Syfy has been going through a sort of revival recently and producing some really great shows. As a fan of the original Sci-Fi Channel it’s nice to see them going back to their roots. Whether it’s hardcore science fiction like their recent series The Expanse, or the campier, supernatural sort of science fiction you’ll find in shows like Z Nation, or their brand new series Wynonna Earp, I’m totally on board.
We had a chance catch the world premiere of Wynonna Earp at Wondercon 2016 and we fell in love with the show. We also had the opportunity to sit down with the cast and creators of Wynonna Earp to do roundtable interviews so we could learn a bit more about the show.
If we weren’t fans before, we are now.
Talk about an amazing group of people — and such an incredibly fun show!
We spoke with Melanie Scrofano and Shamier Anderson; they talked to us a little bit about their characters and what we can expect from the show. They had nothing but good things to say about the cast and the upcoming character development.
As Melanie says, it could have been just a genre show focusing on the Revenants but instead Emily Andras has made this a show about not just real demons but personal demons, too. There’s a lot to look forward to in this series because it goes beyond just the battle between good and evil. Wynonna Earp has a lot of heart, complex characters, and (of course) a lot of action. It focuses on the characters and their relationships just as much as they do the general concept.
Unfortunately, they couldn’t tell us too much. When we asked about some of the more specific plot points, of course, we were told all we could do is watch. But they did talk to us about some of the development of the show and how everything came together. They talked with us about how they embraced the history of Wyatt Earp and the original Wynonna Earp series, but also the show had made all of that it’s own. And they talked about learning to play with various weapons and to get ready for the more action-oriented gunplay aspects of the show.
If nothing else, the greatest thing we got from talking with these two was an idea of the kind of chemistry they have together. They worked together just as well in our interview as they do on screen, and that says almost everything when you’re trying to get hyped up about a new show.
We saw the same amazing chemistry between the rest of the cast when wet sat down with Michael Eklund, Tim Rozon, and Dominique Provost-Chalkley. We learned a lot about their characters and the casting process.
One of the coolest things we learned is just how much of a fan Tim Rozon is of Doc Holliday. He was so excited about the prospect of playing one of his personal heroes that he went all-in on the audition. He told us that when he sent out his audition tape he thought to himself, “Someone’s gonna be really good at this to get this part, because I’m going to be really good at this.”
We also learned that Michael Eklund auditioned for Doc Holliday, too. He said that’s how good Tim Rozon is as Doc Holliday. He wanted the role so badly himself, but even he concedes that Rozon was the best choice. He’s put a lot into the part — and into a very historically accurate Doc Holliday mustache!
Like Melanie and Shamier, they went through some gunslinging training for the show. Though, as Michael reveals, his character never actually wields a gun. A flamethrower, yes. But he thought it was particularly noteworthy that his character — the main bad guy — never uses a gun himself.
A common theme in talking with everyone is just how dynamic all the characters are. You have a bad guy who never uses a gun. You have two sisters who have a bond that is constantly evolving. Every character has their layers and secrets. Bad guys aren’t just bad guys. Good guys aren’t necessarily the good guys.
Beau Smith, the creator of the original Wynonna Earp comics, had really great things to say about adapting his original series for television. When Emily Andras decided to bring the series to Syfy, she decided to sort of go back and explore the origins of the Wynonna featured in the comics. From the beginning, they wanted to keep Beau involved and you can really see that reflected in his enthusiasm about the series.
One quote in particular stuck with me even after the interview; “If they all wanted to be a part of a family that I created in a room by myself… you can’t get a better compliment.”
He also got to use a flamethrower so, really, how does it get any better than that?
Emily Andras was a total joy to speak with throughout the interview. She’s an incredible person who has really found her niche in working on genre series — especially those featuring amazing female characters like Wynonna Earp. According to her, there couldn’t have been a show better suited for her than this one.
She’s really an incredible person when you look at all the work she’s done leading up to Wynonna Earp. She talked a bit about her work on Lost Girl and Killjoys. Specifically, she answered a really great question about her efforts in embracing strong, dynamic characters LGBT characters. (She also let it slip that Shamier Anderson had just filmed an episode of Killjoys in the process!)
What we’ve written here are just very brief tidbits, and I definitely urge you all to watch the full interviews before the premiere Wynonna Earp! “Purgatory” — the first episode of Wynonna Earp — airs TONIGHT on Syfy at 10 PM EDT/9 PM CDT.
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