By Judy Shields
Langham Huntington Hotel, Pasadena (The Hollywood Times) 07/17/2024
It’s that time again, TCA (Television Critics Association) Summer Press Tour and Sunday, July 14 was NBC day. There were five series panels presented by NBC for two returning shows and three brand new shows.
After registering and getting our name badges, we had a delicious breakfast before the first panel at 10a
The first session was for the new upcoming medical Brilliant Minds, coming this fall from writer and executive producer Michael Grassi. The show follows the work of Dr. Oliver Wolf (Zachary Quinto), a revolutionary, larger-than-life neurologist, and his team of interns as they explore the last great frontier — the human mind — while grappling with their own relationships and mental health. The cases in the show are inspired by Dr. Oliver Wolf Sacks’ (1933-2015) real-life brain disorder research and treatment, some of which he chronicled in his non-fiction books The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat (1985) and An Anthropologist on Mars (1995).
The panel included actors Zachary Quinto and Tamberla Perry and Executive Producer Michael Grassi.
Michael Grassi told us that they will have exceptional guest stars this season, like André De Shields, and Steve Howey, and that Mandy Patinkin will be featured in two episodes.
Zachary Quinto was asked if he did any research into Oliver Sack and he responded with “the wonderful thing about Brilliant Minds is that it’s inspired by the life of Dr. Oliver Sacks. Michael and I always talk about the fact that he’s ultimately our North Star. He was an incredible, complex, inspirational, and influential doctor and person. I get to take all of the rich tapestry of who Oliver Sacks was and inform the creation of Oliver Wolf, but Oliver Wolf exists in his own world. So, it’s an experience that I’ve never had before and it’s been so fulfilling to use him as inspiration, to honor him hopefully in the work that we’re doing, but to forge new territory and to tell new stories at the same time.”
Zachary was asked if NBC holds a special place in his heart. He responded that it actually does and how Heroes changed his life and his career 15 years ago on NBC. He also mentioned that they started filming Brilliant Minds on April 8, which was the day of the solar eclipse, which made him think about Heroes and the connection to Brilliant Minds and NBC.
Michael Grassi was asked how many episodes have been ordered and he said there are 13-episodes for a season-one show.
A question for Tamberla Perry asked about what do with your hands at the same time as you’re acting and delivering your lines. Tamberla said that her character Dr. Carol is the chief of psychiatry, so she is not dealing with brains, or scalpel, she gets to watch the others figure out what to do with their hands. She also said that they have a wonderful team of medical professionals that are there with them every step of the way helping them pronounce those medical words and they make them all look good.
Michael Grassi was asked about the guest stars appearing in the show and he said “André De Shields, in the pilot, plays an Alzheimer’s patient who Dr. Wolf helps, takes him out of the hospital to help sort of reunite him with his family on a very important day. Steve Howey plays a member of a biker gang who comes to Dr. Wolf for help and for treatment, and it’s a really beautiful, emotional case. It’s Steve Howey the way we’ve never seen him. I’ve always been such a big fan of his, and André De Shields, and then finally Mandy Patinkin, which I think is for all of us, we’re so excited. We’re such huge fans. And he’s playing a family doctor who is 24 hours on-call for his patients. He goes into his patients’ homes and he comes to Bronx General for two episodes and really shakes up our world, and especially Dr. Wolf’s, so it’s going to be fun.”
The last question asked was for Zachary Quinto. They wanted to know about the emotional toll it takes on him as an actor for this role. Zachary said there was a blend of the medical and personal side to the show and that he loved walking that line and that the language was very robust. He enjoyed the challenge of working with the words and finding the emotional undercurrent in the scenes. He praised Michael as the writer and that he was grateful to be on a show at this time in the world that has a message of hope and that brings us together instead of what pulls us apart. He went on to say: “I feel like it’s kind of the best opportunity, creatively and professionally, to show up to work and to be inspired by the character I’m playing and the stories I’m telling in a way that is significant, substantive and meaningful to me, and, hopefully, more importantly maybe to audiences.”
Tamberla Perry added that Zach had been an exemplary leader for them all and didn’t take for granted the role of number one. She said “I am actually watching this very famous person actually want to do this job, and it has been a joy and a light just to be a part of it. I just wanted to add that about him as our leader.”
Watch the series premiere of Brilliant Minds on Monday, September 23 at 10/9c on NBC and available to stream the next day on Peacock. Brilliant Minds will be preceded by the premiere of Season 26 of The Voice with new Coaches Snoop Dogg and Michael Bublé at 8 p.m.
