Now that the show has left you with your jaw on the floor, Schull says she can’t wait to get to work on Season 3. “I’m so excited,” she enthuses, thinking back to the show’s on-the-bubble renewal.
“There were some days when it wasn’t looking so good, and that was hard to accept. I love that we’re coming back, I love how the characters are evolving, I love the tone and look of the show. And I just want so much to continue this story — and now, to continue it here with this jumping off point? I am really, really looking forward to going back to work on this horrible, despicable, sad but challenging development.”
“We’re going back to work in October, and as soon as they announced the pick-up Terry and the writing staff went to work,” she laughs. “This development will be horrible for Cassie, but wonderfully challenging for Amanda.”
“There were some days when it wasn’t looking so good, and that was hard to accept. I love that we’re coming back, I love how the characters are evolving, I love the tone and look of the show. And I just want so much to continue this story — and now, to continue it here with this jumping off point? I am really, really looking forward to going back to work on this horrible, despicable, sad but challenging development.”
“We’re going back to work in October, and as soon as they announced the pick-up Terry and the writing staff went to work,” she laughs. “This development will be horrible for Cassie, but wonderfully challenging for Amanda.”
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The scenes showing how Jones spent her year alone was fascinating, as she learned how to defend herself and keep the facility safe while on her own. What can you tell us about that character growth, and what it means for her moving forward?
Matalas: Jones comes very far, very fast this season. From her complicated romance with Eckland, to her reunion with Hannah, to her one-woman, Die Hard survival movie waiting for Cole’s return. She simultaneously softens and hardens in ways that are going to be vital for her throughout Season Three. She’s no longer simply some determined, amoral scientist hiding behind the protections of the facility. She’s both a mother and a warrior, two sides that are bound to compete violently when she discovers the truth about The Witness.
It's amazing to see how far the character of Jennifer has come since the pilot, and Emily Hampshire has done an amazing job in the role this season. Did you always plan for this character to play such a key role in the story?
Matalas: We always knew that Jennifer would be a cornerstone of the story, but it wasn't until we were on-set, working with Emily, watching her truly become and evolve this incredible character that we understood where we could go with her. Emily is every bit as extraordinary as her character – all our actors are – and when you understand how limitless she is, suddenly that character opens up in an enormous way. We never could’ve pulled off the Jennifer / Old Jennifer sequence with a lesser actress; the notion of Primaries and Emergence is hugely underscored and enriched by Jennifer’s delivery.
Fresh off the news that 12 Monkeys will be back for 10 new episodes in 2017, what can you tell us about Season 3
Matalas: I can only say that all the pieces on the chess board – The Witness, Olivia, Titan, Cassie and Cole, Jennifer in WWI, Jones and Hannah, Ramse and Sam, even Deacon – they’ll all pay off in deeply emotional and typically unexpected ways. The series is pressing forward into deeper waters – with a bigger threat lurking behind The Witness. Much, much more to come. And we know how it all ends. Or begins, if you will.
Matalas: Jones comes very far, very fast this season. From her complicated romance with Eckland, to her reunion with Hannah, to her one-woman, Die Hard survival movie waiting for Cole’s return. She simultaneously softens and hardens in ways that are going to be vital for her throughout Season Three. She’s no longer simply some determined, amoral scientist hiding behind the protections of the facility. She’s both a mother and a warrior, two sides that are bound to compete violently when she discovers the truth about The Witness.
It's amazing to see how far the character of Jennifer has come since the pilot, and Emily Hampshire has done an amazing job in the role this season. Did you always plan for this character to play such a key role in the story?
Matalas: We always knew that Jennifer would be a cornerstone of the story, but it wasn't until we were on-set, working with Emily, watching her truly become and evolve this incredible character that we understood where we could go with her. Emily is every bit as extraordinary as her character – all our actors are – and when you understand how limitless she is, suddenly that character opens up in an enormous way. We never could’ve pulled off the Jennifer / Old Jennifer sequence with a lesser actress; the notion of Primaries and Emergence is hugely underscored and enriched by Jennifer’s delivery.
Fresh off the news that 12 Monkeys will be back for 10 new episodes in 2017, what can you tell us about Season 3
Matalas: I can only say that all the pieces on the chess board – The Witness, Olivia, Titan, Cassie and Cole, Jennifer in WWI, Jones and Hannah, Ramse and Sam, even Deacon – they’ll all pay off in deeply emotional and typically unexpected ways. The series is pressing forward into deeper waters – with a bigger threat lurking behind The Witness. Much, much more to come. And we know how it all ends. Or begins, if you will.
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ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: The Witness is Cole and Railly’s child! What came with that decision?
TERRY MATALAS: The reason is that we knew the Witness had to have tremendous impact dramatically and emotionally for our main characters. That was something that was really important. It wasn’t just that it would be shocking, it needed to be heartbreaking too and also really ask some serious questions of Cassie and Cole in season 3 — emotional, devastating questions about what to do next. It was something we knew for a long time.
You’ve dropped hints throughout the series that really pointed to this happening.
