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By Suzanne

Interview with Rachel Nichols, Victor Webster and Simon Barry of "Continuum" on Syfy 6/3/13

I wasn't able to make this call , but I have spoken with all three before, and they are wonderful interviewees and excel in their jobs as actors and writers. I love this show, and I'm so glad it's a hit. It's rare that a thoughtful science fiction show is successful (even on cable).  This show has so many great layers and pushes you to the edge in every possible way. Love it!

NBC UNIVERSAL
Moderator: Stephen Cox
June 3, 2013 1:00 pm CT

Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Continuum Syfy conference call.

Gary Morgenstein: Welcome to the Continuum conference call. Friday, June 7 at 10:00 pm Continuum returns for its second season on Syfy at its new time period. And to talk about the season I have stars Rachel Nichols and Victor Webster and executive producer, Simon Barry. Hello everyone, thank you.

Simon Barry: Thank you.

Rachel Nichols: Hi.

Simon Barry: Thank you.

Operator: And our first question comes from the line of Erin Willard with SciFi Mafia. Please go ahead.

Erin Willard: Hi, thanks so much for being on the call today.

Rachel Nichols: Of course.

Erin Willard: Well, what a phenomenal season finale and Season 2 premier. I adore a show that makes me pay attention. So thank you for the spoilers and thank you so much for your work. I really appreciate it.

Rachel Nichols: Awesome, thank you.

Erin Willard: My pleasure, believe me... I’d like to hear from each of you what you’re most excited about the fans seeing in Season 2.

Rachel Nichols: What are we allowed to talk about regarding spoilers, Simon?

Simon Barry: No spoilers.

Victor Webster: That doesn’t leave us much.

Rachel Nichols: Gosh, well.

Simon Barry: You can speak in general terms about those things that you’re excited about, in general terms.

Rachel Nichols: Actually, you know, one of the episodes that’s my favorite, there’s sort of a new piece of - kind of a new piece of technology is introduce and it’s one that Kiera has never really seen or experienced before. And it’s a piece of future technology that appears in the present day to help her deal with kind of a very emotional situation she’d going through. And I think that mechanism was used extremely, extremely well.

There’s also an interesting relationship change for Kiera and Carlos. And I think their journey this season is extremely important. And it really sets up, you know, knock on wood, future seasons of the show. And yeah, I think those - that would be Episode 5 and Episode 6 are two that I would highlight in Season 2.

And then wow, I mean, I’m covered from head to toe in bruises and can barely move because I was doing a fight scene for 15 hours yesterday. And that season finale is going to be epic, to say the least.

Erin Willard: Great.

Simon Barry: Victor, go ahead.

Victor Webster: You know, I just have to echo some of the things that Rachel said. I think the relationship between her and I really goes through a big rollercoaster this year. And our friendship is tested, it’s validated, it’s - I mean, goes through the whole gambit of different trials and tribulations.

The fight scene that Rachel’s talking about that she did, I’m actually really looking forward to - I read it in the script. I don’t know how they’re going to pull this off so I can’t wait to see that. And I think that’s going to be pretty epic.

I’d have to say those are - the biggest thing is relationship and that last fight scene. It sounds like it’s going to be awesome.

Simon Barry: Yeah, I think there’s so much - so many things to look forward to this season. For me it sort of encapsulates what I’m most excited about in seeing is really the show I think taking on its own identity in a way that we didn’t have a chance to do in Season 1 because it was a new show and we were still kind of finding our way.

But I think Season 2 the show really owns its place in terms of storytelling and what the mythology of the show has - you know, how important the mythology of the show is to the storytelling and also how connected and interconnected the characters are. So I think for me it’s really just the show settling in to knowing exactly what it is and how the show should be. And I imagine that the fans will respond to that as well.

Erin Willard: Great. I can already tell that from the season premier so I’m really looking forward to it. Thanks so much.

Simon Barry: Thank you.

Victor Webster: Thank you.

Operator: And our next question comes from the line of Jamie Ruby with scifivision.com. Please proceed.

Jamie Ruby: Hi guys. Thanks for doing the call. Is there anything -- I don’t know, maybe that’s as much as you can talk about it -- but can you talk more about kind of the changes in the relationship this season? Or is that all you can say?

Rachel Nichols: Well, you know, at the end of Season 1 and the beginning of Season 2, Kiera’s very much a lone wolf. And she’s sort of - kind of alienated Carlos and sort of Eric - and Alec in a certain way. And as far as her relationship with Carlos goes, you know, he’s like her best friend, whether he knows it or not. And she’s really dependant on him.

And getting them through Season 2 so that they can continue on together essentially as partners is extremely important. And I would just - I mean, speaking very vague terms which I know is super annoying, it’s just - it just - what transpires in Season 2 will only lend itself to them being able to continue the path that they’re on together.

And his understanding of her definitely grows because it has to. And essentially she’s not working for the VPD at the beginning of the season and she needs to get back in to continue the fight. And Carlos is her biggest supporter. And he’s the only person that has never let her down, and that is defined this season.

Jamie Ruby: Victor or Simon, one of you - do you have anything to add?

Victor Webster: Well, I think I’ll let Simon answer that question.

Simon Barry: Well, I would say I think all the relationships on the show in one way or another get redefined in an interesting way. And Rachel’s right. I think that her relationship with Carlos becomes much more complex. But that doesn’t mean that it’s just those two. I think that the level of complexity and the challenges of relationships actually across the board, whether it’s Alec, whether it’s Kellog, the members of Liber8, the police department.