Second panel was for Found which included Nkechi Okoro Carroll, Executive Producer and star Shanola Hampton, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, and Kelli Williams.
Shanola Hampton will return for another heart-stopping season, as she works to find missing people whose cases have slipped through the cracks. Found, which premiered on October 2, 2023, is about Gabi Mosely (Shanola Hampton), a kidnapping survivor who now leads a team to search for missing people whose cases have failed to garner media attention. Those within Gabi’s focus often include people of color, as well as subjects who face bias for their ethnicity, sexual orientation, and lifestyle choices, among other things.
Season two picks up with public relations specialist Gabi Mosely’s childhood kidnapper, Sir, who’s on the loose after being held captive in her basement. And now her biggest secret is her biggest threat. As she navigates the sudden turn of events, Gabi and her crisis management team remain on a mission to look out for the forgotten missing people who have fallen through the cracks.
A question for Nkechi Okoro Carroll was compared to first season, how arced is second season going to be?
Nkechi Okoro Carroll said that it will be similar to season one in that they are still going to have a case of the week but it has a significant serialized portion in that Sir is out on the loose wrecking havoc and that Mark Paul is having way too much fun doing that. They will still have that satisfying puzzle that the audience can join in solving every week.
A question was asked what are the new layers you’re finding when you are playing the characters?
Mark answered: “For me, also, like the fact that the world has expanded, I’ve had to learn the names of my other cast members. Then Shanola Hampton said that he is not kidding and their character names. She also said “Gabi Mosely being in this dark place and having to deal with the dynamics shifting with the entire team and how they are — their relationships have changed.”
Here is a great question: Is there some behind the scenes videos or bloopers of all of you cracking jokes in between all the scary moments?
Here are the answers: Shanola Hampton: Totally.
Kelli Williams: –singing, and I mean, it’s a whole other show.
Nkechi Okoro Carroll: It literally is a whole, that’s the comedy we’re pitching.
Kelli Williams: It’s a musical. It’s a musical comedy. I don’t dance, but they…
Shanola Hampton: Do we have anything of that? We need to do that.
Nkechi Okoro Carroll: Oh, trust me, they exist, because I watch it in edit.
Found premieres Thursday, Oct. 3 at 10:00 p.m. on NBC and will be available the next day on Peacock.
Third panel was for Season 2 of The Irrational which included Arika Lisanne Mittman, Executive Producer, and stars Jesse L. Martin, Maahra Hill, and Travina Springer
The actors were asked if they watch themselves, are they able to watch it and kind of enjoy the episode or do they watch it and critique their performance.
Jesse L. Martin said that he is normally not home at night to watch it because he is working on the show. He said if he did watch it he would probably think of things that happened behind the scenes, like when a grip fell and busted his knew or a bunch of Canadian geese walked through the set that day or he was worried about his dog.
Maahra Hill said that she loves to watch the show because on the page it is different than watching it play out and seeing what everyone else does and seeing the story come to life. She also said that she is very critical of herself and that the best way to learn is to watch what she did and said.
Travina Springer said it is fun to watch it and then she will learn maybe things that changed or happened in the room or in the moment that weren’t exactly on the page. She went on to say that she watch an episode from the first season with her family and they were so excited but that she knew what was going to happen so that can make it hard to watch sometimes, but it’s fun to watch.
Jesse L. Martin was asked why did this project sort of feel like the right one to kind of return to procedurals with?
Jesse responded that this show feels like an evolution of the things he has gotten to do in a procedural. Like in Law & Order, which was a great time and a great career space for him, it was mostly just the facts. He continued with “You didn’t go home with the characters and you barely got to know anything about them. I did the show for almost 10 years, and you didn’t know anything about Det. Ed Green. In this space, first of all I’m not a detective, which I was very, very glad of. Second, a professor. If I wasn’t an actor, I can guarantee you that I probably would have been a teacher in some way, shape or form because I think it’s the most noble job you could possibly ever have, and they should probably get paid a lot more money than they do and get a lot more attention than they do. So there’s that aspect of being this person who, yes, gets involved in solving crimes and mysteries, the same way that procedurals do, but coming at it from such an emotional angle is completely different that would have never happened on “Law & Order” or any of the other procedurals that I may have tertiary been involved in. In this case, I’m not only learning on the field, I’m taking that learning, whatever it is and taking it right back to the classroom and have a whole different vocabulary in the classroom than I would in the field, and doing the exact same thing at home with my familiars here. So there’s so many avenues for me to process this procedural thing that it feels full. Not that the others job didn’t feel full, but this feels full and a great evolution for a job that I really, really love and appreciate.”
