MTV Actress, Northville Native, Excited About Second Season of 'Awkward.'

She didn’t know it at the time, but 20-year-old actress ’s time as a student at would someday prepare her for the MTV show that she stars in today.

Many shows and movies tackle, even parody, the teenage high school experience. Awkward., while staying true to its title, is a fresh dramatic comedy that aims to go a step further, she said.

The show is narrated by Jenna, a teenager who starts off her school year attempting to trump a false rumor that she botched a suicide attempt. The role is played by Ashley Rickards. Reed plays her best friend Tamara, who could best be described as dramatic, blunt and desperate for the in-crowd’s acceptance.

The show tackles the subjects of bullying, sex, relationships, body image and teenage social hierarchies, and is reminiscent of Tina Fey's Mean Girls.

“It’s very smart. It’s very funny but in a very real way. So I was hoping people would take to it but you never know what to expect,” Reed said in an interview with Northville Patch, while home in Michigan for the holidays. “And you never know how big it’s going to be.”

The show, which wrapped up its first season in 2011, has been named to a number of TV top 10 lists, including the Huffington Post’s, and has since been picked up for a second season.

Playing Tamara

Reed’s character has an interesting story throughout the season. She is supportive of her best friend but has some awkward experiences of her own.

“It’s kind of fun for us to kind of go back and relive it because we do all have those real experiences and those awkward moments that we’ve all had in high school,” she said. “So it’s pretty easy to relate to the characters.”

For Reed, playing the boisterous Tamara is not too far a stretch from her own personality.

“She’s definitely a crazy character. She kind of has no censor on anything she says. She speaks her mind,” Reed said with a laugh. “I definitely speak my mind too.”

But the similarities don’t stop there.

“We both have a love of theater. So we’re crazy that way,” she said. “We have some style similarities. She likes to wear funky vintage clothing and I definitely have that kind of a flair too.”

She added, “There’s a lot more similarities than there are differences.”

Among the varieties of characters on the cast, Reed loves playing the part of Jenna’s best friend.

“I just love that she just gets all the funny lines. Tamara is so different from Jenna. I love the character balance between the two of them,” she said. “I love being the character that gets to do all the crazy stuff yet be relatable. People tell me all the time, ‘Your character is just like my best friend.’”

In coming seasons, Reed hopes the audience has a greater insight into what makes Tamara tick.

“I definitely would like to see more of Tamara’s home life. We met her mom briefly in episode six but I would love to see more about where she comes from and what her home life is like,” she said. “She’s such a quirky character I just think it would be awesome to explore what makes her so quirky.”

Behind the scenes, she said, the cast is like a big family. Reed said she is especially close to the actress that plays Jenna’s bully, Molly Tarlov.

As for next season?

“I haven’t read the script yet so I don’t have any teasers for you but I do know a lot of questions will be answered from last season," she said.

One of the questions, about a blunt and mean letter that Jenna received as well as more about her love triangle with characters Matty and Jake, will probably be resolved, Reed said.

Other projects

While working with MTV, Reed has also gotten to star in the network’s feature film called My Super Psycho Sweet 16: Part 3. She shot the movie, her first foray into the horror genre, for five weeks in Atlanta.

“I got to work with all the fake blood and the gore and the guts,” Reed said. “It’s challenging but it’s fun.”

Although she’s not much of a horror film fan herself, she said she enjoyed seeing how one is filmed and wouldn’t mind starring in another scary movie.

“I had so much fun doing it,” she said. “I would love to do sci-fi films. I think they’re so interesting, making them … It’s definitely something I want to explore.”

In California, where Awkward. is filmed and where Reed lives, she has gotten involved in a cause dear to her – the American Diabetes Association.

“I became involved in the ADA because my older brother has Type 1 diabetes and it’s always been something I’ve wanted to be able to help out with. Now, I’m finally to a point where I can,” she said.

She helps out with events and promoting the group’s Los Angeles chapter.

“Really I’m just involved because I want to help raise awareness on behalf of my brother who has struggled with it,” she said. “I just hope to promote healthy living and eating and exercise ... I hope through my work with the ADA I can send a positive message.”

Coming home

Reed has a big family in Michigan, which she comes home to every holiday. Her family owns a home in Northville Township. She also regards Northville as the town in which she got her start in acting.

“I started when I was very young. I was 7. I started at the here in Northville doing little chorus parts in the plays,” she said. “As I grew up, I started getting the leads and I loved it. I love the theater. I love being on the stage.”

Her mother, Lisa Reed-Tucker, said she knew early on that her daughter would excel as an actress.

“She has that certain ‘it’ factor,” Reed-Tucker said. “She’s very humble about her success.”

Reed then pursued acting in commercials and eventually she, her mother and brother Robbie Tucker moved to Los Angeles. Since then, she has appeared in episodes of Showtime's Weeds, HBO's Hung, ABC's The Middle and the NBC's Community.

Though she’s been in Los Angeles for several years now, she enjoys coming home to Michigan.

“I love it during Christmas. That’s the best part of coming home, is seeing the snow,” she said. “Now that I don’t live here, I love coming home to the cold.”