Everyone seems to have an opportunity to sort of redefine their role on the show in a way. And it’s interesting to see where they all land by the end of Season 2 in terms of those definitions. So for me that’s a really fun part of the show is allowing a lot of our characters to interact and to also change positions in a way that I think is not expected.

Jamie Ruby: Okay, cool. And then this is more for Simon. I just - are we going to see - like I know obviously will eventually, but more towards the beginning of the season more about how - why Alec sent Kiera back? Because it seems like he sent Liber8 back to kind of undo some of what he did, but then he sent her back it seems like to stop them. It’s a little confusing to me.

Simon Barry: Yeah. We do open the door to that question and that mystery a little bit more than we have in Season 1. And I think it’s - a lot of it goes to paying off sort of the conspiracy of how Kiera got involved in the first place in this time travel experiment.

So one thing we are leading to in act - as far as Season 2 is not only exploring how older Alec Sadler was thinking and why, but also the machinations of manifesting this experiment and how it came to be. So that by the end of Season 2 a lot of those questions are completely cleared up and we know where we are in the universe.

Jamie Ruby: Okay, great. Thank you so much. I love the premier.

Rachel Nichols: Thank you.

Simon Barry: Thank you very much.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Kyle Nolan with noreruns.net. Please proceed.

Kyle Nolan: Hi everyone. Thanks for taking the time. So Simon, could you talk about the balancing of the future story and conspiracy with the current story line and how much of that is mapped out when you first start the season?

Simon Barry: Well, we have the luxury of having most of our season mapped out before we start shooting. And so we had a very good idea of how we were going to break down the beats from the future into the season. And so that we were not kind of overwhelming the audience with too much information too quickly.

And so there was a - we kind of tried to create a series of story lines that at first glance may not seem connected. But by the end of the season you realize that they are. And some of them are definitely rooted in the present, and some of them are connected to the future. And so it’s, you know, it’s one of those things where you - when you’re looking at a whole season in advance you’re trying to approach it so that you balance all of those gems of information of reveal throughout the season instead of being forced to show everything at once, you know?

Kyle Nolan: Yes. And could you talk about any new characters or locations we’ll see this season?

Simon Barry: Absolutely. Well, we are carrying over two important characters from Season 1, those being Gardiner, the federal agent, and Jason, who is the other time traveler that Kiera encounters who’s come 20 years ahead of her. And so those characters play a large role in Season 2.

We’re also bringing in a love interest for Alec because he is after all an 18 year old boy and it would be a little weird for him to not have someone in his life as he turns - as he gets closer to 19. So we’re bringing in a character named Emily.

And also we’re - we’re also introducing the character that we mentioned last season at the end of the season, Escher who we’ll be bringing in about mid-point during the season.

Kyle Nolan: Great, thanks. I really enjoyed the premier.

Rachel Nichols: Awesome, thank you.

Simon Barry: Thanks so much. I appreciate that.

Victor Webster: Thanks.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Joshua Maloney with Niagara Frontier Publication. Please proceed.

Joshua Maloney: Yeah, Rachel, can you tell us a little bit about Kiera’s resolve to get home? It seemed like it was waning a little toward the end of the first season. Is that still her ultimate goal or has things changed and now maybe, you know, she’s a little bit leery about going back to her timeline?

Rachel Nichols: You know, I think the first season is - yes. Towards the end there seemed to be a lot of other things that were coming in to play. There’s a very important question that Alec asks Kiera at the beginning of Season 2 and he says, if you had prevented that building from going down in the finale of Season 1, did it ever occur to you what that act might have done to your future.

And it’s something that she has to think about. And crazy Jason says something else very important to her which is, after you’ve been here for a certain period of time your memory of the future starts to fade and you begin to question if you were ever there. Also something that Kiera finds extremely terrifying.

Her resolve to get home is still very much intact, but Season 2 is very defined by the idea that she realizes that she was sent here for a reason. And she doesn’t have a shot to get back until she completes this mission that she doesn’t know anything about. And yes, going home - her son is the most important thing to her. And he remains the most important thing to her. And he will remain the most important thing to her.

But she is here and she does have a job to do. And I think we all know Kiera Cameron isn’t going to stick her head in the sand like an ostrich and wait for someone to tap her on the back and say, oh, here’s your time travel device, you can go home. So for all the time that’s she spends working here in the present to try to get back to the future, she is aware that she may indeed be changing the future and preventing the birth of her son, her marriage, everybody she knows and loves from existing.

But she’s the kind of person who is going to do her job while she is here because that’s what she was sent to do and that’s her purpose. And it’s the idea that she can’t get home without doing it, so she’s got to do it.

Joshua Maloney: Interesting. Now what in Season 2 did you find that you were able to do with the character that maybe you couldn’t do in Season 1?

Rachel Nichols: You know, there are a lot of - the writing is fantastic on this show. Season 2 has a lot of - there are a lot of sort of deeper emotional points. And there are - there’s more of a definition between her relationship with Carlos and that gets obviously deeper. And her relationship with Erik and Matt goes through sort of a lot of ebbs and flows.

I mean, her and Erik - Kiera and Alec this year, you know, go - they have their highs and they have their lows and that’s something that was very - was not really present in Season 1. You know, he was her number one guy, so to speak and she was his number one girl, and that relationship suffers this season. There was a lot there to intervene as well.

And just the, you know, finding out sort of more about who she is and where she comes from and the state of the world at the time that she left and what she’s discovered about the present day is constantly changing her impression of, you know, the battle versus good and evil, right versus wrong. It’s just that Season 2 is - there was a lot of setting up to do in Season 1 so Season 2 definitely has the moments of more sort of - more discovery for her character and how she feels with - how she dealt with her life in the future and how she’s doing with the life in the present day.

