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By Suzanne

Interview with Martin Gero of "Blindspot" on NBC 9/25/15

NBC UNIVERSAL
Moderator: Matthew Mitchell
September 25, 2015 12:00 pm CT

Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome to The Blindspot’s Martin Gero Press and Media Conference Call. During the presentation, all participants will be in a listen-only mode. Afterwards, we will conduct a question and answer session.

At that time if you have a question, please press the 1 followed by the 4 on your telephone. If at any time during the conference you need to reach an operator, please press star 0.

As a reminder, this conference is being recorded Friday, September 25, 2015. I’d now like to turn the conference over to Mr. Matthew Mitchell. Please go ahead, sir.

Matthew Mitchell: Thank you for joining today’s call. We’re really thrilled to have Martin Gero, the creator, executive producer, and show-runner for Blindspot on the phone with us today.

On Monday, September 28, we will air our second episode entitled “A Stray Howl.” To start off, we’ll allow each of you the chance to ask a question, and should you wish to follow up I just ask that you please reenter the queue.

Just a reminder that the call is being recorded. Please welcome Martin and now we’re ready to open it up for questions. Thanks so much everybody.

Operator: Thank you, sir. As a reminder, ladies and gentlemen, please press the 1 followed by the 4 to register for a question. Our first question comes from the line of Brittany Frederick from the Examiner. Please go ahead.

Brittany Frederick: Hey Martin. Thanks so much for taking the time to hang out with us today.

Martin Gero: Oh, my God. It’s my pleasure. Thank you guys.

Brittany Frederick: I kind of really enjoyed Rob Brown’s character, Agent Reade, who stole the show at points there in the pilot with some of those one-liners. Can you talk about that character? And are we going to see more of him as the season goes on?

Martin Gero: Absolutely. I think it’s really important on a show like this to find humor where you can so it doesn’t become all gloom and doom and dour. And it’s something we do more and more every episode because our cast is really funny, Rob Brown especially. Certainly Ashley Johnson is going to carry a lot of that weight as well.

And no, its’ one of those things when we started testing the show, I was so pleased to find out that people just really connected to Rob’s character and the fact that there was a little bit of humor in the show. So it really allowed us to run with that as the episodes come up.

Brittany Frederick: Awesome. Well, thank you so much and good luck with the rest of the season.

Martin Gero: Thanks so much.

Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Stephanie Bichet from Minglemediatv.com. Please go ahead.

Stephanie Bichet: Thank you. Hi Martin.

Martin Gero: Hi.

Stephanie Bichet: Enjoyed the pilot and looking forward to the rest of the season. Can you tell me did you create as a limited series because there’s only so many tattoos on Jane Doe’s body? Or will you...

Martin Gero: No.

Stephanie Bichet: ...have something else? Okay, good. That’s...

Martin Gero: No, there’s a real concrete plan for the first three seasons, and then I have an idea on how to take it past there if we get there. So the crazy thing about pitching these shows nowadays is people have been so burned by an idea that can last ten episodes. So you really have to -- even in the origination of the pitch -- come up with an enormous amount of backstory, which at the time feels like an enormous waste of time because you’re like, no one’s even bought this show. What am I doing?

But the second it gets picked up it’s like, I’m so thankful that I put in the groundwork when it was a little crazy. So no, we have all of the ten full episodes for the first season mapped out and we know what the second season is and how to get into the third season. And then hopefully we’ll see.

Stephanie Bichet: Okay, super. Thank you.

Martin Gero: Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. As a reminder, ladies and gentlemen, please press the 1 followed by the 4 to register a question. Our next question comes from the line of Joshua Maloney from Niagara Frontier Publications. Please go ahead.

Joshua Maloney: Hi Martin. Thanks for your time today.

Martin Gero: Absolutely.

Joshua Maloney: Congratulations on being number one on Monday.

Martin Gero: Thank you.

Joshua Maloney: So you mentioned that there’s a rich amount of backstory, and obviously the people on this call an appreciate that. But you know there’s some risk associated with that in today’s TV culture. So I’m wondering how you appeal to the fans that want that rich mystery with those who maybe just are going to be casual viewers and just want to see Jane punch someone or fight someone?

