NBC once again brought almost all of the main Grimm cast to the San Diego Comic Con to take part in a panel with fans of the popular series. Grimm stars David Giuntoli and Bitsie Tulloch even shared a little more than just hints at the upcoming sixth season of the series, with Tulloch wearing her engagement ring in public for what she confirmed was the first time. The couple have been dating for two years and got engaged in April. But, back to Grimm. Season six has a 13 episode order as of now and should be returning to NBC’s primetime lineup this fall. Season five’s finale found #TeamGrimm taking on Captain-turned-Mayor Sean Renard (played by Sasha Roiz) and season six will find the Scooby Gang and Renard now bitter enemies.
That first time public acknowledgement of his engagement might be one of the reasons Giuntoli was in an incredibly good mood in the press room at Comic Con. During our brief interview, Giuntoli said Renard’s gone full evil. “He’s tasted a little bit of power as the Mayor of Portland, Oregon – the most powerful position in the world,” joked Giuntoli. “I want to be alderman one day! No, he’s gone full dark side and he looks good in black. He’s got like a Dieter kind of like mock turtleneck. His nipples you can see through it. They get hard when he talks about power. It’s true – they just [pop up] every time.”
Turning just slightly more serious, Giuntoli added, “So, we go against Renard. It’s intense. He plays a good villain, Sasha. We, I think as a gang, if he becomes mayor he can kind of have the city in the palm of his hand and all the power in that so we try to make that not happen.”
Asked if he has a preference for how he wants Nick’s personal relationships to work out, Giuntoli replied, “Yeah. Nick wants to be with the woman who wants to kill him the least. I feel like he should have a thermometer, like a gauge. ‘Are we in the blue zone? Come with me.’ But it’s been a veritable Jerry Springer show, if all that stuff ever comes to a head.”
Will the next season be more action-oriented than season five? “What I don’t see happening – and I’m actually pleased about this – is that I think the world we’re going to keep it more into the core of our eight regulars and then Trubel,” explained Giuntoli. “I think we’re going to do more of that and kind of watch how that all plays out between the dynamics of these people as opposed to bringing in a much, much greater world. I’m actually very excited about that. The first three episodes have seemed to be really dealing with these plot points, not kicking anything down the road. Really kind of digging in, so it’s neat.”
Giuntoli added, “The fans of Grimm and the religion of it and whatever myth we’ve created behind it, we’re dealing directly in it and we’re not teasing something for a nebulous maybe never answer. We’re going to put it all out there.”
During the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con, The CW confirmed the eighth season of The Vampire Diaries would be the series’ final season. Knowing in advance the show’s heading into its final season gives The Vampire Diaries‘ co-creator and executive producer Julie Plec time to finish up storylines and maybe even bring back Nina Dobrev’s character, Elena Gilbert.
During our interview at Comic-Con, Plec said she’s hoping Dobrev returns to The Vampire Diaries. Plec also said we can expect little season one treats for fans who’ve faithfully watched the series for its eight-season run.
Julie Plec Interview:
Can you point to anything from season one that we might see brought back for season eight?
Julie Plec: “We are just in the early stages of writing the scripts but every day in the room we talk about different ways we can celebrate the first season. There’s a pitch on the table now about the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant and the Decade Dance and Founder’s Day, going back to the idea of the root of the founding families even so much as seeing the history of season one played out from a different perspective. There’s all kinds of different tricks and tools and fun things we’re trying to do so we’ll see if we actually do them. But, that’s definitely our intention.”
Will there be any crossovers?
Julie Plec: “There’s no crossovers specifically because the timelines don’t match up this year. But I was just saying to somebody else that that doesn’t mean that before we run end titles on the last image of the finale that we won’t pay some sort of homage to what’s happening in The Originals and, conversely, The Originals, my hope, knock on wood, will continue to live on as can any of these characters with it.”
Do you think there will be any other spin-offs?
Julie Plec: “I have thought about it. I would say it’s not out of the question. I don’t have it right now. I have nuggets of ideas of, ‘Oh, wouldn’t it be fun if we could do this?’ Or, ‘Wouldn’t it be neat to try that?’ Nothing that’s even cemented enough to say I’ve got something in the works, you know? But I do think that when you stumble upon a world that makes so many people happy – and in this case the world of Mystic Falls – then you should always keep your mind open to exploring it in other ways.”