Travina Springer was asked what are the new layers she is finding in her character this season that weren’t necessarily the case in the first season and that she finds either in the acting or the writing, of the relationship and the character?
She responded that one of things she is really excited about is for Kylie and for the audience to see that she was trying to find more purpose in her work. She’s working on that, for getting more purpose in what she does for her career, and then also digging her heels as a contractor for the FBI. She’s challenged with what this new position means for her and how it aligns with her values. Travina said that she thinks we’re going to see a lot more of that in situations where that happens for her character, and then also see fanned out with the relationships with the other characters. Specifically, the relationship with Alec, and that we are going to see more with the relationship with Marisa, which is very fun for them, because they were sisters for many years and the relationship with Phoebe as well. She is so excited for the viewers to see that.
Jesse also talked about his scar for the coming second season. He said there’s a lot of talk in the second season about Alec maybe getting a procedure that helps minimize the scars, and that he had an incredible moment with his dad in the second season where he asked his dad if he had scars like Alec did and his dad were able to do something about them, would he do something about them. Jesse went on to say that he wouldn’t tell us what this dad said because he thinks we should watch it and that the answer was one of the most profound answers that was written. He also said that he is learning something about what a scar does for people and their identity, and how it presents to the world and how it’s reflected back.
Maahra Hill said that the writers have done a great job of exploring another layer to Marisa in season two and that she think Marisa is realizing, like a lot of women do, she’s poured a lot of herself into other things, her job, her marriage, her relationships, and has lost a bit of herself along the way. In season two, Marisa will go on a journey of self-discovery, and will find things that are surprising to her and both the audience. Maahra added that she feels like they’ve done a great job in the writers’ room of just unpacking the boxes that are within.
The Irrational follows college professor and behavioral science expert Alec Mercer as he uses his unique ability to understand human behavior to help law enforcement and others in his life who need his logic-based form of justice.
The Irrational Season 2 premieres fall 2024 and will take the Tuesdays at 10/9c slot on NBC and next day on Peacock. It premieres October 1!
Fourth panel was for NBC’s newest show Happy’s Place which included Kevin Abbott, Executive Producer, Showrunner, Reba McEntire, Talent, Executive Producer and stars Belissa Escobedo, Melissa Peterman, Pablo Castelblanco, Tokala Black Elk, and Rex Linn
What excitement it was to see Reba on this panel to talk about her new made for TV comedy show coming up on Fridays at NBC. The series stars Reba McEntire as her character, Bobbie, inherits her father’s restaurant, Happy’s Place. She’s less than thrilled to discover that her new business partner is the half-sister she never knew she had. Happy’s Place will premiere on Friday, Oct. 18 at 8:00 p.m., on NBC and will be available the next day on Peacock.
First question was for Reba was what is it about doing a network sitcom that you find appealing that you’d want to tackle again?
Reba responded with “Ever since we stopped doing the Reba TV show, we have been looking for another project to do together because we had fun, we had more stories to tell. When Kevin’s wife, Julie, came up with this idea, we all said ‘Yes, let’s go for it!’ I love the sitcom genre. Out of all the things I get to do, this is my favorite because it’s camaraderie, it’s fun, you just get to go to work and play, and it’s creative. It’s very comforting to me. I absolutely love it and get to work with these folks? Icing on the cake.
Belissa Escobedo was asked: You’ve worked with some big Hollywood heavy hitters in the past, including Bette Midler. Did that prepare you at all to work alongside another legend like Reba? Reba chimed in with “Oh, thank you for that” and Melissa Peterman also chimed in with “I didn’t want to be too obvious like he’s right there.”
Belissa said that working alongside anybody who’s so legendary as Reba, Bette Midler, anybody who’s been in the industry as long as you have and everything you have accomplished, which led to laughter from the room while Reba said “that’s true, that is very true.
Which had Belissa say: “Gosh, you’re making me nervous. Don’t laugh. But, no, I mean, obviously, I went in there with some nerve, some nervousness. Right when I met Reba, the first chem read, went in there, gave her a hug, and she just smelled like warm, fuzzy bears, and I was just immediately comforted –”
Then Melissa said: “And a tiny bit of Chardonnay, a tiny bit of Chardonnay —
Belissa then said: “And a lot of whiskey. No, I’m just kidding. No, but, truly, Reba is Reba in like the biggest way, but when you walk in it’s just Reba. She’s so sweet, and she made me feel so at home on set, in the room. Kevin, you were great, too, Kevin.
