I jumped on the thing and I climbed down, and I was so proud of myself.

That’s so exciting. You guys had some really great, crazy stunt scenes. Sarah, there were so many layers to her, kind of starting with the fact that she was really the only one in law enforcement who started to see maybe David’s innocence. At what point do you think the tide started to shift within her? How as an actor did you navigate both her doubts and the morality compared to her commitment to her job? 

This show as a whole has a lot of father-child dynamics, whether that’s in the prison, the warden and his son. You have Chi and myself. You have David and his son. You have David and his father. You have all these dynamics of fathers and their children. You also have the generational differences in how you see things. The answer to your question is there’s a moment when Sarah and Max are in the car and she asks him, “Have you ever been chasing someone you thought might be innocent?” That’s such a good question for us to be asking, especially when you consider the prison system in America, and how and why and who is incarcerated for what reasons. This guy is innocent. [Max] goes on and tells a story and he says, “You’re going to do your job at the end of the day.” It’s funny, as Sarah, I believe my job is not just what’s on the page. My job is to find the truth. My job is to be a warrior for justice, and that’s how I feel as Logan, too. The truth is the truth, and I would always go for that. 

Sarah could have very easily been written as this one-dimensional FBI, just go out and do the job, but she has so many layers. She has all those layers to her. What is it like for you as an actor to get to play someone like that? 

I love it because it’s the dream. It means that when I work with directors, I get to have really interesting conversations. I remember the scene with Sarah and David in the car. It’s the first time the two of them, and for me going into it, I’m like, “This guy is still a fugitive. I’m not sure what’s going to happen down the road.” I remember Maggie [Kiley], who directed that episode, said to me, “You could be a little more warm towards him.” I was kind of fighting her on the idea. She said something to me and she’s like, “Well, can you just hear him for the first time?” I think that was such a beautiful direction because it’s true. Someone who is considered a fugitive and is sharing this deep story there, he’s talking about his son, to hear him for the first time, that was another moment where there’s a turn that happens there. So as an actor, I love it, mostly because of the conversations that I get to have with the writers and directors. 

Admittedly, my first introduction to this story was watching this show. I have not read the book. But I did read the way that the book ended, and it’s a little bit different than how the show ends. What did you think about those changes that were made? 

I’m going to be honest. I didn’t read the book. Harlan, I’m confessing. This is a confession to you, Harlan. I didn’t read the book because everyone kept saying that my character was so different from the book. Maybe now I’ll do it. But I really wanted to honor what was on the page in front of me. 

Speaking of the ending, we’re so used to watching Milo’s Ventimiglia as this lovable dad on This Is Us and the teen heartthrob in Gilmore Girls. I was really thrown off when he ended up being the bad guy. What was it like to work with him? How did you think he did playing this double life?

I’ve worked with Milo before. Forever ago, we did this thriller that we filmed in Savannah. I’ve had the pleasure of watching his career and watching him be this lovable guy, not just as his character, but on sets. He is that warm person. He was filming something else and had just come to the set and had his hair shaved low like that, and I remember them being like, “Oh no, does he look menacing or not like the sweet guy with the low cut?” So, hearing you say that you had no you had no inkling, that’s a good thing. That’s a good sign. He just seemed like a lover scorned. He just was so in love, and that was his motive. That’s what I think I got from reading it. He just wanted this girl back. 

Shifting gears a little bit, I would be remiss if I did not ask you about Bratz: The Movie, which is coming up on its 20th anniversary next year. Are you still in touch with your castmates? What is it like to be part of something that has held up for so long? 

Yeah, it’s so funny … Bratz is everywhere. I love seeing people break apart all of the different scenes. There’s a guy I just ran into who does these spoofs of Bratz and it’s so funny. We’re all still in touch, all of the girls … We all live in different places now. I’d say 10 years ago we were all very, very close. It was like Bratz for life vibes. But people are out, Nathalia [Ramos] has kids, everyone’s living their lives. But that was a wonderful time. It’s good times. I have fond memories of filming. 

Maybe we’ll get a sequel soon. 

Oh, my gosh. Imagine I’m with my cane again, singing, “You got that bratitude.” Yeah, sure.

One last quick question for you. I know you’re booked and busy, but are there any other projects that you’re working on that you can tease? 

Yeah, I did another series. It’s just not out yet. It’s called Criminal on Amazon [Prime Video], and it also has such a cool cast and my characters are oddly similar on that show. I play an internal affairs detective. So, again, someone who’s chasing the truth. I filmed that one first, and I’m really excited that I Will Find You is the first one coming out, because I get to be back with my Netflix family and it just feels like home.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

I Will Find You is currently streaming on Netflix.