What about the possibility of the return of Elena?
Julie Plec: “Do you realize that I’ve been in here for 35 minutes and you are the first person to ask me about that. I’ve had nine questions about the June wedding and not a single person has asked me about Elena so I’m waiting. Look, all I can say because there is nothing written in stone but Nina made me a promise when she left that she would come back and be a part of the goodbye, and I intend on holding her to that. And I’m sure she intends on living up to it as well so we just have to figure it out – the how, the when, the what – but it would be a real tragedy if we couldn’t bring that story back around full circle.”
And about the June wedding?
Julie Plec: “I will say nothing other than what I’ve said nine times to the entire rest of the room that we are well aware that that line exists in the pilot. That was Caroline’s intention from minute one, so it’s the final season so we don’t like to leave a lot of things hanging. So, we’ll see.”
Is it harder for you to have a shorter season?
Julie Plec: “No, it’s so good. We’re doing 16 episodes. For seven years we’ve been complaining…we are very grateful for our jobs, we love our jobs, but 22 episodes a year for seven years is so hard. It’s hard to maintain a level of quality. It’s hard to maintain a level of sanity. And to be able to do a 16 episode season is the greatest gift that we could be given. And then to be able to do it knowing you’re approaching an end date for the entire series means every minute count, every episode counts. There’s no fluff episodes; there’s no stall. Every episode is going to matter.”
Since you’ve been with the cast for so long is it almost like leaving a family?
Julie Plec: “Yes. So I’m the girl who when it came time to graduate high school my parents were moving out of town so I knew in my heart I would never see most of those people again. I was crying in the corner at every graduation party. You know, like a beer in my hand, just sobbing. I get very nostalgic about this stuff, very emotional, and I love these guys so much. The good news is we all work in the same business.
We’ll have opportunities to work together again. I was so sad about Containment ending and I’ve already hired half the cast across the two shows, so there’s definitely going to be opportunities. But, it’s going to be tough emotionally. It’s like growing up with the same group of people and then finally saying goodbye. I’m looking forward to it because it’s beautiful but it hurts.”
Is there a possibility that after it ends we might still see a Vampire Diaries character show up on The Originals?
Julie Plec: “I would love that. I’m using that to hold the network hostage and say, ‘Listen, keep The Originals on the air and I swear at some point we’ll try to find a way to work everybody through those doors because why not? It’s a great world. Vampires are not done – people still like vampires and there’s no other vampires on television that I want to see. I’d love to keep it going.”
What can you say about new cast members this season?
Julie Plec: “Speaking of the Containment cast, I’ve put Kristen Gutoskie into the role of Celine, the new nanny. From a teacher role to a nanny role. Someone that Caroline’s trying to figure out why Alaric hired the hot nanny instead of the old nanny. We’ve got Demetrius Bridges who was Xander on Containment who’s going to be playing the role of Dorian who’s one of Alaric’s interns. We’ve just cast Nathalie Kelley in a role, this great Australian actress, in the role of Sybil which the breakdown’s been floating out there for quite some time. And then there’s many more to come.”
Will Kevin Williamson be coming back?
Julie Plec: “Kevin is launching his new show Time After Time and so what he’s promised to do is be in this as much as he can be. He helped me write the premiere. He’s absolutely going to write the finale with me, and then anything else he can do along the way. He’s been reading the stories and reading the scripts and chiming in, so it’s been nice to have him back.”
Bridget Regan says she’s incredibly impressed by what the cast and crew are able to do each episode on TNT’s The Last Ship. Regan, who joined the cast this season as Sasha Cooper, was among the cast of the series who made it to the 2016 San Diego Comic Con to promote the show which is currently airing its third season on Sunday nights at 9pm ET/PT. In our interview with Regan, she said that fans of the series can expect each episode to get more and more intense as the season heads toward its finale.