Joshua Maloney: All right, looking forward to it. Thank you very much.

Rachel Nichols: Thank you.

Simon Barry: Thank you.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Jamie Steinberg with Starry Constellation Magazine. Please proceed.

Jamie Steinberg: Hi everyone. Thanks again for taking the time.

Rachel Nichols: Hello.

Simon Barry: Hello.

Jamie Steinberg: I was wondering if Rachel and Victor could talk about the comparisons and the contrasts between filming Seasons 1 and 2.

Rachel Nichols: Victor, do you want to start?

Victor Webster: Sure. I think that, you know, there was a feeling out process - obviously people coming together, working for a common goal in Season 1, I think there are a lot of question marks. I feel like Season 2 they’ve gotten to know each other really, really well. I think he trusts - Carlos trusts Kiera tremendously. She’s always got his back. But there is that lingering cloud of questions hanging over top and that’s what is really going on. Because it’s not everything that it seems.

So the relationship has not reached its full potential because of that. So I think that in Season 1 they have grown to trust each other. And Season 2 they’ve now gotten to that point and I think Carlos is getting close to needing answers and wanting to know what the hell’s going on. So it - I think that there’s an evolution that is at some point, it could be either this season or next season, has to come to a head at one point. And that’s it.

Rachel Nichols: And for me, you know, it was revealed of Episode 9 of last year when we were out at the farm and Carlos was wounded and incoherent and losing a lot of blood and Kiera said, you know, you’re my best friend and I lie to you every day and it kills me. And she tells him - she tells him, “I have a son,” you know.

And obviously he doesn’t really absorb any of this. But she - But Kiera is in a very painful position when it comes to Carlos. Because she - he is her partner, he is her best friend. He trusts her. He sticks his neck out for her. He defends her. And she’s lying to him on a daily basis. And if she can’t - she can’t say hey, what’s up, I’m from the future. That doesn’t work. That’s a sure fire way to get him to go running in the other direction.

So, you know, Season 1 was a lot of sort of setting up that relationship and the - and using Alec to help navigate that relationship, and help create answers when answers needed to be created. But it’s something that’s very, very painful for Kiera. And I think in Season 2 you see how those complications have to be fleshed out in the best way possible for the situation, which inevitably does bring Kiera and Carlos closer.

Although, the reality is -- especially for Kiera -- the reality of it is sort of I would say more - I would go with more painful. But yeah, I mean, you’ll see a lot in Season 2 about - with Kiera and Carlos becoming closer. And they’re still doing that dance. That dance still exists. It changes a little bit, but it still exits.

Jamie Steinberg: And if you had to choose between your multi-tool or - your suit, multi-tool or a weapon which one could you not live without?

Rachel Nichols: Well, that suit, although it looks good on, take it from a girl who did 15 hours of fighting in that suit yesterday, I don’t want to have to wear that. So I would take the multi-tool because it does everything you could possibly need it to do and it fits into a small evening clutch so it’s very easy to travel with.

Victor Webster: But I think I speak on behalf of all of the men that watch the show, we like the suit.

Rachel Nichols: Well, keep liking it and I’ll keep wearing it, but it’s not the piece of tech I’m going to take with me.

Jamie Steinberg: All right, thank you guys.

Rachel Nichols: Awesome, thank you.

Simon Barry: Thank you.

Victor Webster: Take care.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Robin Burks with fangirlconfessions.com. Please proceed.

Robin Burks: Hi. When you watch science fiction as a viewer there’s a, you know, you need a certain element of suspending disbelief. How do you make sure that Continuum stays relatable and believable to those of us who are watching?

Rachel Nichols: Oh Simon that is so for you.

Simon Barry: Well, I think that, you know, we’ve tried to create a bit of a (unintelligible) in Continuum with our future terrorists/freedom fighters in that they are zeroing in on the problems of today to avoid larger problems tomorrow. And I think that that’s one sort of device that will never go out of style.

Because I imagine the things in the news that we perceive as being these challenging conflicts of right and wrong, and I think we’ll forever be debating whether these hard decisions that we make in the world politically or otherwise are necessarily the right thing.

And the show can take a stab at those things in a way that other shows can’t. Because with our characters’ perspective of the future we can make a judgment call on things that really are still - the jury I still out on. And I think that what science fiction does well is it takes controversial notions and explores them and tears them apart. And instead of actually finding a solution maybe just creates a debate.

And we’ve really worked hard to keep our gray area gray on the show, and keep our characters much more - keep the struggle alive in their challenges as opposed to making things very easy and simple from a moral point of view. I think that once - I know that myself and the writers on Continuum will always do is look to the world today to find those challenging ideas that are something we can bring a debate to as opposed to a solution to.

And just allow people to talk about things. I mean, I think we’ve already done it with Season 1. Our fans have certainly engaged each other and are having a very lively conversation about what is the right thing and what isn’t the right thing.

Robin Burks: Rachel, Victor, anything to add as actor on a science fiction show?

Rachel Nichols: Simon’s so eloquent; it’s hard. And I, you know, I haven’t this is my first true sci-fi show. Yes, I would say that. Yes, I think the fact that - I think if you can get, you know, the fans interacting, obviously we do live tweets and we do all that. I think if you get the fans interacting and they’re always so fascinated and they always have all these questions. And they want to know.

And when you do this - the reason I love sci-fi fantasy so much and we have such great fans is that if you do sci-fi well, they love you. They tell their friends. They watch your show. They get their whole family to watch your show. And it’s the most rewarding thing. If you do something half-assed they’ll have your head on a stake and they’ll march it through town and they absolutely deserve to do so.

