“People can come in clean to the world of ‘Revenge,’” Gabriel Mann teases, “but they leave dirty.”
There, in a few words, is the reason fans adore this ABC primetime soap about a seemingly angelic socialite hiding a personal mission of vengeance. “Revenge” became one of 2011-2012′s biggest surprises, a guilty pleasure that chucked the guilt quickly into its freshman run. It has since inspired fashion trends, gifted viewers with pithy quotes to rehash in day-after discussions, and breathed new life into the flagging primetime soap genre.
And while Emily Thorne is “Revenge’s” central character Mann’s Nolan Ross, the flamboyantly dressed tech gazillionaire who can’t help but involve himself in Emily’s increasingly tangled web, became its true scene-stealer. Nolan gets each episode’s best lines, more often than not. He also was saddled with television’s most unfortunate haircut.
Nolan’s hair took a backseat to “Revenge’s” season finale cliffhanger, in which a principal character appeared to have died in a plane crash, and Emily discovered her long lost mother is still alive. We’ll have to wait until September 30 for those shockers to pay off — although the first order of business, in typical “Revenge-y” fashion, will be to drop viewers into a terrible situation that happens quite a ways into the future before backing up to the events following the crash.
In the meantime Mann was happy to chat about the upcoming season with reporters fortunate enough to visit the “Revenge” set recently. Granted, he could only dish out a few tasty details because creator Mike Kelley is very serious about keeping his show’s biggest secrets under wraps. But Mann assures us, “dynamics have shifted. Plots are coming fast and furious, and it’s going to be utterly twisted and darker and deeper than even last year, if that’s even possible. The more twisted the better!”
Oh, and that awful winged bang-a-thon on Nolan’s head? Over and out. We can report that Nolan has visited a barber who updated his look significantly since we last saw him.
(Please note that Mann’s quotes came from a group interview in which multiple reporters from various outlets participated. Some of his answers have been edited for length.)
On why the show has resonated so well with audiences: “We’ve thought about that a lot over the course of last season. It was a combination of things, I think, the first being that there was a space that was open for this kind of show that was kind of missing. It’s got a retro feel to it…Tongues are planted in cheek, but not firmly. We take it very seriously as we do it, but there’s a lot of fun in the process.”
On the inclusion of terms like “revenge-y” and “revengenda” in his dialogue: “With the advent of social media now, the relationship between the show and the actors and/or creators, writers, whatever, has become much more symbiotic. So now we can take stuff directly out of the things and comments that people have said. We have a great time addressing that, because this is all about our fanbase. And so it’s fun to give them something back – sometimes to throw their expectations, but sometimes to give them exactly what they want.”
On Nolan’s colorful wardrobe and how season two’s developments will impact his closet: “I have now come to live for showing up to work and seeing what’s hanging in my trailer each day. One thing that’s going to be fun this season is that we got really deep and dark at the end of last season, and it’s a return to cocktail parties and pinched smiles. You know, that’s really fun for all of us, all of these very social situations where you know what’s happening behind the scenes and you know what those tight-lipped smiles mean.”
On the fan speculation as to whether Emily and Nolan are brother and sister: “Mike Kelley, our creator, refuses to give us an inch on any of that. I would be happy with however it went. To me, I think Emily holds a candle for Emily, potentially, romantically. That’s how I see it. That’s not what anybody else says to me.”
“But when you see the set-up for what the season is going to turn into, I think our proximities, Emily and I, are getting closer and closer.”
On the status of Emily and Nolan’s tempestuous “revenge” partnership: “Where we ended last year was a really emotionally genuine spot. We were very much together. We are definitely in it to win it at this point. I would do anything for her, including compromise my own safety and, to a degree, my own morals. But we’re just having so much fun. I just can’t stop it!”
On whether Nolan will get a love interest: “Absolutely.”
On whether Nolan’s love interest will be non-psychotic: “I don’t know.”
On what part the recession will play in season two’s plot: “Oh, we’re feeling the recession everywhere. By the end of last season, Grayson Global was dealing with some issues. It would be very interesting to play with the idea of, what happens to very rich people when they aren’t rich anymore? And what would they do to get that money back?”
“So I think this season is really about free will versus destiny and fate, whatever that means. That’s a very broad concept. But I think that’s the general feeling we’re going to play with.”
“..And we have some great playmates this year. I can scratch off my bucket list having met Jennifer Jason Leigh, and it was amazing to see her. It just goes to show how the scope of the show, at this point, is that we are able to pull in actors who want to have a good time.”
On whether we’ll uncover more of Nolan’s backstory: “Oh, you’re going to find out much more about that. I think we will start to live maybe a little bit more in the world of Nolcorp this year. “
On what the future holds for the development of other characters and their stories:“What’s really interesting this season is that now that we’ve established our characters, everybody sort of splits off. We’re going to interact, but everybody’s got their own storyline… And it’s sort of interesting watching the death of innocence on this show, and with the characters.”
“…I think there’s going to be some real love, and some genuinely touching emotional situations. Emily (Van Camp) and Nick Wechsler had me crying while watching the monitor yesterday. And that was just the first day (of shooting). So we’re good.”
