Behind the Scenes of ‘The Following’ with Kevin Williamson

The Following creator Kevin Williamson says season two of the addictive Fox drama will find Ryan Hardy dying during the premiere episode and Kevin Bacon leaving the show. George Clooney will take his place and… All right, so you’ve figured out Williamson has a sense of humor, haven’t you? Williamson actually won’t be killing off Ryan Hardy – and Kevin Bacon is definitely returning for season two – so what is actually happening on the dramatic thriller’s second season?

“It’s interesting because I feel like it’s not even a first and second season because it’s continuing,” explained Williamson during our interview at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con. “We’re resetting the show, we’re telling a whole new show. I sort of see the whole thing as the first season ended the way that Joe Carroll wanted his final chapter of the book to be. In the pilot episode he said, ‘You know, my first book was too avant-garde and we’re going to go a little more traditional this time.’ And, that’s what he did: tradition. The hero killed the villain and it came complete with a Glenn Close surprise at the end with Molly. That’s as traditional as you can get.”

“Now, here’s the epilogue of what really happened and what’s going to happen next. It gets a little more insidious. It gets a little crazier,” added Williamson. “It’s just a way to tell a new story – it’s like the second book. I sort of see the whole thing as like a series of books. We saw one book last year; here’s the next book. We have some of our returning characters and a bunch of new ones, and we’re telling a brand new story. It’s a year later…Ryan Hardy, where is he? He’s not in the FBI. He’s trying to rebuild his life. Here’s a man who’s had no hope. What would hope look like on him if he had a little bit of hope?”

Williamson also discussed the new characters (including a possible love interest for Hardy), what’s happening with Shawn Ashmore’s character, and this new world that will be created in season two.