So I think if you’re going to do a sci-fi show and you’re going - you need to do it well and you need to pay respects to whatever mythology it is that you create. And if you’re true to that mythology, people will, you know, get on the wagon with you.

Robin Burks: Anything from Victor?

Victor Webster: There isn’t anything I could possibly add. Everything was said so perfectly.

Robin Burks: Well, I have a question for each of you then. What has been the biggest challenge going into the second season of Continuum?

Simon Barry: Well, I’ll answer that one first. I think it’s really just keeping the foot on the accelerator. It’s keeping the level of interest, you know, from the fans high, but also trying to make the show appealing to a new audience and allow the show to grow.

I think, you know, we also are - because the show is becoming much more kind of owning its personality, we run the risk of being maybe too specific in some areas that we haven’t been in the past. So I hope that, you know, I think that good television tends to do a good job of declaring its space, if you will, declaring its shelf space. And there’s always some - there’s always an uncertainty about that.

But I think that Season 2 for Continuum is really much closer to the show than I had envisioned when I first created it. And so I’m expecting that that will reward the fans and will also provide us with more incentive to keep going.

Rachel Nichols: For me, you know, I’ve done TV before. You know, I’ve been on shows for full seasons before. I’d never done a Season 2 of anything ever. And when we found out we got picked up there’s that amazing sort of oh my gosh, we’ve got a Season 2 and the numbers are great and the fans really love the show. How exciting is this. And we get to do it all over again.

And then that fear sets in of oh God, I hope we don’t disappoint. And that’s one of those things where you, as a team, between writers, directors, executive producers, actors, everybody comes back for Season 2 and we just want to put the best product out there because we know that people are anticipating it.

And having that anticipation is the most wonderful thing and also the most frightening. Because you don’t want to let these people down once they’ve invested so much in your show and supporting it and talking about it. You’ve really got to start a second season, a third season, a fourth season, whatever season you’re starting after Season 1, you’ve got to really start strong so that you don’t let the people down that have supported you. And that for me was an intimidating idea.

But I can honestly say that I don’t think anybody will be let down with Season 2. They certainly aren’t here in Canada, anyway.

Victor Webster: No, I have to agree with that. I think one of the things is that we set such a president from the first Season. You know, something that was such a well rounded show, great performances by people. The writing was fantastic. It’s such an intelligent, smart show. Like Simon said, there are so many shades of gray.

And the show can go in so many different directions. And I think because Season 1 came off so well, that coming back saying well, what we can do now is the opportunity - the different paths that we can take are endless. And how do we do that without disappointing the fans that loved Season 1 so much? You know, how do we take it up to another level? How do we grow and continue to expand them when we’ve introduced already?

I think it’s kind of a daunting feeling but I think now that we’ve done Season 2, looking back in retrospect it’s - I think that we brought it up to a whole different level. And I don’t know how Simon and the writing staff are going to step up to the challenge of Season 3 because now it seems so huge because we’ve gone so far in Season 2. So it’s just something to be so proud of, you know?

Robin Burks: Great thank you. Looking forward to a Season 3.

Rachel Nichols: Yes, absolutely.

Simon Barry: Thank you so much.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Simon Applebaum with Tomorrow Will Be Televised. Please proceed.

Simon Applebaum: Yes, thank you very much. Simon, weekly dramas that have had a time travel focus have had an admittedly mixed track record on television. Time (unintelligible) and Voyagers lasted a year. Time Trax ran two years in syndication. Quantum Leap probably the longest running of the bunch, four, four and a half, five season. Why do you think your series with a time travel focus has caught on? What about the show and the time travel emphasis is catching on with viewers.

Simon Barry: Well, I think that there’s this litmus test with any show that has a big gimmick. And I think the litmus test is would the show work if you didn’t have the gimmick. If you just had your characters and you just had a situation that you could count on for dramatic purposes, would you still watch the show?

And as much as we needed the gimmick to get our show launched and off the ground, I have to say that we have such a great group of actors and we have such a great group of writers and directors pushing through that I think that we’ve - we feel very confident that there’s an opportunity to tell great stories now that really aren’t hung on the gimmick of time travel necessarily. That aren’t hung on necessarily the science fiction element instead of grounded in the characters and the characters relationships with each other.

So for me, I think we’ll always embrace our connection to sci-fi and also our gimmick which is, you know, arguably time travel concept. But because we don’t have to time travel every week. Because we don’t have to physically use that trope, I think we have to create a show that would survive without it. And therefore we’ve found - we’ve been able to engineer the components of a good TV show that are driven by characters and relationships that really can allow a show to continue beyond what its set up was. And that’s what we’re always trying to do is balance those things.

You know, and it’s a production concept because also if we were to time travel every week it would be a huge, you know, cost towards the show. It would be very complicated. So I think that because our actors are so grounded and believable in the roles that they play we can really mind that and those relationships in a way that other sci-fi shows maybe don’t have that luxury.

Simon Applebaum: Rachel and Victor, thanks to sci-fi people here in the U.S. are going to see the second season right on top of the first season. And this is something sci-fi last year, it did very well. Now that’s in Season 3 and beyond. I’m curious what you think about having viewers being able to see the second season so fast after the first rather than wait a year or two or six months or so to see the second season?

Rachel Nichols: No. I would want them to go - I would want them to go right into it. I want everybody to be caught up, so to speak. I think it’s a good way to go. I think it’s a smart way to go. I think it keeps people engaged and because it’s already airing here in Canada. And you want to keep - I would think you’d want to keep the air dates for the seasons as close together as possible.