“One of my favorite things about the show is Hiro [Sanada’s] character, Takehaya and his wife, Kyoko, who are now on board the ship and the show poses the question, ‘Is this villain really a villain?’ It’s not so black and white. You feel for the guy. You understand where he’s coming from. Sasha in particular, because she speaks Japanese, develops a relationship with his wife and understands where they’re coming from,” explained Regan. “I find that really interesting. It’s not just like a big, bad villain up in a tower. He’s with us and that really comes to head throughout the course of the season.”
Regan really appreciates the human aspects of the show, saying it’s not just about the action. “There’s real humanity in these characters because these aren’t people to run away from danger. All the characters on the show are going to run towards it. They’re going to fight. And so in those rare moments of humanity, and they’re not often on the show but when they are they’re so powerful. They really ring true because these aren’t characters that sit and talk about their feelings and emotions.”
Regan also discussed the action scenes, the response of fans to her character, and the reactions of military personnel to the action drama in our interview at Comic Con:
The Last Ship Season 3 Plot: Following the epic second-season cliffhanger, the highly anticipated third season finds the crew of the Nathan James shifting their attention to Asia after President Michener hears rumblings that the Chinese leader, President Peng, has been hoarding the “Scott cure” instead of distributing it to the people in the region. Michener sends Chandler to a global summit to investigate this allegation, as well as rumors of a possible mutation of the original virus that has caused a fresh outbreak in Japan. If the mutation has occurred, and Asia has not been protected, the consequences for the world are dire. And with Rachel Scott shot at the end of last season, and her fate as yet unknown, hope is in low supply.
Rami Malek as Elliot Alderson in ‘Mr. Robot’ (Photo by: Peter Kramer / USA Network)
Rami Malek earned Emmy, Golden Globe, and SAG award nominations for his riveting performance in season one of USA Network’s critically acclaimed drama Mr. Robot and the awards buzz is already building around his performance as hacker Elliot Alderson in season two. The network brought the cast of the award-winning series to the San Diego Comic Con for what proved to be one of the better panels of the four-day event. In addition to answering questions from fans, Malek also participated in interviews in support of the show’s second season.
Asked what it’s been like to play Elliot’s hyper-reactions, Malek replied, “You know, when I thought about the second season, I felt like I did all right things the first season. I could skate by on that, you know? People were saying, ‘Don’t think too much. Just do what you were doing.’ I couldn’t. I was waiting to start the second season and I’m like, ‘He’s going to be different. He has to be different. I want him to grow.’ I want him to evolve, and there’s a period of time that you can’t account for with Elliot. I really tried to fill those moments and discover what might have happened where we begin this second season. Yeah, just have him evolve in a certain way. He seems very different to me. I haven’t seen much of what you’ve seen yet, but I know that shooting him there was definitely a more frenetic person there. Maybe that’s just me – I don’t know.”
Malek didn’t want to give away any spoilers when asked if season two is even more in Elliot’s head, but he did say that we should be questioning Elliot’s reliability. “That’s not something we’ve steered away from. He is an unreliable narrator. As much as you do put the things he’s encountering into question, we’re never trying to make this a show where we’re shocking people. These aren’t gotcha moments anybody is trying to set up. This is the story that Sam wants to tell through his perspective. There are moments where he suffers from very difficult mental issues. Those things can be difficult for an audience to sit through but if you want to go on his path, you are going to start to have to question things as well. I think he is ultimately more reliable than many would think he is because otherwise who really wants to go down that path with someone who’s going to be as questionable as he might be. I don’t know that I would.”
Malek also said there’s always going to be a tight, personal connection between Elliot and the audience. “At times, that’s who’s getting him through all of this is knowing he has someone to listen, to go through the hardships, to kind of be the voyeur into his life that is a sounding board. So, you’re in it with him the whole way. There will be trust issues; there will be moments of confidentiality,” explained Malek. “There is a mutual dependence on one another that I think really lends itself to an alternate experience for someone watching the show, a special experience. There is a bond that you have with this guy who can do some malicious things at times, can do some questionable things. I think at his core he has a very strong moral center but he gets himself involved in some very questionable territory.”
“He’s human. He’s human – that’s the thing we don’t shy away from. The guy is flawed and I think that’s why he’s relatable. He is imperfect like all of us,” added Malek.