Martin Gero: Well, I think I’ve said from the beginning this is a procedural for people that don’t like procedurals and a character drama for people that don’t like character drama. I think we can find a way to do both really well.

Our story of the week, so to speak, comes from one of Jane’s tattoos and is closed-ended and like a little action movie in and of itself. But then what’s great about the show is that we’re able to do a layered character drama on top of that. And I think with previously-ons and people finding out information within the show, it’s the type of thing that will reward the loyal viewer but won’t alienate the casual viewer, which I think is so important on shows like these.

Certainly, for me, especially when you’re doing twenty-two a year, sometimes you find out about something and you’re like, oh man, I don’t have twenty-two hours to catch up on the first season. And so for us it’s very important that the show has an entry point for anybody at any time.

Joshua Maloney: Alright. Thank you. Looking forward to more of them.

Martin Gero: Okay, thanks.

Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Jason Wisner from Tvovermind.com. Please go ahead.

Jason Wisner: Hey Martin. Thanks so much for taking the time with us and congratulations on a great first episode so far.

Martin Gero: Thank you.

Jason Wisner: I wanted to ask - I know that we had seen a really strong connection already with just one episode between Jane and Agent Weller, but can you talk a little bit about what the relationship between Jane and the other members of the cast is going to be like moving forward?

Martin Gero: Oh, absolutely. It’s - she slowly becomes very close with all of them. It’s a - there’s a line in episode three where they’re struggling to find what Jane’s role is, how to work it week to week or day to day. And Patterson says it’s kind of like a tangram, which is like these Japanese shape puzzles. And she’s like, you know, this team has been in one piece for so long. And we’re just trying to figure out how to incorporate this new piece, what shape that team is going to be.

So she really has an impact on all of their lives and the great thing about doing a show like this is week to week you get to deepen al of the characters, not just Weller and Jane. And so you start to have - Patterson’s going to have her own stories and - sorry. I’m thinking of them just as their actor names. And then Zapata and Reade will start to have their own stories.

But it’s all directly tied to how Jane is impacting all their lives. So it’s a fun line to trace as who welcomes her with open arms, who’s suspicious of her, who’s worried about her. It runs the gamut and all of their lives are changed for good and for bad by knowing Jane.

Jason Wisner: Okay, fantastic. I’m looking forward to seeing how it plays out.

Martin Gero: Thanks. I hope you like episode two.

Operator: Thank you. As another reminder, please press the one followed by the four to register for a question. Our next question comes from the line of Suzanne Lanoue from TV Megasite. Please go ahead.

Suzanne Lanoue: Good morning.

Martin Gero: Good morning.

Suzanne Lanoue: How did you come up with such an interesting idea for the show?

Martin Gero: I wish I had a better answer for this, but I’ve always loved puzzles. I’ve always - this kind of show is a show I would watch. And I just looked around and felt like there’s not a lot of these puzzle shows and it’s because they’re really hard to do, certainly. But - and so I really thought about it just in the back of my head for years about how to do a show with a treasure map in it somehow.

And then I was - I lived in Times Square -- which is a long story -- during the Viacom bomb threat where they emptied it out, and that image has just stayed with me. It’s, like, so freaky because Times Square is like one of the world’s most famous busy places. And to see it totally empty was kind of an amazing thing.

So one morning I was just thinking about - wow, I wonder what they would do if they went and dismantled a bomb and there was a person inside that bag instead of a bomb? And then I thought how could I connect that to a specific person? You could tattoo Kurt Weller’s name on her back.

And then I was like, well, what if she was covered in tattoos? What if it was a whole treasure map? And I had never seen that before. I’d never seen a person as a treasure map.

So I just got really excited about it and was like let’s figure this out and see where this goes.

Suzanne Lanoue: Alright. Well, thanks a lot. I like the show.

Martin Gero: Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. Our next question is a follow-up question from the line of (Brittany Frederick) from the Examiner. Please go ahead.

Brittany Frederick: Martin, I’m just curious what this journey has been like for you. Now that the show is finally out there, this thing that you admittedly spent so long working on - what have the last couple of days of days been like for you?

Martin Gero: It’s been extraordinarily overwhelming for me and the entire cast and crew. We were really excited about the show and to see that it has connected with so many people is just really exciting. And you never know in this business. I’ve been on shows that I thought were pretty good and no one watched. The last show that I created was the lowest premiere in the history of television.