Kevin Abbott responded with: “Yeah, sure. A little late, Belissa, a little late.”
Belissa came back with: “But, no, I mean, she leads the show as a leader should”
Reba said thank you and Belissa said that she was so happy to be on this journey with Reba. Reba’s response to that was “thank you, thank you, thank you. We’ll have fun.
Next question was asked of Reba and Melissa: what do you remember from that first meeting, and how has that relationship evolved over the years?
Reba said with that big beautiful smile of hers: “Go Melly” and Melissa said: “You want me to go?” and Reba responded with “Yeah”
Melissa said that she remembered the first day and that she didn’t meet her until the table read of the sitcom and that she clearly knew who Reba was. That Reba went around to everybody and introduced herself and just said, “Hi, I’m Reba McEntire” and Melissa said “Don’t need a last name. We know.” That Reba made it feel so comfortable from day one and made sure that they all knew they were here for the same reason, to have fun, make a good show, respect each other and be a little grateful for it.
Twenty years since Reba show, they have never really left each other even after the show ended they have been friends ever since. Melissa told us that she even go to go on tour with Reba and open the show and do standup, and that they go on vacations together and hang out.
Reba was asked the same question and she had this to say: “I don’t even know this person. We’ve been buddies. We’ve been co-workers. We’ve had so much fun. The thing that I can already see is going to happen on this show that happened on the Reba show, we’d all go on vacation together — the writers, the producers, showrunners, everybody, — and with their families, we had such a good time. I can see this happening with this group. The camaraderie and the way we gelled on the first week during while we were shooting the pilot, they were saying, ‘Gosh, this is like a second season, first episode. Everybody’s gelling so well.’ So we’re just going to continue to have a lot of fun.”
Reba said: “My fans have always been very loyal, and they followed me — because Momma always said I had the attention span of a 2-year-old — so they follow me wherever, whatever genre I want to attempt, and they’ve been really, really great, and they love that we’re doing another sitcom. All of these folks I get to work with have huge followings, and they’re going to bring them along with the fans that I’ve had for so many years. So it’s going to be a lot of happy people when this gets on the air.”
Reba was asked who her character Bobbie was and she said that her character Bobbie is a pretty intense character who is very devoted to the tavern and to her dad’s memory and she wants everything to stay as it is. That Bobbie works very hard and that she has a wonderful team of people that she gets to work with and that they are at the tavern and solely depends on because he husband has died. Bobbies daughter is deployed and kind of on her own except with her happy place tavern family.
Rex Linn was asked about the characters that he has played opposite Reba and now this one.
He said: “You know what, it’s funny because starting with The Hammer, there was a role in that movie, and Reba was 110% behind getting me to be a part of it. So, that was wonderful. It really is Reba because then Big Sky came along, and she was talking to the producers on Zoom. They were talking about her character. They were campaigning for her to be on the show. So, I just walked back in the background a couple of times, out of focus, which always happens, and then pretty soon, Reba wondered if her character had a husband. Anyway, that happened too. And now, I’m really glad to be a part of this. I owe it all to Reba and Kevin and everybody that’s brought me on board, and I just feel really lucky about it.”
Now a question for Pablo Castelblanco and Tokala Black Elk: What can you share about what we can expect from your characters this season and what role you guys play in balancing out these two women?
Pablo said that Steve is the accountant of the bar, and he does his work at the bar, but he has OCD. So, he doesn’t like change. Pushing himself out of his comfort zone is going to be most of his experience right now because he had a world set up in which, the bus was there and he was dealing already with Gabby, who’s a lot of energy right in front of him. He somehow is surviving. Then comes the new co-owner of the bar. Now his whole world is going to be really shaken. He went on to say: “I’m just really excited to show that kind of person dealing through life. We all go to therapy. We all do our work. So, I feel like we can see in Steve that kind of heart — like a family environment — and I feel like Happy’s Place highlights how a place where your co-workers are your family lets you have some safety net to grow and get better. So, that’s what I’m excited for Steve.”
Tokala said that he is so excited to be able to be in a comedy because he has had a career of playing a villain, being a really scary bad guy, somebody that little kids probably don’t want to be around and in reality he is kind of a fun person. That he likes to have fun and that he plays a guy that plays a character who is supposed to be the nicest person you are ever going to meet and that is the essence of Happy’s Place for him as far a looking at it through his character. He is looking forward to it being our happy place as well.