Watch the full Rami Malek interview for more on season 2:
Lauren Graham and Scott Patterson in ‘Gilmore Years: A Year in the Life’ (Photo Credit: Saeed Adyani/Netflix)
Netflix has finally revealed the series premiere date for the Gilmore Girls new limited series via a teaser video. Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life will premiere on November 25, 2016 and will consist of just four 90 minute episodes. Per the official announcement, the new Gilmore Girls episodes will take place in winter, spring, summer, and fall.
The new limited series reunites Lauren Graham (‘Lorelai’) and Alexis Bledel (‘Rory’) – featured in the announcement video – with Scott Patterson (‘Luke’), Kelly Bishop (‘Emily’), Milo Ventimiglia (‘Jess’), Matt Czuchry (‘Logan’), Sean Gunn (‘Kirk’), Yanic Truesdale (‘Michel’), and Melissa McCarthy (‘Sookie’). Series creator Amy Sherman-Palladino executive produces, writes, and directs the four-episode revival with Daniel Palladino.
FX’s horror series The Strain is set to return for a 10 episode season three on August 28, 2016. The series, which is based on the books by Chuck Hogan and Guillermo del Toro, is set in New York at the beginning of a vampire outbreak. Seasons one and two chronicled the spread of the epidemic and in season three there will no longer be any doubt that threat is very real. With the third season about to premiere, FX once again brought cast members from the popular series to San Diego for the sold-out Comic Con. Among the stars who made the trip were Ruta Gedmintas and Richard Sammel who play Dutch Velders and Thomas Eichorst, respectively.
The two, who shared one of season two’s most disturbing storylines, teamed up for interviews where they provided a little insight into what fans of the series can expect from the upcoming season.
Asked if we can expect more scenes featuring Dutch and Eichorst, Sammel replied, “The thing is that you at a certain point if you have a structure that imposes itself – like you used to have a lot of scenes with Palmer or you used to have a lot of scenes with Fet – at some point you have to break it just to make it sexy again because you can’t wait until it becomes un-sexy. You have to stop when it’s sexy. You certainly won’t see another pineapple scene between Dutch and Eichorst in season three because the thing is it’s done. We have to find the next level of it, and you’ll have the next level of that but in a very surprising way and perhaps not extended over five episodes.”
Speaking of scenes with their co-stars, the fearless group of vampire hunters is split up when season three begins. Asked if she missed working with some of the actors from seasons one and two, Gedmintas answered, “There were times where I would call up the writers and be like, ‘Can I have more scenes with this character, please? I miss them.’ But it was great because I got to work with people who I didn’t work with much in the first two seasons. I work a lot with Corey [Stoll] this season, so that was really fantastic. But it’s been a great sort of mix of storylines. I think that really powers the plot.”
Season three’s been described as the best yet and Gedmintas agrees. “It’s so epic. In actor terms I feel like they spent a lot of money because we were walking onto sets and they were…I mean, they’ve always been incredible but it was like a blockbuster movie every day. It was hugely ambitious,” said Gedmintas. “Everything is just amped up because we’re still in New York and so you have to, in order to keep the story moving, you have to create more tension and the stakes must be higher. So, this season really barrels through the pace.”
“It’s a little bit like the Statue of Liberty. Have you seen the Statue of Liberty and the tongue coming out? I’m not only talking about the (poster) that is in front of the hotel; I’m talking about the teaser you saw on the internet. I was so impressed by it and then I remembered that’s actually what I experienced the whole season through at the beginning of my working time when I went on set. I don’t know how many times I went on set and I was just (overwhelmed) by what they prepared in terms of sets and special effects,” added Sammel.
“You are given the means to be impressed yourself, even though you are one of the leads. I’m the bad guy and I’m supposed to know what happens, and I’m here and I’m like a kid. That’s a very, very, very good motivator to give it all. Give it all in, to be ready to go through 16 hours. I actually broke my record. I’ve done nearly 100 movies and I went through a lot of hard times, but this one is – what was my longest time on set? It was 21 hours and you don’t complain because you know they don’t do it in order to f**k you up. They do it because they know they need to. They have to wrap the set or whatever, and you go with it. If you are tempted to complain, you just have a look at your older comrades like David Bradley and he gives you a lesson of humility. So in whatever situation you are, you are inspired and supported.”