So this is a marked difference, certainly, than that experience. And it’s been really wonderful. And I think for us, too, it’s exciting because we’re really proud of the pilot, obviously, but we’re even prouder of the series that we’ve made. A lot of people are like, sure, but how do you do this week to week?

And I really think we’ve cracked it and found that balance between a great, thrilling action hour and then emotional character drama. And I just can’t wait. We can’t - we’re just like - people have told me I can’t wait to see it, but we’re just so anxious to get it out there and have people watch it and go on this ride with us.

Brittany Frederick: Yes. I think when I was reviewing the pilot I was up until about four AM still writing stuff down. You guys have really - thanks for ruining my life. No, I’m kidding.

Martin Gero: You’re very welcome for ruining your life. The fun thing, too, is it’s like - who doesn’t love a puzzle? Who doesn’t love a mystery? And this one is wrapped in a lot of funs tuff.

And so the drama - the mystery of who she is and why someone did this to her - we feel like we have a good answer for that. And so - and we’re able to - I think it’s really dangerous for shows like this to feel like all middle from this point on. So we’re really going to churn through some pretty amazing story real quick. Even by the end of the first active, episode two, there’s a pretty major reveal in there that really shapes the entire show. So we’re just excited for people to see it.

Brittany Frederick: Awesome. Well, thanks so much again.

Martin Gero: Thank you.

Operator: Another reminder -- please press the 1 followed by the 4 to register for a question. Our next question comes from the lien of (Stephanie Bichet) from Minglemediatv.com. Please go ahead.

Stephanie Bichet: Me again. So Martin, you’ve created a lot of different projects in different genres. Is there a checklist of story elements that you like to include now that you’ve broken the mold and started blending procedural and character drama into a puzzle for us? Is there anything else that you always go to?

Martin Gero: For me it’s all about the characters. If you’re not interested week to week in what the characters are doing, it’s really hard for the show to work. The pilot you really have to have these amazing set pieces to really draw people in. but even our opening, which is so enormous in Times Square, I think what works about it is you’re genuinely concerned for this woman. It’s a hook into the show visually but it’s also like oh, my God, what’s happening to her?

And so for us the type of action we do on the show is very character-centric. It’s not just massive explosions and car chases. It’s about this woman and this man trying to figure out what the hell is going on with them.

And so for me, I’m just really excited -- A -- to have a canvas that’s this big that you can do some really amazing stuff on, but at the end of the day it’s like the story that we’re telling about these, I think, rather unique characters and the drama that they’re involved together is what really gets us excited. I think that’s the one.

I know I’ve worked through a lot of genres, but at the end of the day it’s the characters that - the television shows I like -- and I’m obsessed with television. When they come back on it’s like, oh, my friends are back, which is sad and lonely.

But that’s kind of how - that’s how you know it’s a good TV show when they transcend that - the show and you just think about them when they’re not on TV, if that makes any sense.

Stephanie Bichet: It does. I live here in LA and a lot of times I’ll see some of my favorite TV characters at a restaurant or whatever. And I wave at them and they look at me like, hello?

Martin Gero: I know, right?

Stephanie Bichet: So I know how you feel.

Martin Gero: Yes, absolutely.

Stephanie Bichet: Okay, thanks.

Martin Gero: Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. Our next question is once again a follow-up question from (Jason Wisner) from Tvovermind.com. Please go ahead.

Jason Wisner: Alright. I really liked in the first episode the way that the procedural elements were blended in with that character drama like you were mentioning, but I was wondering - do you anticipate, for lack of a better phrase, the case of the week elements - do you anticipate ever having one of those like the one in the pilot? And then coming back to it later on in the season or in the series and revealing some more information or in some way having that case have a much bigger part later on than viewers really thought at the beginning.

Martin Gero: Yes. I don’t want to say much more because that bleeds into spoiler area, but I will say all of the cases are interconnected. There’s nothing random about any of the cases they investigate. I can think of one that seems semi-random, but the rest of them are - the cases that come from her body are there with a specific purpose in mind.

