In 2012, creator April Blair combined the world of fashion with a classic double-life twist to make Jane by Design — a charming, light-hearted drama that my sister and I eagerly tuned into every week.

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Certain shows just stick with you, and I’m still annoyed we never got a second season. What would’ve happened with Jane and Billy? Would Gray have found out Jane’s secret?

Erica Dasher did an incredible job bringing the unforgettable Jane Quimby to life. I sat down with Erica to chat about stepping into the world of Hollywood, unforgettable co-stars, and how she thinks the story might have continued.Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

BuzzFeed: I recently re-watched Jane by Design, and in my opinion, it held up impressively!Erica Dasher: Oh gosh, I have not seen it in a while! (Erica laughs)

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To start off, let's talk about the fashion. Jane had many memorable dresses and outfits. Did you get to keep any of them?I did get to keep some of the clothes, not all of them. There was a little black dress right in the second half of the season. It had a floofy skirt, and I felt like Audrey Hepburn in it, so I kept that. There were some Theory blazers that I kept and still wear, and a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes. But I do have to say, the more expensive the shoe, the more painful!There is a funny thing that happened right before the pilot. I broke my ankle, and so I had a body double in the first episode for the running scenes in the heels. There's also a montage sequence of me trying on different shoes, and it's just a profile of my foot in the shoe. I literally couldn't wear them, and so they just changed the shoe while I sat down.I recently shot a new television show for Peacock [The Burbs], and I broke the same ankle! They sent the same studio doctor to see me, and she was like, "I haven't seen you since 2012!"

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Erica Dasher and Jane by Design costume designer, Olivia Miles.

Was there a favorite outfit or accessory?Oh yeah, being handed the Birkin! We had a Birkin episode, and it's a $30,000 bag. It had a private handler, so I would take the Birkin away, and then someone would follow me around. So I had my very own "Jane by Design" following me around the set, making sure nothing happened to it. I thought that was pretty funny!I always thought the set for Donovan Decker felt like a real fashion company. What was it like to step into that world?Jane by Design was my first show, and I'm from suburban Texas, not from Hollywood at all. I remember thinking before I walked in, "Whoa, this is going to be huge! There's going to be cranes and cameras and hundreds of people!" I just couldn't even comprehend the sheer scale of it.We shot in New York, London, and Paris, which was pretty cool, but we shot mostly on the Santa Clarita stages. They had a sound stage that was dedicated to my house and the high school, and then a sound stage that was dedicated to Donovan Decker. It was massive. The scale of it was really remarkable and beautiful, and felt like you were walking into Vogue.

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Erica Dasher and India de Beaufort in the pilot episode.

Can you describe what a sound stage looks like?They're essentially empty warehouses, but they're all equipped to handle lights and massive walls that they build and furniture they bring in. Basically, they're building whole cityscapes from nothing, and that's what they did with Donovan Decker.Even outside Donovan Decker, I think there are some scenes where I'm picking up coffee at a kiosk, and that was all on the actual stage!The power of Hollywood! Speaking of Donovan Decker, Gray was such a great character. What was it like sharing scenes with Andie MacDowell?I felt so unbelievably lucky to work with her. First of all, she's an icon, and she's the most beautiful woman on the planet. You see her and you're like, "Wow, she is remarkably gorgeous!" Then she steps in front of the lens, and the camera loves her. She is so kind and cool, and has been a champion for me.I sat with the cameraman a lot on set, and I was very curious about the lenses and how everything was done. Andie noticed that and said she thought that I might be a director. I ended up directing a couple of music videos for her daughter, Rainey, and that was what started me behind the camera. Now I've been directing commercials, short films, and I even made a documentary! So she recognized that even before I did, and has continued to be a champion.

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Erica Dasher and Andie MacDowell on the Jane by Design set.

You also had some memorable co-workers with India [portrayed by India de Beaufort] and Jeremy [portrayed by Rowly Dennis].India, as an actress, is so sharp and so funny. She was so on it, prepared and playful, and we always had fun.

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India de Beaufort, Erica Dasher, and Andie MacDowell on set for Jane by Design.

When Rowly first came in to read with me, we were all like, "Ooh, swoon, he's British!" He really is that suave! (Laughs) He and I have continued to be friends, too.

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Rowly Dennis and Erica Dasher on set for Jane by Design.