Watch the Ruta Gedmintas and Richard Sammel interview:
The Plot: The transformation has begun. It can no longer be denied — New York City is rapidly falling to an evil epidemic, and no one is coming to its rescue. Its citizens must fight or die.
Dr. Ephraim Goodweather and his unlikely allies tried to take down the embodiment of this evil — the Master — and failed. Now Eph and Dr. Nora Martinez concentrate on creating a biological weapon to wipe out the creatures, while Abraham Setrakian searches for an ancient book he hopes will reveal the strigoi’s entire history…and possibly a way to kill them. Meanwhile, the Master is out for revenge, unleashing new and even more terrifying breeds of bloodthirsty creatures. They need to find a way to defeat him before the infection spreads too far and becomes irreparable…before they become monsters themselves.
CBS’ new summer drama American Gothic premiered on June 22, 2016 and airs on Wednesday nights at 10pm ET/PT. Virginia Madsen stars as Madeline Hawthorne, the matriarch of a wealthy, dysfunctional family who may have a killer – or even two – in their midst. Antony Starr (Garrett Hawthorne) and Justin Chatwin (Cam Hawthorne) star as brothers who are each battling their own inner demons. Teamed up together at the 2016 San Diego Comic Con, Starr and Chatwin actually acted like siblings, attempting to one-up each other while answering questions.
I asked the onscreen brothers if they wanted to be told who the killer was from the start, and Chatwin says he definitely didn’t want to know. “When I first did Shameless I had that issue where I wanted to know where the characters are going so I can build the arc,” explained Chatwin. “And at the end of the day, I would get every script and I really enjoyed the process of just being a fan and being moment by moment and not knowing where it’s going because to me that’s more real life. I don’t know where this conversation’s going to go and I don’t know where I’m going next. So, I think I would craft an idea and it wouldn’t be as fancy.”
Starr had a different approach to his character. “I needed to know everything about the character. I had a very different trajectory. I was coming back after 14 years and clearly Suspect Number One so I needed to know everything that happened in the 14 years, everything that led up to that, and whether or not I did it,” explained Starr. “Everything the character knows, I needed to know. I went to Corinne [Brinkerhoff] with that and she was accommodating, which was good. I didn’t want to know anything more than that.”
“He wrote a bible,” added Chatwin. “He came in with a bible on his character.”
“It wasn’t a bible. It was a very long document that probably annoyed the writers,” said Starr, laughing.
“It was the Old Testament,” joked Chatwin.
“It was a little fire and brimstone,” replied Starr, laughing. “It was basically just a breakdown of, I guess, specifically the 14 years absence. But, it went a little Freudian in certain areas. There were not many adjustments being made as a result of my bible being presented. They didn’t give a f**k. They got my bible, threw it on the fire, and stayed warm all winter.”
Watch the Justin Chatwin and Antony Starr interview:
American Gothic Plot:American Gothic centers on a prominent Boston family reeling in the wake of the chilling discovery that someone in their midst is linked to an infamous string of murders. As shocking secrets from the past and present are revealed, their mounting suspicion and paranoia that one of them is a killer threatens to tear the family apart.
Season two of CBS’ summer series Zoo, based on the bestselling book by James Patterson, is currently airing on Tuesday nights at 9pm ET/PT and in a recent episode one of the main cast members was killed off. (Note: If you’re not caught up, do not read any further.) Almost immediately after Jackson Oz (James Wolk) and Chloe (Nora Arnezeder) kissed, Chloe fell victim to a poisonous gas. Moving forward, Jackson has to not only help his friends find the cure before his altered DNA changes him into one of the infected but also has to work through the loss of Chloe just when the relationship was getting started.
At the 2016 San Diego Comic Con, James Wolk took part in the CBS Fan Favorites panel alongside stars from the network’s other primetime shows. He also sat down for roundtable interviews to discuss Zoo‘s second season. In our interview, Wolk talks about what’s happening with Jackson, animals on the set, and working with spiders.