Just, you know, just to keep everybody up to speed and not spoil anything for those in the US. I think it’s a very smart thing to do to run the two seasons together. I don’t - yes. I don’t necessarily believe that there should be years in-between. I think people become forgetful.

And when you’re establishing a show, hey, giving them, what is it, it’s going to be 23 full episodes back to back. I think that’s a luxury. I’m really happy that we did it, or they did it. I really didn’t have anything to do with it.

Victor Webster: Yes, I think today people have such a short attention span that if you don’t give them everything right away I think people, minds, we’re multitasking so much, we’re doing so many different things at once I think it’s really smart to give people a refresher for people that maybe saw the first season and now they’re watching it again.

Plus, there’s so many things hidden that you don’t see the first time around. That you really only notice maybe the second or third time. I’ve seen the show a few times now and I was on the show and I’ve read every script and there’s still things that I see and it’s like oh wow. You know, they planted that in episode whatever it was and that pays off, you know, five episodes later ands I never noticed it the first time.

So there are so many things that sort of - each time you see it. But, you know, having all of that momentum leading up to the first season and into the second season, tying it all together, I think is so important.

Simon Applebaum: Great. Thank you all very much. Have a great Season 2.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Laurel Brown with Zap2it. Please proceed.

Laurel Brown: I was wondering - one of the things that I found really fascinating about the show in the first season was the way that you brought in sort of the subtle politics and I guess latent politics in some ways of the difference between sort of a modern democracy and a futuristic corporate takeover the world situation. Is that something that’s going to continue in Season 2? Is it going to be explored even more? And how do you see that as a part of the show?

Simon Barry: We certainly explore because we do draw links between characters in the present and some of these designs that, you know, these movements that will result in this possible future. I think that our 2077 that Kiera comes from has roots - has its roots in, you know, what a lot of people perceive to be either something that could happen or actually is already happening and has - and are public politics really just masked?

And there’s so many different points of view about this that it’s just - I would hate to limit the scope of what people perceive as the future as being anything specific. I love providing details but I’m not sort of here to say this is, you know, the worst thing in the world or the best thing in the world. Or this is my definition of dystopic or whatever.

I think that the ideas of a corporate controlled future don’t need to be necessarily that extreme to be believable. And that was one of the things that attracted it to me as a possible model for a future was that it’s not a huge leap in terms of where we are today. So I wouldn’t put it over - I wouldn’t necessarily - we’re not really in the business of sort of trying to politic our way out of this situation or show a pathway to a different, you know, system.

The show - the future of 2077 is that future. It’s pretty - I think we’ve established it and it is something that Kiera knows as being her version of reality. There’s really no other point to comment on or de-shift it because it’s - I don’t think it serves the show to be arguing whether or not things are going to get better or worse or what. It’s really about individual characters’ assessment. So Liber8 has point of view.

Kiera has her point of view but that could change because of the things she learns as she goes, and vice versa with Liber8. There are characters in Liber8 who may see that the present isn’t all as bad as they thought. And so maybe those extreme measures aren’t required that they thought.

And so that for me is much more interesting than kind of taking some political science approach to the whole thing. I think I just want the audience to feel like it’s a believable future and that’s the intent.

Laurel Brown: Great, thanks a lot. Looking forward to Season 2.

Rachel Nichols: Thank you.

Simon Barry: No problem. Thank you.

Victor Webster: Thank you. Take care.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Ernie Estrella with buzzfocus.com. Please proceed.

Ernie Estrella: I spoke to you the first season to talk about, you know, the loneliness that Kiera might be feeling. But this season she’s so surrounded by men. All of her relationships are very male based. Are we going to see her have - maybe gain a relationship with another woman, someone she can kind of, you know, talk to and have a shoulder to lean on? Maybe her grandmother again or someone of the same sex?

Simon Barry: I will actually cut you off right there and say yes, that’s going to happen.

Ernie Estrella: But to get into the details would spoil it. So I’m going to leave with that. But the...

Rachel Nichols: Wow, Simon, thank you. I was like - I was about to answer. Thank you.

Simon Barry: But yes. There will be a major female character that Kiera will encounter and deal with.

Ernie Estrella: Excellent, okay. And then also, can we talk a little more about Lexa Doig’s, you know, confusion into Season 2. You know, she was kind of in the background in the first season and then here she takes on the role of filling in for Kagame. And, you know, are we going to see Sonya’s plan? Or are we going to see her carrying out Kagame’s plan?

Simon Barry: Well, I think there’s an interesting balance there because on the one hand she is following Kagame’s lead and wants to, I think, acknowledge that mentorship and his design. But at the same time there are circumstances that Kagame could not have predicted. And also the way Lexa’s character, the way Sonya needs to deal with some situation will present I think what is an interesting challenge.

So it’s an evolution and the answer to your question is she will be challenged as any leader is in, no matter what they are leading, they have to find the balance between their doctrine and who they are. And I think that Sonya’s no different and we get to experience that journey with her. Because it’s one thing to just be told you’re the leader. It’s another thing to pull it off and how you do it says a lot about not only who you are but where - how you will have to proceed following that.

So I think that’s one of the fun sort of power structures of the show and one of those parts of the show and one of those parts of the show we get to explore and allow to evolve in a dramatic way.

Ernie Estrella: Victor and Rachel, do you have any kind of points of view as far as observing what Lexa brings to Season 2?