On Madeleine Stowe‘s status with the show: “What’s so odd is, they have not told us anything about Madeleine. We haven’t seen her. She hasn’t been around. We speculate, maybe… that was it. But look, the beauty of this show is that anybody that we were to lose on the show can always come back in flashbacks.”
“…She’s keeping it very close to the vest, as Mike is right now. We’re waiting to find out who’s got scoop first.”
The 64th Primetime Emmy Awards: “Homeland,” “Modern Family” Win Big
September 23rd, 2012 | Posted by Melanie McFarland in Commentary | Fall TV | Live Coverage | TV News - (Comments Off)Sunday’s telecast of The 64th Primetime Emmy Awards proved to be golden for ”Homeland” and “Modern Family,” winners for Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Comedy Series respectively. The night’s losers were the usual suspects — and by that we mean the viewers, many of whom no doubt struggled to stay awake on their couches.
You know it’s a boring Emmys telecast when the host, Jimmy Kimmel, has to call Tracy Morgan onstage to lay down and ask him to pretend he’s passed out, supposedly to bait viewers into tweeting about it. The point, you see, was to trick the millions of people who weren’t watching, but for some reason happen to be on Twitter, into tuning in. Did it work? Did we care? Those are hypothetical questions. Bottom line: the 64th Primetime Emmy Awards once again lived up to the bitter old observation that the awards show honoring the best television has to offer often ends up being some of the most boring television a person could watch.
While we can’t blame the telecast’s overall dullness completely on Kimmel, his hosting style certainly did not make the evening go by quickly or joyfully. Kimmel’s even-keeled, deadpan style flatlined on the Emmys stage from top to bottom. Even a filmed opening bit featuring television’s biggest comedy actresses punching him the face (they were knocking back a botched Botox-job, we were told) contained all the lightness and fun of a mugging.
On the other hand, with the exception of a surreal, self-congratulatory bit midway through the proceedings, Kimmel did not get in the way of the alleged festivities. Say what you will about his jokes ranging from merely lame to completely non-existent… at least the guy brought the train into the station on schedule. At the end of it all we still like Kimmel enough to keep watching his late night program, where his comedy style is right at home.
This is not to say that this year’s Emmys was completely devoid of electricity. “Homeland” delivered a shocking sweep in the drama categories, breaking “Mad Men‘s” streak to take home the Emmy for Best Drama in addition to stars Claire Danes and Damian Lewis nabbing individual achievements for Best Actress and Actor. Many prognosticators expected the top races to be between “Mad Men” and “Breaking Bad,” but as it turns out, “Mad Men” didn’t just come up empty in the Best Drama race, it was completely shut out of all the major categories. “Breaking Bad’s” sole win last night was courtesy of Supporting Actor winner Aaron Paul, taking home his second Emmy statuette.
In total, “Homeland” took home six Emmys on Sunday night, a number matched only by HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” which was the big winner at the Creative Arts Emmy awards ceremony that took place on September 15. “Homeland’s” best drama win also represents a first for Showtime in a top category.
Other satisfying victories include Maggie Smith‘s Supporting Actress win for her work on “Downton Abbey” and Jessica Lange‘s Supporting Actress in a miniseries recognition for her scene-stealing role on “American Horror Story.” It bears mentioning that “American Horror Story’s” entry as a miniseries, and “Downton Abbey’s” designation as a drama, allowed both of these women to waltz away with hardware. Had they been up against each other in the same category, somebody would have gone to bed slightly put out this evening. Here’s to awards show gamesmanship: sometimes, everybody wins!
In the Comedy genre, however, it was pretty much business as usual, aside from Louis C.K.‘s two wins. (C.K. took home an Outstanding Writing Emmy for his FX comedy “Louie”, and a second Writing Emmy in the Variety Special category.) “Modern Family” snagged its third Best Comedy Emmy as well as a second Supporting Actor and Actress statues for Eric Stonestreet and Julie Bowen. In the Best Comedy Actress race, Amy Poehler was once again passed over for her superior work on “Parks and Recreation” in favor of Julia Louis-Dreyfus, recognized for her performance on “Veep.” Meanwhile, Jon Cryer won a Best Comedy Actor statue, which will pair nicely with the Supporting Actor Emmy he has already won for all the time that he’s put in on “Two and Half Men.”
And the streaks went on: “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” won its gazillionth Emmy in the Outstanding Variety Series — OK, it was actually its 10th — and in spite of Showtime’s significant showing, HBO still won the total count competition. The premium cable network racked up 23 Emmys in total, helped along in no small part by “Game Change‘s” strong showing with five Emmy wins. The four it took home on Sunday include Emmys for Best Writing, Best Directing, Best Miniseries or Movie, and a Best Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie statue for Julianne Moore‘s portrayal of Sarah Palin.
Among the broadcast networks, CBS scored 16 Emmys, with PBS coming in second with 12 to ABC’s total of nine.
ABC, AMC, Breaking Bad, CBS, claire danes, damian lewis, Emmys 2012, fx, HBO, homeland, louis c.k., Mad Men, Modern Family, showtime