Watch the James Wolk interview:
Zoo Plot:Zoo is a global thriller about a wave of violent animal attacks against humans sweeping the planet. Jackson Oz is a young renegade American zoologist who spent his days running safaris in the wilds of Africa with his best friend Abraham, who has a deep understanding of wildlife. Shortly after the attacks begin, Oz begins to see a link between the strange animal attacks and his late father’s controversial theories about impending threats to the human race. They team up with news reporter Jamie Campbell, veterinarian Mitch Morgan and French investigator Chloe Tousignant and are thrust into the race to unlock the mystery of the pandemic. In season two, the danger escalates as the animal mutation moves to phase two, and they begin attacking infrastructure and creating deadly environmental phenomena in an effort to make the planet uninhabitable. Along the way the team encounters Logan, a mysterious stranger who may be holding a dangerous secret, and Dariela, a part of a military unit which encounters a strange and troubling new development in the animal mutation. Also, the team discovers a shocking mutation that threatens the life of one of their own.
It is absolutely too early to get into the Christmas spirit, however Paramount Pictures has just released the first trailer for the winter holidays comedy Office Christmas Party which is fortunately more ho-ho-ho than humbug. Directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck (Blades of Glory), the holiday-themed comedy stars Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, Vanessa Bayer, Jillian Bell, Jamie Chung, Rob Corddry, Abbey Lee, Kate McKinnon, TJ Miller, Olivia Munn, Randall Park, Sam Richardson, and Courtney B. Vance. Office Christmas Party opens in theaters on December 9, 2016.
The Plot: In Office Christmas Party, when the CEO tries to close her hard-partying brother’s branch, he and his Chief Technical Officer must rally their co-workers and host an epic office Christmas party in an effort to impress a potential client and close a sale that will save their jobs.
Lucy Lawless (as Ruby), Bruce Campbell (as Ash), Dana DeLorenzo (as Kelly), and Ray Santiago (as Pablo) in ‘Ash vs Evil Dead.’
Lucy Lawless is back as Ruby opposite Bruce Campbell as Ash in season two of Starz’s Ash vs Evil Dead, the horror series based on the Evil Dead film franchise. Ash vs Evil Dead season two will arrive on September 23, 2016 and Starz brought the cast along with executive producer Rob Tapert to the San Diego Comic-Con to discuss what fans of the horror comedy can expect when season two premieres.
Real-life spouses Lawless and Tapert teamed up for interviews in which they talked about the possibility of more Evil Dead films and Ruby’s backstory.
Does the focus remain on more seasons of the show before a new movie?
Rob Tapert: “Yes, the focus is on more seasons of the show. Sam, bless him, talked about doing Evil Dead as a movie for many, many years and teased the fans forever and a day. Finally, when the day came, we went, ‘Well, we think it might be better as a TV show.’
That was other people who thought that and Bruce really welcomed the idea, and I welcomed the idea because Bruce said, ‘Look, I did three movies. I’m not certain I knew my last name so at least in a TV show I get to explore the character and who he is and all that more.’ Is there a movie out there that we are thinking about that would continue on that would merge everything? There certainly are those thoughts starting to percolate.”
Would it crossover with Fede Alvarez’s movie, or could you address that in the TV show?
Rob Tapert: “I love Jane Levy, so I would love to work with her again.”
How does letting Pandora’s box open affect Ruby’s relationship with Ash?
Lucy Lawless: “Things get away on her. She’s basically forced Pablo to birth these demon spawn and it all goes pear-shaped, so she finagles her way into Ash’s crew and teams up a little bit with Kelly, actually. There’s a bit of firepower going on, girl power. They go on a rampage so she’s kind of brought into the fold, which just means you get shot with a lot more mucous. You get vomited on, you get blood, brain matter. That means you’re in the game, you’re in the family. We’ll see how that goes.”
Will we learn more about Ruby?
Lucy Lawless: “Yeah, she becomes a real character this season.”
Where does Ruby fit in your oeuvre of strong female lead characters?
Lucy Lawless: “That’s a good question. She’s in a way a little nastier. Like she chooses to be nasty where Lucretia was a bad person but she really was left with no options. In the world that she lived in, I could justify it, whereas Ruby’s just mean as a snake. So you’ll get to see her softening and then you get to see payback for that.”
Do you prefer playing that range, being able to be nasty?