Victor Webster: Well, I think personally I just, you know, I’ve been a big fan of Lexa. I think she’s an amazing actress. I think she really gets to show a lot of her talents this year. She gets - everybody’s story line this year, all of the characters are developed so richly and you really get an understanding of what everybody’s going through. And, you know, Sonya’s one of those characters that we really get to see a lot from her this season. And it’s such a delight because she’s so fantastic, you know.

But I think, you know, like Simon was saying, obviously Kagame has had such a strong influence on her. But she now has that mentorship that is gone which has left all of the teachings with her. But she now has to fend for herself and make her own decisions. So it would be interesting to see how that manifests.

Rachel Nichols: Yes, I’m not sure that there’s - I’m not sure that there’s much else I can add to be honest. It’s - you know, when we end Season 2 and there’s a very precarious position, she’s got a gun pointed at Travis. We pick up right where we left - when we end Season 1 we pick up right there where we left off in Season 2.

And that sort of tension in Liber8 I think is very important even though Kiera only finds out about it when it’s sort of already going on. I think that is very important. The relationship between Sonya and Travis I love. It’s twisted but I love it.

And I think - and Lexa’s great. I mean, she plays a great ass-kicking, you know, baddie. And she can do whatever you need her to do, whatever you ask her to do. And she can do the emotion and she can do the action. Her personality, knowing Lexa, her personality comes out in the funniest ways in Sonya, which I always appreciate.

Ernie Estrella: Great. Thank you very much.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Kevin Bachelder with Turning in to Sci-Fi TV. Please proceed.

Kevin Bacheldur: Just wanted to mention I’ve had the opportunity to see the first few episodes of Season 2 without any spoilers. And that spoiler you mentioned Kiera, it’s a wonderful performance and a great story element. Folks are going to love that one.

Rachel Nichols: Oh, thank you so much.

Kevin Bacheldur: Yes, it was really a good one to see.

Rachel Nichols: It was the - I’ve said it before and I’ll probably say it again. It was - that was the single most difficult episode of television I’ve ever shot. And it was, you know, very difficult to shoot. And I watched it the other night while we were live tweeting and I was very proud of the episode, but it was also the most difficult to watch. So you mentioning that, I greatly appreciate.

Kevin Bacheldur: It’s one of the reasons why we love the show. But my question kind of leads in to what you just mentioned and we brought up here a little earlier. With the different schedules between Canada and the U.S. and most of you being very active on Twitter and social media which we all love as fans, is there any discussion for how you’re going to avoid, you know, spoiling one direction or another now that they’re five weeks or so apart?

Rachel Nichols: Well, I know...

Simon Barry: That’s tough. Yes, it’s a tricky question because we’re encouraging everyone obviously to not have a delay. We’d like the show to be broadcast as close as possible together between both countries. So whether you want to look at the live tweeting or the marketing tool that helps the show or pushes the broadcasters closer together, I don’t know.

Unfortunately, you know, there is always that risk but we don’t want to treat any fans any differently than anyone else. And we certainly would not want to downplay our enthusiasm for our Canadian fans any more than we would want to for the U.S. fans. So I think that strategically we will try and do our best to be present for all this, you know, broadcast when we can.

And honestly, the actors have taken it upon themselves to be as active as they are. This is not something that we have tried to manufacture or organize very much - well. It’s really just sort of something that’s happened organically which is probably what makes it so genuine or entertaining. It’s not a - it hasn’t been taken over, if you will, by the marketing department. It’s really just a bunch of people who like working together and love the show they work on and love talking - interacting with the fans.

I think that, you know, certainly as sci-fi has done in the past with shows like this with Lost Girl, they’ve tried - they’ve made an effort to bridge that gap of broadcast window. And so I think hopefully by the time we get to Season 3 we won’t have to worry about these problems anymore.

Rachel Nichols: And I also, I mean, just from my point of view. I don’t - I try to be very ambiguous when I’m live tweeting and I try not to give away huge spoilers. And obviously people tweet into my feed and they say things about last night’s episode or whatever. I try very carefully in my sort of, you know, big tweet to not mention anything specific.

Just because yes, I don’t want to spoil it and I know that there are people that say oh, well, I don’t want to look at your feed if it’s - and I try very hard not to, yes, not to spoil anything. Because I want everybody to be, you know, sort of surprise and intrigued with everybody else.

Victor Webster: What Rachel said. I try to be as vague as possible also. I do read some very specific tweets that was - that are directed or tagged to me. And I’m just hoping that people knowing that the show has so many twists and turns that aren’t trying to find out information. Because you want it to organically happen on the show the way that it unfolds on the show because I just feel like this - there’s so many great moments you don’t want them spoiled by spoilers on the, you know, the Internet. So I try to do the same thing, just be very vague.

Kevin Bacheldur: Great. Well we greatly appreciate it, folks. This is a great show that we all love.

Rachel Nichols: Oh, thank you.

Victor Webster: Thank you so much.

Simon Barry: Thank you so much for saying that.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Diane Morasco with Morasco Media. Please proceed.

Diane Morasco: Hi everybody. How are you today?

Rachel Nichols: Very good. How are you?

Victor Webster: Fantastic.

Diane Morasco: I’m great. This question is for Victor and Rachel. What elements of your characters have you taken on as your own newly adapted traits?

Rachel Nichols: Wow. That’s a good question. That’s one of those questions I wish I had a couple days in advance. I’m trying to think about it. I get it fights all the time now. I’m totally using weapons on the streets of Vancouver. I’m covered with bruises.

That is - yes. That is - Victor, do you have something right off the bat because I want my answer to be brilliant and I don’t have a brilliant answer right now.

