Bored in quarantine? A new Netflix show stars two former Wichitans, one a famous wrestler
If you’re bored during the stay-at-home order and looking for something to binge on Netflix, here’s one that will also help you support the career of an up-and-coming Wichita-born actress — and of a onetime Wichita State University basketball player turned professional wrestler.
Reylynn Caster, a 17-year-old who made her acting debut 10 years ago on a commercial for Hutchinson’s Midwest Toyota Superstore, is starring in a new show dropping on Netflix today.
It’s called “The Big Show Show,” and it also stars WWE wrestler and Wichita State University alum The Big Show (Paul Wight) as a retired wrestler raising three daughters in Florida. Reylynn is starring as the eldest daughter, Lola.
Reylynn, who was born in Wichita, moved with her family to Los Angeles four years ago so she could pursue her acting career, and her resume keeps getting longer. Over the years, she’s appeared and starred in a variety of television shows, including ABC’s “Speechless,” Disney Channel’s “Walk the Prank” and Amazon’s “Just Add Magic.”
From 2017 to 2018, she starred in the CBS show “Me, Myself and I” followed by ABC’s “American Housewife” in 2019. On that show, she had a recurring role as Brie Witherspoon and appeared in seven episodes.
When she got her latest role, Reylynn said, she was amazed by the coincidental Wichita connections she discovered.
Seven-foot star The Big Show played basketball for Wichita State University during the 1991-1992 season and, according to the Wichita Eagle archives, left after one season, transferring to Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. After that, he returned to Wichita and worked a few jobs, including as a bouncer at The Cowboy Club. Then he hit the professional wrestling big time.
After meeting him, Caster learned that not only did she and The Big Show have Wichita in common but also that her father, Curt, was at Wichita State as a student at the same time The Big Show was. The two even lived in the same dorm building.
“I’ll catch them having conversations about it on set,” she said. “It’s a crazy connection.”
Not only that, but one of the “The Big Show Show’s” creators, Jason Berger, also lived in Wichita for 15 years as a kid. His father was an announcer for the Wichita Thunder hockey team.
Reylynn, who was born in Wichita in March 2003, attended St. Jude Catholic School as a kid and got into acting at the Scottish Rite Signature Theater. She eventually worked with Guild Hall Players and Music Theatre Wichita, too.
In addition to that Toyota commercial, she also worked in “Bender,” a feature film shot at Old Cowtown Museum in 2013, and also in a western film called “Wichita,” which came out in 2015
It was on the “Bender” set that Reylynn met Ginger Bynorth, a Wichita filmmaker who not only served as Reylynn’s acting coach but also helped her film and edit audition tapes — and get them to the right people in Los Angeles.
One of those audition tapes, for the 2017 X-Men movie “Logan,” led to Reylynn’s first big break. Though she didn’t get a role in the movie, it did catch the attention of a talent agency in Los Angeles.
Her entire family, including her parents and two older siblings, relocated to Los Angeles county 2016 so that Reylynn could continue her acting career.
Reylynn sad she loved filming the first eight-episode season of “The Big Show Show” and hopes it gets picked up for another season. She grew close to the cast and crew, and she truly related to her character, she said.
“I love Lola,” she said. “She’s actually a lot like me. She’s a little sporty and pretty confident in herself. She’s kind of the typical teenage girl — very competitive but in a healthy way, and she and The Big Show are constantly going head-to-head.”
The show was always set to drop on April 6, Reylynn said, and its debut coinciding with the coronavirus pandemic comes with both advantages and disadvantages.
The whole cast was scheduled to promote the show on “WrestleMania,” she said, but that and a few other press opportunities were canceled because of the pandemic.
On the other hand, the show is dropping at a moment in time when people are trapped in their homes, looking for family entertainment.
“The Big Show Show” is perfect for that moment, she said.
“I might be biased, but I think it’s incredible.”
This story was originally published April 6, 2020 at 2:36 PM.
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