And part of the puzzle is trying to figure out who’s doing this and why. And the really clearest information you have about that is the cases start to develop -- at least outwardly -- a theme. And that theme is very telling, and it’s something that our characters are struggling with.

So yes, it’s every - they seem disconnected, but as presented - like if you put them all up on a board, they start to - their similarities start to tell a story, if that makes any sense, which makes it very hard to come up with cases because they all have to fit a very - we have a very specific plan that these bad guys are doing.

And so you can’t just come in and be like, hey, I have a great case idea. And you’re like, well, no. that doesn’t fit with our villain’s overarching goal. So it’s occasionally frustrating in the writer’s room, but I think it gives it a homogeny that is really interesting.

Jason Wisner: Okay, that makes a lot of sense. Thanks.

Operator: Thank you. Our next question, once again, is a follow-up from the line of (Joshua Maloney) from Niagara Frontier Publications. Please go ahead.

Joshua Maloney: Thank you. Martin, obviously a lot of people know Jaimie form her action roles. They may have been surprised to see how well she did with some of the more heartfelt tender moments on Monday. I know I was impressed. Can you tell us a little bit about what she brings to the table and about her acting ability?

Martin Gero: Well, I think what’s really amazing about both of our leads is - and by the way, you’d be lucky to have just Jaimie Alexander in the show. You’d be lucky to have just Sullivan Stapleton in a show. But I have both of them - really puts us over the top in a way that I think can’t be discounted.

And I think what connected me to both of them is Jaimie is an internationally known hard-ass. But she has this incredible vulnerability inside of her that is so important for this character to feel balanced because what she’s going through is totally traumatic. And so yes, it was - when we met with her initially, just even her talking about the character there was this emotion that I had seen under the surface of a lot her performances. I had been a fan of hers and then before we offered it to her, I just watched everything she’d ever been in. And I just thought - I was like, she’s a really great actress on top of the fact of being very physically capable.

And it was - so that was - and it was - it’s exciting when you see somebody who’s really great and hasn’t shown all of it yet to the world. And so that was really exciting for us and I think it’s really exciting for her.

And then for Sullivan it’s kind of the same thing. I mean, I became aware of Sullivan through Animal Kingdom, which was this insanely human, beautiful, tragic performance that he gave. And then he went on to become a massive action star.

So knowing that he could - he’s one of the manliest men I’ve ever met in my life, but also is like - has got such a beautiful soul and can play this tragedy and this hurt that this character clearly has. And I think it’ll be explored a lot. I can - after the second episode you’ll see what I’m talking about. But they both have both of those - the strength and the vulnerability in them, which makes them human and insanely watchable.

Joshua Maloney: Right. Alright, thanks again.

Martin Gero: Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. As a final reminder, please press the 1 followed by the 4 to register for an audio question. The next question, once again, is a follow-up from (Stephanie Bichet) from Minglemediatv.com. Please go ahead.

Stephanie Bichet: Hi. I have like twenty-five questions, but these are just two quick ones. What went into the creation of each of the tattoos?

Martin Gero: We - yes. I mean, they vary. They’re - we - I - when I started developing the show, I made a book of like a hundred tattoos that I really liked. And then we hired a graphic designer eventually to layer them on her body in a rough placement. Then we hired Tinsley Transfer, which specializes in cinematic tattoos. And this guy Christian Tinsley and his team really took the design to a whole other level, brought an amazing amount of detail and brought an amazing amount of stuff with it.

But for us there’s a lot of story on her body that needed to be incorporated. So yes, it’s really a team effort between the writers and Tinsley Transfers, and we’ve brought in this guy (David Quong), who’s a magician and puzzle-maker for the New York Times. He’s amazing. And so he’s one of our chief puzzle consultants and makes sure that these things make sense and they work, which is super important to me.

The second tattoo for the second episode - we put it out for Entertainment Weekly because you could solve it yourself after having seen the pilot. No one has yet. I was like - it’s some sort of prize for the person that can figure it out. I’d be so impressed. But you can piece these together yourself, and so it’s really important for us as a collaboration between the writers, Tinsley, and (David Quong) that this all makes sense and it all has a flow to it.

So yes, outside of that it’s hard to get into how we made each tattoo because they’re so based in story that hasn’t come up yet. But is that an okay answer?