Victor Webster: I don’t. I think, you know, I think when you play a character for awhile I think - at the beginning I think most of Victor goes into Carlos. But I think inevitably as you play a character long enough and you’re inside the head of the character, I think some of those traits start rubbing off on you.

I can’t think of anything very specifically. I do know that in my - I have used some of Simon’s and the other writing staff’s genius lines of dialogue in Victor’s life. But I don’t know necessarily that any of Carlos’s traits - because I think so much of my personality and my thoughts and ideas are infused into Carlos with, you know, obviously, you know, Simon’s and the writers’ words and everything.

So nothing specific. But I know it just feels like something that’s seeped in for sure.

Rachel Nichols: The comfort for me that has been - because even the workloads demanding of the character is very, you know, Kiera’s very multifaceted. There’s a lot going on for her clearly all the time. The comforting and nice thing about Season 2 is that she’s been properly established and I feel now that the decisions that I make in the performance, I feel as though she is me, I am her, no decision that I make is actually going to be wrong because we are so close.

And, you know, awkward Rachel gets to show up in Kiera all the time when I watch the show with friends. They’ll be like oh, we know that look. Or, you know, that’s totally something you would do. As far as Kiera, I would say, you know, one thing that’s been interesting for me is Kiera is a mom. And I’m not a mom in real life, as far as I know. And I think I would know.

But Kiera’s a mom. And she - you know, every scene that we do with Sam, that was sort of really learning something new. And I feel like almost any time I’m with kids now I feel like there’s part of Kiera that comes out in my maternal instinct because I had been playing a mother as Kiera. And I think that is actually really interesting. I always loved kids, but I’ve never embedded so much in the idea of this is my child as I have obviously with Sam. And so when I interact with other children, I feel like part of Kiera kicks in.

Diane Morasco: Great, thank you. Now Simon, did any of the cast go beyond the scope of what was originally sketched out?

Simon Barry: I think that we definitely left room in evolution in terms of character development when we started the process. And we - I think as we’ve gone from Season 1 to Season 2 there’s been a desire to expand and to grow the dynamics and the depths of all of the characters.

I think that sort of comes with when you - we have such a great cast of actors who all are, you know, willing to give you everything. And so it feels crazy to not provide them with those kinds of parts that allow them to mine not only the depths of their craft, but also that allow the show to be better from a story and character and dramatic point of view.

So I’m happy to say that that’s an ongoing thing and it’s an ever present thing that is wonderful. So I hope it doesn’t go away. The show is only as good - you know, I can create the foundation for the show which is one thing, but the show lives and breathes as the actors, the writers and the directors bring all the different dimensions to it. So that’s part of what makes my job so much fun is being able to wrangle all those ideas and creative influences and manage them.

And it’s great. It’s fun. So I hope it doesn’t change.

Diane Morasco: Thank you. And my last question is for everyone. Describe yourselves in three words for Season 1. And then the evolution for Season 2.

Rachel Nichols: Oh.

Victor Webster: Ourselves or our characters?

Diane Morasco: Yourselves personally.

Rachel Nichols: Oh gosh. Got to be careful what I say here. By the noises I’m making - jeez, good questions, again. Wish I had that one in advance. I’m blushing. I’m sitting home alone and I’m blushing and I don’t know why.

I think Season 1 I was certainly - not in performance, but I was nervous, I think. Obviously, it’s a big ensemble show. But it’s - a lot of it is based on my character and it seemed that it was a task that I wanted to take. It was a job that I adored and I got here to Vancouver and I was nervous, definitely.

I felt displaced because I had never been to Vancouver in my life and I moved her last year on January 5 and I didn’t leave until May. So there’s was nerves, there was displacement. And I’m going to go with those two until I can think of another one.

And this year it’s different. This year it’s, like I said, there’s this comfort. There’s this level of comfort that I have with Kiera and, you know, I have a fantastic acting coach in LA and we recite every episode and I love to bounce things off of her. And she said the other day, “You don’t need me anymore for Kiera.” It’s just second nature now and there’s a great comfort of that and that’s changed a lot clearly from my nervousness in Season 1.

And the displacement factor has completely disappeared. First of all the weather in Vancouver is so much nicer here than it was last year. But I have friends here. I have family here. My crew and my cast are my family. I have people that I know. I have places that I like to go. You know, I have other friends here that are outside of the business and it’s - now Vancouver feels very welcoming and very much like home to me. And I’m actually going to stay after we wrap the show for a little bit, because I like it here so much.

So that displacement thing has been replaced by calling this entire form of my life home. And I - that’s very comforting, very rewarding, and makes me want to come back for season after season after season. I think I’m going to go with those two. Victor, you.

Diane Morasco: Thank you. Good. Victor.

Victor Webster: You see, I think the first season I was very excited to come on to such a show. I read the first script and I knew some of the people that were attached to show and that created a level of excitement of wanting to come out here and be a part of this. I think nervous. Like Rachel said, you’re always nervous when you come onto a job, especially a series. Wondering what’s going to happen, where it’s going to go, what’s going to happen with your character, what your new life is going to be like.

Let’s see, I don’t know if that’s a word. Like questioning or I don’t know the exact word to put on there, but there so many variables. You know, not knowing what was going to happen, where I was going to live, what the show was going to be like, what the cast dynamic was going to be like, the crew, where the character was going to go -- all of that stuff. So that was first season.

I think now it’s much more comfortable. Like Rachel said, we are really a family. You know, everybody gets along so well and it’s, you know, having the show wrap for the second season it’s like that bittersweet, okay, this is fantastic. I’ve had such a great time, we’re going on to these new adventures, but I’m going to miss you guys so much.