Reba was asked now that she is doing one 20 years later, how is it different and what has she learned about how to do these kinds of shows?
Reba said that everything has changed and when she first got on the set of Reba, she had just left New York doing Annie Get your Gun, and that was the very first play she ever did. Then she got to L.A. to do the first sitcom that she ever got to do. She said that she pulled Chris Rich, who had done quite a few, into the kitchen part, and she said: “What do they mean when they say this?” And he’s, all right, this is what they– I went through acting 101 class, and thank God for Chris and other folks that were really nice to help me. What’s different for me now is I’m familiar. I’m the old show dog, and that I can help teach anybody who hasn’t done a sitcom, four camera before, what’s going on. The tables are turned a little bit. I’m so thrilled, grateful and thankful to get to do this.”
Reba was asked what prompted her to do The Voice?
Reba said that it was just something different, another avenue she wanted to do. She also said that they asked her at the very beginning, years ago to do it and she said no becaues she is a gypsy at heart. and can’t do that. She then said: “Anyway, here we are doing it, and to let you know that Snoop Dogg — that’s Mr. Snoop Dogg — and Michael Bublé have both, they both want to come on Happy’s Place as guests. Yeah. Belissa said she loves Snoop Dogg. Then Melissa says: Mrs. Melissa Bublé! Laughter! and she says: “Sorry, my mic’s on.”
Check out the cool coffee drink we were able to get before the Happy’s Place panel started, it was delicious and awesome looking too!
Happy’s Place premieres fall 2024 on NBC and will occupy the Fridays slot at 8/7c. The exact premiere date is Friday, October 18! Don’t miss this comedy TV show on NBC.
The fifth and final panel for the day was another new series for NBC called St. Denis Medical which featured Eric Ledgin, EP/Showrunner, Justin Spitzer, EP, stars Wendi McLendon-Covey, David Alan Grier, Allison Tolman, Kahyun Kim, Mekki Leeper and Kaliko Kauahi
First question was why Oregon, and as the series goes on will we see the staff get out of the hospital and more into the town?
Eric Ledgin said that Oregon was chosen for a couple reasons. One is he feels like it’s a very underrepresented state and it’s a great and beautiful state that you don’t hear a lot about. He talked about a nurse that he spoke to a lot during the research part of the development process, and it was a little bit of a nod to her. She helped kind of inspire the character of Alex a little bit. He also said that he thinks it is a fun place for them to discover as they go. They have little references to Oregon throughout season one, but they as they get more into seasons of the show, they will explore more outside the hospital.
David Alan Grier was asked if he wanted to play a doctor earlier in his life and did he think it would be a cool thing to be?
David said: “Not specifically. I mean, my goal is always to say yes to a good script. So it just happened that I was a doctor. It also happens that the character — we all know, there are some characters that you read and you think I can reach or get to. There are other characters that you just know, and this guy, he’s an old curmudgeon. That’s me. No, it wasn’t the medical stuff. That was incidental. I just responded to the script, and I say this begrudgingly. It was good. It was well written. It was intelligent.”
Another question asked was, were you surprised by the extreme highs and potentially low lows that the show is taking you on?
Allison Tolman said she thinks that is the fun of it is they get to play these folks who are reattaching arms but then also just like have to eat. Like, it’s lunchtime, you know? Also, they need some coffee because they were up all night with the baby or whatever. She finds something really charming about the mundane in the most extreme circumstances. Everyone who is visiting the hospital is in extreme circumstances, but as extreme as they are, they’re not extreme for us. It’s just another day and someone has a day off and somebody’s birthday. She went on to say that every episode has a moment where that sort of sincerity and that really heartfelt core shines through and she thinks they are really lucky in that way.
Question: Just in terms of getting used to that two-camera performance, was there any sort of learning curve to that?
Wendi said: “Yeah, it still feels weird to do that, I liked it when I see it.”
Allison said she loved it so much and that every Monday she had to remind herself that they get to do that, that they are allowed to look down the camera.
Kahyun Kim said: But then sometimes, I start — I shot something in between like one of our — I think one of our hiatus weeks. I remember, it was a very dramatic thing and I wanted to just turn and look, and I did, and the director said no. They were like, “Don’t do that.” I love breaking the fourth wall. I think it’s so fun.”