Arguably, the most important character in Jane's life was her best friend, Billy. What were some of your favorite memories working with Nick Roux?I literally was on the phone with Nick yesterday! We are still very close friends. It's hard to pick a favorite moment because to me, the whole show is Billy. We had so much chemistry, and there's so much warmth.Nick really is Billy, because he's really interested in fashion. He's had many looks over the years — he has tattoos, and he changes his hair. The outside can look like a bit of a rebel, but he is just the kindest, most generous, warmest person that I've met in Hollywood.

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You mentioned traveling to London and Paris. What was it like getting to travel and film around the world?A total dream. I got flown business class, because we were with the production, and it was the first time I had ever flown business. I felt so connected to Jane. I couldn't believe that we had the legend Andie MacDowell, that I was working underneath the Eiffel Tower, even getting served wine at lunch in Paris. It was my first job, and I got to go to fashion week in New York and Berlin. It felt like I won the lottery.It was such a nice way to come into the industry because Jane is such a sweet, wholesome character. We would do a lot of exterior shots in New York, and the nicest mothers and daughters would come up to me on the street to say hi. Even now, someone who works for Amazon or at my local ice cream shop will recognize me and it's always this very pure, wholesome connection.

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That's the Eiffel Tower in the background!

It was definitely an amazing opportunity for your first job!It was wild! We would shoot like 14, 16-hour days. I was doing press at lunch. We were doing press on the weekends. I did not sleep. Sometimes there are these incredibly long hours in TV, and being number one on a television show sounds very sexy, but it's an incredibly grueling job. I think just taking care of myself, mentally, physically, emotionally — now I have all of those practices in place. But as a kid, I was like, I don't know how to do all of this!

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I was heartbroken that there was never a Season 2! What do you think would have happened next?I mean, there's no way that Jane and Billy aren't endgame, right? I think it would have taken several seasons had we been able to do that. Nick and I joke a lot about if we should start a TikTok of Jane and Billy, like, riding off near the sunset and starting a new life on a farm. (Laughs) We have our fanfiction about Jane and Billy. So many people reach out to us online still, especially if we're hanging out and we post a story together on Instagram.When it comes to Gray, I think, yes, she would have discovered Jane's secret. But I think she would have helped Jane navigate becoming a proper employee and moving up in the corporate world. There was so much room for conflict and drama!

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Where do you think Jane would be now, in 2025?Well you know, Anna Wintour is stepping down. I like to think that Jane would have come up on the list! She would be a corporate power-player in the fashion world, or maybe she's a designer, like maybe she's the new head of McQueen.Something I loved about her character was her ambition fused with her blind optimism, almost verging on delusion! I think that those are the necessary ingredients to move forward in the corporate world.

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What are some projects you worked on after Jane by Design?After Jane by Design, I made a documentary called Figures of Speech with my best friend Sami Kriegstein. We followed four different high school speech and debate teams over the course of a year to their final tournament in Las Vegas. So that was a big undertaking. We edited 400 hours of footage to 90 minutes! Chris Pine narrated it, and we sold it to Netflix.I also started directing videos for Andie's daughter, Rainey, and Pia Mia. I did commercials for Billboard Music and Guess Perfume, and made a couple of short films — one with Rosario Dawson, and one more recently that I haven't put out yet.

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Earlier, you mentioned a new show. Can you tell me about some current projects you are working on?Well, I have a play in New York that's in workshop right now with Tony winner Brandon Uranowitz, which is super exciting! I just wrapped a movie with David Krumholtz and Michael Strassner, written and directed by Alex Beh, called Tuesday, New York. I recently finished shooting a new Peacock show called The Burbs with Keke Palmer and Jack Whitehall, written by Celeste Hughey. Brian Grazer and Seth MacFarlane are producing that show as well, so it’s been another dream come true! I feel very fortunate to know and work with such brilliant minds!

Finally, if you could go back to 2012 and give yourself a piece of advice, what would you tell yourself?Oh, wow, that's a great question. You know, I think Hollywood is a crazy place, and I was very worried about doing everything right. I had a lot of fear — like I would go to red carpets and take the photos and leave. I didn't stay and hang out because I was very young, and I don't think I had developed a real sense of self-worth and value.I went from a kid in suburban Texas to sitting in the front row of Fashion Week and being on billboards. There was a moment when Andie and I were shooting in New York, and it still makes me emotional! I couldn't believe that we were on the steps of Lincoln Center, and we were looking at the opera, and it was so beautiful. I was so in awe and had to trust that I deserved to be there.I wish I could have just relaxed a little bit into it. But, I’m just so grateful for it all!

Thank you, Erica, for sharing your memories! Keep up with Erica on her official website and Instagram. Keep an eye out for The Burbs, a new mystery-comedy coming to Peacock.

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