We were really banging the drum on it from all the way back in season 1 from the house to the man in the house. The fact that the Witness always makes sure that Cole and Cassie survive before his own conception. Thematically, right from episode 201, Brendan Coyle’s character is talking about mothers and mother nature and then even in the second episode, Jennifer Goines plainly says, “Being single is not the end of the world, but you and Cassie together is.” The fact that we teased the house, we teased the writing on the wall, the fact that Olivia can’t understand why Cassie is so important. We were worried that we were almost a little too obvious in telling that story.
TERRY MATALAS: The reason is that we knew the Witness had to have tremendous impact dramatically and emotionally for our main characters. That was something that was really important. It wasn’t just that it would be shocking, it needed to be heartbreaking too and also really ask some serious questions of Cassie and Cole in season 3 — emotional, devastating questions about what to do next. It was something we knew for a long time.
You’ve dropped hints throughout the series that really pointed to this happening.
We were really banging the drum on it from all the way back in season 1 from the house to the man in the house. The fact that the Witness always makes sure that Cole and Cassie survive before his own conception. Thematically, right from episode 201, Brendan Coyle’s character is talking about mothers and mother nature and then even in the second episode, Jennifer Goines plainly says, “Being single is not the end of the world, but you and Cassie together is.” The fact that we teased the house, we teased the writing on the wall, the fact that Olivia can’t understand why Cassie is so important. We were worried that we were almost a little too obvious in telling that story.
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Do you think that there is any resentment there that Cole changed time without telling Cassie?
Uh, yeah. [Laughs] I think there’s a lot of resentment. We didn’t see how he came to explain to her, “This is how I know this is going to go down and we need to stop the paradox,” in episode 13. We don’t know how he told her. He obviously convinced her in a way that didn’t raise a whole lot of suspicions with her, but we did have a little extra scene in episode 13 that Terry cut out. There’s a moment after Cole says, “There’s something else about Titan, they all die,” and Jones gets to work trying to figure out the time machine and heads out. Cassie turned to Cole and she said, “After the paradox, in this other reality, in the paradox did I survive? You said you survived, did I survive?” And he said, “Yeah, I heard that you became a doctor.” And she said, “You heard? You mean we weren’t together?” He plays it off and then she had a little moment of queasiness, which was supposed to be a hint and maybe a little wink that she was still pregnant. So there was a little bit of her questioning in the original script how he came about this information. I think if she knew he had betrayed her and betrayed this life together and this possibility for happiness, she’d be furious. She’d also be furious that he is withholding information because I think she wants to be a partner in every sense with him.
What was it like shooting that love scene between Cassie and Cole? Had you basically been expecting this since the beginning?
I’m going to give you a totally honest answer: I was really nervous about it, because at this point it’s been two seasons, and people keep asking about it. It had to be done in a way that’s going to satisfy an audience that has been requesting this moment. Also, on a personal level, Aaron is now my friend. This is somebody who I worked with for two years before this has happened. We’re buddies now. I’m really good friends with his girlfriend and he’s really good friends with my husband. I was nervous. But then on the very first day, we shot the scene in the living room when they first kiss and then the scene in the bedroom maybe three or four days apart. After we got the first kiss out of the way it was like, “Oh, okay. This is going to be fine. We’ll be okay.”
Uh, yeah. [Laughs] I think there’s a lot of resentment. We didn’t see how he came to explain to her, “This is how I know this is going to go down and we need to stop the paradox,” in episode 13. We don’t know how he told her. He obviously convinced her in a way that didn’t raise a whole lot of suspicions with her, but we did have a little extra scene in episode 13 that Terry cut out. There’s a moment after Cole says, “There’s something else about Titan, they all die,” and Jones gets to work trying to figure out the time machine and heads out. Cassie turned to Cole and she said, “After the paradox, in this other reality, in the paradox did I survive? You said you survived, did I survive?” And he said, “Yeah, I heard that you became a doctor.” And she said, “You heard? You mean we weren’t together?” He plays it off and then she had a little moment of queasiness, which was supposed to be a hint and maybe a little wink that she was still pregnant. So there was a little bit of her questioning in the original script how he came about this information. I think if she knew he had betrayed her and betrayed this life together and this possibility for happiness, she’d be furious. She’d also be furious that he is withholding information because I think she wants to be a partner in every sense with him.
What was it like shooting that love scene between Cassie and Cole? Had you basically been expecting this since the beginning?
I’m going to give you a totally honest answer: I was really nervous about it, because at this point it’s been two seasons, and people keep asking about it. It had to be done in a way that’s going to satisfy an audience that has been requesting this moment. Also, on a personal level, Aaron is now my friend. This is somebody who I worked with for two years before this has happened. We’re buddies now. I’m really good friends with his girlfriend and he’s really good friends with my husband. I was nervous. But then on the very first day, we shot the scene in the living room when they first kiss and then the scene in the bedroom maybe three or four days apart. After we got the first kiss out of the way it was like, “Oh, okay. This is going to be fine. We’ll be okay.”
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