I still have excitement because I love the show. I’m so proud of it and so proud of what everybody has done and where the show is going. Fingers crossed that we get a third, fourth, fifth, you know, however many seasons we can get. And I just, you know, I feel like I’m full of love for - and pride for what we’ve done. You know, I feel like there’s a huge part of my life that has expanded and has become so much more colorful and full, and that’s just a great feeling.

Diane Morasco: Thank you. Simon?

Simon Barry: Season 1, busy. Season 2, busier.

Diane Morasco: Thank you so much.

Simon Barry: You’re welcome.

Rachel Nichols: Nothing else? That’ll be the quote for Simon.

Diane Morasco: Nothing else, guys? That’s it, Simon? Just busy and busier?

Simon Barry: No.

Rachel Nichols: Oh, come on Simon.

Simon Barry: I think it’s been a great - for me, Season 1 is probably more like being - it was an education, was exciting. Definitely Season 2 is - I feel much more confident in what I do and I feel like the show is showing its true colors and is really good.

So I feel like I’m a parent, I guess. A proud parent in Season 1 that got - gave birth. And Season 2, enjoying the show, growing up and sort of standing on its own feet.

Diane Morasco: Thank you so much. Here’s to beyond Season 3 and many, many, more. Congratulations and best wishes, guys.

Simon Barry: Thank you.

Diane Morasco: You’re welcome.

Rachel Nichols: Thank you so much.

Victor Webster: Thank you.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Tina Charles with tvgoodness.com. Please proceed.

Tina Charles: Hi guys. Thank you so much for talking to us today. So my question is more about the production aspect of it. How was shooting this season different from shooting the first season when nobody had seen it. By the time you wrapped, you know, when it started airing you guys were done. So now you’re shooting it in real time. People have seen the first season. All of you are very active on social media. Has it changed sort of how you approached coming into this season now that everybody knew what you were doing?

Simon Barry: Yes, I think it does. I think you are acutely aware of what has worked on the show and what the fans are responding to. So we definitely wanted to make sure that we were putting our best foot forward with regards to the themes and mythology and the situations that seemed to have resonated in Season 1. And that affected everything. Not only the writing period, but also as we got into production how we approached everything and gave things priority.

The other thing that’s important to realize is that we’ve got 95% of our crew that came back for Season 2. May even be more than that. And so it really became a group of people who had not only made Season 1 and put their, you know, blood, sweat and tears into it, but had seen it also as a crew and knew what the show was. So there was much less for me to communicate for people. I think everyone really knew their job and knew exactly the standard we were trying to hold up.

And also, they had been - they had seen the fruits of their success. They were - I think we had a crew that was very proud of the hard work they’d done and the creative input they’d put into the show -- actors, directors, writers, the crew itself. And I think that that gave people kind of a sense of pride and workmanship going in that they knew the show was good and they knew that they had worked hard and it had shown on screen.

And I think everyone came back really happy to be in a group of people they like working with, but also really focused on keeping the quality level of the show at the level it had been.

Tina Charles: Thank you. Victor, Rachel, how is it different for you to come into Season 2 as folks having seen the show?

Rachel Nichols: You know, it’s the first time I’ve ever had a Season 2 of a TV show that I’ve been on. I’ve been - done some season ones or some season fives or season sixes, but I’ve never done Season 1 and Season 2. And it was interesting for me last year because I left Canada after we finished shooting and it started airing in Canada. I did not have access to the episodes, so and I was trying - struggling to remember what happened in Episodes 1 through 10 so I could be active on it.

And then I got some DVDs sent and I started watching them and it was sort of this - I was kind of discombobulated because I felt - I so badly wanted to participate when it was airing and I was struggling because I hadn’t seen a lot of the episodes yet.

This season is brilliant because I’m here. The show is airing here. I’m going to stay here until the show stops airing here. And to be able to interact in real time while it’s playing in real time, not saying, okay, this is the commercial break, I’m pausing my DVD, hopefully I’ll get back on at the right time. It’s so freeing and it’s so much fun. And so I feel like my, you know, my abilities have matured and been fine tuned between last year and this year.

It was all - it was very much a new thing last year. And this time around I - not only do I get to watch the episode simultaneously with everybody else and live tweet, it’s just - I almost - I understand the mechanism better. So it’s easier to maneuver and that makes it more relaxing and very fun.

Tina Charles: Okay, thank you. Victor, anything to add?

Victor Webster: Well, I mean, I think Simon hit on it as well. You know, you see the first season and you’re gearing up to come back for Season 2. You get an opportunity to see what works. You get an opportunity to see - you know, when you’re an actor you almost have tunnel vision because you see your character and you see the way that you react within the whole scheme of things, but you don’t see how it fits into the greater plan and the whole show. So when you get an opportunity to watch the whole show you see how all these pieces of these puzzles fit in together and all these different storylines intertwined. So in a way it gives you a stronger platform to work from.

So to come back I was so excited to implement all these new ideas and these new things and there was also that sense of nervousness because you realize how good the show is and what a great job everybody did. And you want to come back and you just want to take it up to another level. So those are the two biggest things for me.

Tina Charles: Okay, well thank you very much. I’m really looking forward to the second season. Thank you so much for talking to us.

Rachel Nichols: Thank you.

Simon Barry: Thank you.

Gary Morgenstein: Thank you everyone. Our time’s up. Thank you Rachel, Victor and Simon. And thank you everyone for joining.

Simon Barry: Thank you.

Gary Morgenstein: Continuum this Friday, June 7 at 10:00 pm. Join us. Thanks again everyone.

END

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