Stephanie Bichet: Oh yes. No, that’s awesome. And also you said you watched everything Jaimie has done in the past. Did you know that she - from what she’s done, she lost her memory in three other projects?

Martin Gero: I did know that. It was real crazy. I was like this is old hat for her. She can do this. No problem.

Stephanie Bichet: That was her audition, right?

Martin Gero: Yes, exactly. She’s like, this is what I do. I’m the no memory girl.

Stephanie Bichet: Perfect. Okay, thanks.

Martin Gero: Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. Our next question - once again, a follow-up from the line of (Brittany Frederick) from the Examiner. Please go ahead.

Brittany Frederick: Martin, I want to ask you about the week-to-week writing process. How does it change for you guys when you’re writing episodes right now - like the beginning of season one and you know - okay, we have things planned out for the end of season one and end of season two like you were saying. How - when its’ plotted like that for certain beats, how does it change you as far as approaching how to write every individual episode getting to those points?

Martin Gero: Well, I think it’s all about servicing those. It’s not just the end. I know we - when we started, I knew what I wanted episode five and six to be, and I knew what episode seven was. And then I definitely knew what episode ten was. That’s our midseason finale - what eleven was. And then you have some midway points where it’s like, okay, well, fifteen and sixteen have to be this. Twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two -- if we’re so lucky -- have to be those.

So - and then it’s about - it’s kind of like an animation in-betweening. You do the big moves and then you’re like, okay, well how do we get there in an organic way? We know where we have to land with these characters in ten, so how do we get everyone there in a way that feels like we - it happens naturally and organically?

And that’s really fun to know - to know where you’re going makes this job way easier because you’re not just like, well, what do we do this week? You have a plan of where you have to get to and so both for the characters and for the mystery. So it’s been really fun to work with these amazing writers and craft these episodes week to week, building on, ideally, what we’ve done last week.

Brittany Frederick: Awesome. Well, thanks so much again.

Martin Gero: Absolutely.

Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of (Ann Easton) from the New York Observer. Please go ahead.

Ann Easton: Hey, thanks for taking the call today. Really appreciate it.

Martin Gero: Absolutely.

Ann Easton: My question is about social media. How do you think it helps the show? And conversely, do you think it hurts it a little bit, especially since things might get spoiled for West Coast viewers? I just wondered if you could talk about that a little bit.

Martin Gero: Well, I think the fun of this show - we live tweet both the East Coast and West Coast feeds. And it’s really fun to engage the audience in a real-time way and see what’s working and what’s not working, and what they get excited about.

And it creates a buzz. We trended on Twitter worldwide for I think four or five hours Monday night, which is extraordinary. And it drives - I think it drives interest in a show like this because if you’re just somebody that’s not into the show and all of a sudden your Twitter feed blows up with all things Blindspot, I think it drives you to the program.

And then as far as the East Coast - West Coast thing, certainly there are shows that I just as a fan have participated in live Tweet-wise. And I just think they’re savvy enough to just be like, well, I’m going to stay off Twitter for two or three hours. And then I’ll - and then we do it all again. So it’s not like they’re missing anything.

And just being able to - what’s really interesting is the - how it stays hot well after the show. Because what a lot of people do is they watch the show and then they just enter hashtag Blindspot into their search and then just scroll back over the next hour. And its’ kind of like a director’s commentary or something like that with hundreds of thousands of participants.

And so yes. It’s - I think it’s something we take really seriously and I think it helps more than it hurts.

Ann Easton: Great. Thanks so much.

Martin Gero: Absolutely.

Operator: Thank you. One final reminder, ladies and gentlemen -- please press the one followed by the four to register for a question.

It appears we have no further questions at this time. Mr. Mitchell, I’ll turn the call back over to you, sir.

Matthew Mitchell: Thank you very much. Thanks everyone for taking the time to participate today. Should anyone have follow-up questions or need additional information, please feel free to reach out to me and I’ll do my best to get you whatever you need. If you’d like a transcript, please reach out to myself or (Marcia Ricket). We’ll send that out within the next forty-eight hours.

Again, thanks so much for joining today’s call and everybody have a great weekend. Thanks so much.

Martin Gero: Thank you, guys.

Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude the conference call for today. We thank you for your participation and ask that you please disconnect your lines.

END

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