Meet Oz’s New Dorothy! 5 Things to Know About Emerald City’s Adria Arjona

We’re not in Judy Garland’s Kansas anymore.

NBC’s new drama Emerald City imagines the world made famous in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz in a dark, modernized story from visionary director Tarsem Singh.

At the center of Emerald City is actress Adria Arjona, who stars as a 20-year-old nurse named Dorothy.

Here are 5 things to know about the 24-year-old actress, who is featured in the current issue of PEOPLE:

1. There’s no place like New York City for this Puerto Rican-Guatemalan actress.
Arjona was born in Puerto Rico but spent her life on the road.

“My dad is a musician, so I grew up on a tour bus and surrounded my musicians,” Arjona tells PEOPLE of growing up mainly in Mexico City and Miami. “I never felt at home in Miami or Mexico. The only place I’ve really felt home is New York City. I lived there five years and I love there more than anywhere in the world. I get the city. I get these people. I’m in love with New York.”

2. Her dad insisted she had a backup plan when she moved away at 18 to pursue acting.
“I remember perfectly my dad calling me and telling me I needed a plan B and to graduate college. And after three months he called me and said, ‘What do you think? How is it going?’ And I said, ‘Dad, I love it. I will be nothing but an actress. I love it so much,’ ” she recalls. “His only response was, ‘You remember that plan B we were talking about? Today forget about it.’ That was the moment we both realized there was nothing else. If this doesn’t work out, I’m pretty much doomed.”

3. When she sets a goal, she makes it happen.
Arjona says she initially thought she’d go into theater, but when her manager started sending her out for TV and film work, the actress set her sights on her dream job: working on season 2 of HBO’s True Detective.

“I had in my head was that I wanted to be in True Detective,” she says. “I don’t know how we did it, but I got on the show and that moved me to Los Angeles.”

For more from Arjona — and the dish on all of winter’s hottest new and returning shows — pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands now

4. She almost said no to auditioning for Emerald City.
“When I got the call to audition for Dorothy, I first said no. I thought they would never pick me,” she says. “I was like, ‘I’m Hispanic, they’ll never cast me as Dorothy. I’m not learning 10 pages and spending two days preparing.’ ”

But her manager convinced her it was worth her time.

“I made a decision to give it 120 percent knowing I was walking in the door at this disadvantage, but proving to them that they had to look beyond colors or labels,” says Arjona. “I guess I hit it out of the park. They weren’t looking for a Hispanic actress. They just wanted an actress.”

5. She really enjoys meeting her fans.
“I was at a restaurant and someone came up to me, this beautiful young girl and her boyfriend, and they said my name and I said, ‘Hey, I’m sorry, I don’t recognize you.’ And they said, ‘No! You were on True Detective! Can we take a picture with you?’ ” she recalls. “I was, like, ‘Of course! Can I take a picture with you, too?’ We both ended up taking selfies. I thanked them and asked them to join me for a drink.”

Emerald City premieres Friday at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.