# Netflix's rowing romance has a coxswain problem

> The cast of Crew Girl on abs, rivalry, and tipping the boat six times in training.
- Title: Netflix's rowing romance has a coxswain problem | Shortify
- Summary: The cast of Crew Girl on abs, rivalry, and tipping the boat six times in training. Crew Girl is a teen rowing drama built on two romance tropes at once…
- Keywords: netflix, crew girl, teen drama, rowing, romance tropes, Netflix's, romance, coxswain, problem, Woman's World
- Source: Woman's World — https://womansworld.com/entertainment/tv-shows/crew-girl-cast-reveals-tropes-book-fans-will-love-exclusive
- Author: Julianne MacNeill
- Published: 2026-09-10T21:24:54+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: netflix, crew girl, teen drama, rowing, romance tropes
## Three words, many abs
Asked to sum up their show, Miku Martineau went with drama, abs, rowing. Kyle Clark offered rivalry, passion, chemistry. Sam Braun landed on stud muffins.

> Drama, abs, rowing.
## A rower with no team
Teagan Tao is a competitive high school rower forced to move to the East Coast after a family scandal. Her new school has no girls' rowing team.
## So she runs the boat
Teagan joins the boys' team as their coxswain, the person who steers the boat and coordinates the crew. Different job, same sport, everything new.
## Caught between two rowers
Quiet townie Cam Dillinger and star rower Josh Regis both pull her in, while all three carry family drama of their own.
## Two tropes, one deck
The show runs enemies-to-lovers and friends-to-lovers side by side. Martineau prefers enemies-to-lovers on screen, though not in real life.

> My personal life, no, I don't want an enemy.
## The cast picks sides
Clark claimed friends-to-lovers, which Martineau called on brand, then pointed at Braun as the enemies-to-lovers one. Braun agreed twice over.

> For sure, for sure.
## Four weeks to learn rowing
None of them knew the sport going in. Martineau said the precision, coordination, and teamwork blew her away once real coaches got involved.
## Sam tipped the boat six times
Clark nominated Braun as the best real-life rower. Braun countered that when they swapped seats in pairs, he dumped them into the water repeatedly.

> I tipped the boat like six times, and we kept falling into the water.
## Eight boys, one voice
Braun said the coxswain job takes a specific kind of person, and credited Martineau's presence for actually controlling a boat full of teenage rowers.

> It really takes a special person to gather eight boys in a boat.
## Advice for their own characters
Martineau would tell Teagan it's okay to make mistakes. Clark would say trust the process. Braun would tell Josh to breathe and drop the pressure.

> You don't have to have it all together right now.
## Key takeaway

Crew Girl is a teen rowing drama built on two romance tropes at once, landing on Netflix September 10, 2026.