Lucy Lawless: “Not necessarily, but if I’m playing a ‘good’ character, I always look for the qualities in them that are not so pleasant just to get tension and make somebody watchable. To play somebody who’s wholly good is a bore. I’d hate that, or wholly bad. Every bad character has to have redemptive qualities and every good character has to have a little grit. Otherwise who gives a damn?”
Were you a little worried when Ruby “died” in episode five or six?
Lucy Lawless: “I can’t remember a character I played that didn’t die. So, no.”
Rob Tapert: “Number Three died a lot of times in Battlestar. You died a lotta times as Xena.”
Lucy Lawless: “Xena, Lucretia.”
What was the biggest surprise for each of you filming the first season?
Rob Tapert: “I can say from a creative point of view, the show was harder than I ever thought it would be and I think we were all surprised that it was hard. Hard adapting these small movies into television shows that want to cram as much as you can in a half hour. So it was a real clash of what works in horror, which was telling a small story in a very elongated fashion, as opposed to a very big story in a compacted fashion. That’s been a creative challenge.”
Lucy Lawless: “Particularly this season has been so massive and so high octane, the cuts are really fast. We’re shooting maybe more footage than we ever did on even Spartacus, but it’s crunched down into just a half hour to get that pace. If this show was an hour long, it would be drudgery.”
How much fun was it working with Bruce Campbell again?
Lucy Lawless: “Oh, wonderful. He’s kind of like my rotten handsome cousin. He was kind of my mentor in terms of how to behave as a star starting out. Rob paired me up with him. I was really bewildered. ‘Why is Mr. Tapert making me go out with his buddy from college?’ It was to teach me not to be a pain in the ass.”
Rob Tapert: “He taught her well.”
Does having that family atmosphere bring something special to a project like this?
Rob Tapert: “It brings something special and it also sets a base rule about how you can act. Meaning we’re all in this together. We all want the best product. It takes away any room for bad behavior.”
Lucy Lawless: “This is a theme in Rob’s shows.”
Rob Tapert: “No bad behavior. Shows are hard enough. In that regard, it’s been great. It was great having Sam [Raimi] when he did the first episode, the three of us back together. This season we’ve got Ted Raimi and suddenly, without trying to give away spoilers, Bruce and Ted and myself found ourselves back in 1986 in the exact same scene, at the exact same moment going, ‘Oh my God, what has happened to our life?'”
And adding Lee Majors?
Rob Tapert: “Lee was great.”
Lucy Lawless: “Lee Majors, man! The most famous guy in the world at that time, the most famous couple, him and Farrah. Are you too young to know all this? I’m old enough. Lee, his character really explains Ash and he makes Ash look like a gentleman, like a triumph of nature over nurture because Brock is a pig. He’s a chauvinist. He’s got a bit of a fetish. You can quiz him about that. I’m not sure how much he’ll tell you. And they’re highly competitive for the ladies, which the father wins.”
Was creating that character a chance to explore how Ash could have turned out?
Rob Tapert: “You know what, it was really a way of grounding Ash and trying to pull him back into the real world and giving him an antagonist to rub up against. Because that’s what really works about the series, Ash finding himself in a situation, finding himself blocked. What is he going to do? Dad is something, as we all know, parents are something that a lot of baggage goes into that relationship so that was really just a great antagonist in a different way. You learn hey, nobody believed him and they all blamed him for getting his sister killed and a bunch of other kids killed. Why he never went to jail, we never answer.”
Is there a theme to season two?
Rob Tapert: “Going home.”
Is there a balance of scope you try and maintain, making it more intimate and horrific as opposed to bigger and bombastic?
Rob Tapert: “Yes. It’s a very hard road to walk and we get scripts that are way too big and we have to figure out how do we get the small intimate stuff, Ash alone against the evil, that’s the franchise, versus a lot of character stuff, a lot of Ruby. So how do we get all of these elements and balance them right for the ultimate audience entertainment and enjoyment. It’s the balancing act we’re constantly looking at and measuring, going, ‘Throw this out, add this in.'”
Lucy Lawless: “This season’s much bigger. It’s really much bigger. When you see the trailer, you’ll get a sense of the kind of — and we were surprised, weren’t we, just how massive it is.”