A question was asked for Mekki Leeper. We also know that you write, so I’m really curious if you have interest in writing for this series, and how is it also just like working on the series as an actor?
Mekki said: “Oh, man, it’s fantastic working on this series as an actor. The writers are so great. Yeah, I do not write on the show. I don’t know if I would. I don’t know. It takes up a lot of your year then. My whole life would be been saying that actually. No, yeah, the writers are so talented, so I don’t feel a need to be like, Let me step in and help.”
Eric chimed in with “If he went into the writers’ room, we’d be a little star struck and wouldn’t be able to function.” and Mekki replied: “They’d freak out, they’d freak out.”
Fans of The Office and Superstore are in for a treat as a new workplace mockumentary makes its way to NBC. The series stars the hysterical Wendi McLendon-Covey and David Alan Grier alongside a dynamite cast of comics. You won’t want to miss it, and NBC Insider has all of the details needed to laugh along with the St. Denis Medical staff.
This mockumentary-style sitcom is about the employees of an underfunded and understaffed hospital in Oregon. Like real-life medical professionals, the characters come to work every day trying to balance their innate desire to do their very best to help people with their innate desire to not lose their own sanity.
The hospital opens its doors on November 12 with two back-to-back episodes that will introduce the world to the characters and their high-pressure setting. After the two-episode premiere, the show will begin airing Tuesdays at 8 p.m. just before Season 3 of Night Court at 8:30 p.m.
NBC had a wonderful reception for the TCA members and the invited writers. Those in attendance were as follows:
Cocktail Reception gathering:
FOUND
Shanola Hampton, Talent
Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Talent
Kelli Williams, Talent
Nkechi Okoro Carroll, Showrunner/EP
The Irrational
Jesse L. Martin, Talent
Maahra Hill, Talent
Travina Springer, Talent,
Arika Lisanne Mittman, Showrunner/EP
HAPPY’S PLACE
Reba McEntire, Talent/EP
Belissa Escobedo, Talent
Melissa Peterman, Talent
Pablo Castelblanco, Talent
Tokala Black Elk, Talent|
Rex Linn, Talent
Kevin Abbott, EP/Showrunner
I had the opportunity to speak with Reba and Rex. Two of the most wonderful folks you will ever meet. Here are photos:
St. DENIS MEDICAL
Wendi McLendon-Covey, Talent
David Alan Grier, Talent
Allison Tolman, Talent
Mekki Leeper, Talent
Kahyun Kim, Talent
Kaliko Kauahi, Talent
Eric Ledgin, EP/Showrunner
Justin Spitzer, EP/Creator
Brilliant Minds
Michael Grassi, Showrunner/EP
Night Court
Nyambi Nyambi, Talent
Wendie Malick, Talent
Lacretta, Talent
Law & Order
Mehcad Brooks, Talent
Reid Scott, Talent
Chicago Med
Jessy Schram
Chicago Fire
David Eigenberg, Talent
Chicago PD
LaRoyce Hawkins, Talent
Lopez v. Lopez
Mayan Lopez, Talent/EP/Co-Creator
Debby Wolfe, Showrunner/EP/Co-Creator
The Ark
Christie Burke, Talent
I had the opportunity to interview Christie right before the reception. I am huge fan of her show and she does an amazing job leading the cast of The Ark. If you haven’t seen this exciting show, make sure you check it out on Peacock and SYFY channel Enjoy.
Here is the one on one interview with actress Christie Burke:
Season 2 premiere of SYFY‘s The Ark, “Failed Experiment,” the Ark One remains a hot mess with myriad problems for its rag tag crew to fix before it can reconnect with Evelyn Maddox’s (Jelena Stupljanin) Ark-15 ship. Of course, much of that falls on Christie Burke’s Captain Sharon Garnet, along with the support of Lane (Reece Ritchie), Brice (Richard Fleeshman) and the always innovative chief of life support, Alicia (Stacey Read).
As to how the knowledge of her being a clone will impact her bonds with her Ark One survivors and leadership team, Burke said, “For me, the clone aspect of her was the root of everything that I did to prepare to play Garnet. This idea that she’s not a fully formed human. In Season 1, we see someone trying to prove to everyone that she’s a human, or at least a leader. In Season 2, we’re getting to see more of a fully developed human that’s having human experiences and potentially falling in love. She’s not just a leader. Whereas I feel like Season 1… I call it the prequel to Season 2.”
Premiered July 17 at 10/9c on SYFY
