The stars of SYFY series WYNONNA EARP met with reporters this past weekend at San Diego Comic-Con. Cast members Melanie Scrofano, Tim Rozon, Dominique Provost-Chalkley, Shamier Anderson, Katherine Barrell, Tamara Duarte, and Varun Saranga joined showrunner Emily Andras and comic book creator Beau Smith to discuss the series’ family dynamic, Wyonna’s pregnancy, popular relationships like Wayhaught and Wyndolls, and more.
The Earp sisters.
One of WYNONNA EARP’s many draws is the sibling dynamic between Wynonna and Waverly Earp. At Comic-Con, Emily Andras said that when she first saw the WYNONNA EARP comic book, the Earp sisterhood really stood out to her: “I was quite intrigued by the idea of sisters in the comic book…What I liked the best was the idea that Waverly really wants to be the chosen one, and Wynonna wants to be Waverly and be liked by everybody — and would rather die than be the chosen one. So, I think it’s interesting that they love each other; but they also have what the other wants, so to speak.”
As far as Andras is concerned, there’s also no limit to the rich storytelling available with this particular aspect of the source material. “It’s just so rich, right? I could tell that story for twenty years. I think sister stories don’t get enough play.”
Thank the television gods for Andras’ belief that sisterhood is just as important as any other relationship. It’s almost as if women are interesting characters, just like their male counterparts. Imagine.
The extended Earp family.
It’s worth noting that the series’ somewhat unlikely collection of characters forms its own family. “Genre is the home of building your own family. I think we’ve seen that time and time again, from BUFFY to BATTLESTAR: the idea that you can’t choose your family, but you can build a family of your own. And we certainly strive to do that on the show,” said Andras.
Whether this is the case for other genre shows or not, WYNONNA EARP’s familial bonds go beyond what’s on the screen.
Take, for example, the cast and crew’s reactions to star Melanie Scrofano’s pregnancy, which was written into the series’ second season. In many occupations, women run the risk of being met with negative backlash if they become pregnant at a time that might be inconvenient for others. But from the EARP family, Scrofano was met with plenty of support, showing just how close the team really is.
“When the family heard that, they were like a real family,” said Beau Smith, creator of the original WYNONNA EARP comics. Everyone pulled together and recognized Melanie’s news as what it was: a good thing, not something to stand in their way. As Scrofano herself discussed some of the ways her pregnancy affected those on set, she became visibly emotional. She described the experience as “incredible to see the way my life affects everybody on our cast — and the crew even…It just grounded this season in such a beautiful, emotional place for everyone.”
The warmth extended beyond the reactions to Melanie Scrofano’s pregnancy, too. When asked how it felt to join WYNONNA EARP in its second season, newcomer Varun Saranga said, “everyone was so kind to me, and loving, and generous.” The same could be said of Saranga’s character. “I think he enjoys being part of the family….He really cares about these people because they care about him. And that’s his motivation to stay.”
Oh, and don’t forget one of the most vital parts of the WYNONNA EARP family: The Earpers.
“We’re here because of that fandom,” said Tim Rozon, who plays Doc Holliday, “The fandom is the biggest part of our success…So, for me, I’m in debt to all Earpers, ever — forever.”
The praise for the fans didn’t end there. Dominique Provost-Chalkley was a bit nervous to play some of Waverly’s scenes in season two, but some of that pressure was eased by knowing she’d have the fandom rooting for her. “I knew that Earpers are so supportive in everything we do, and we really couldn’t have a more positive and loving fanbase. So, it was kind of the perfect platform to do [them].”
Showrunner Emily Andras informed reporters that the WYNONNA EARP team even surprised some fans at Comic-Con by crashing their viewing party and live tweeting the series’ latest episode with them.
When will your faves ever is, I believe, the proper response to that.
It may be a plot on a sci-fi series, but Wynonna Earp’s pregnancy will be more realistic than you think.
According to star Melanie Scrofano, Emily Andras’ first reaction to Scrofano’s news was, “you have hilarious timing.” After that, Andras got down to the business of turning something that most showrunners would consider a major inconvenience into an opportunity for even better storytelling. Quite a few series, in just about every genre, have had a major problem with finding a way to show what an expecting mother might experience; but Scrofano assured the press at Comic-Con that this would not be the case on WYNONNA EARP.
“Basically, every moment of what I was going through as Melanie, good and bad, [Andras said], ‘just put it into the character.’ I think it’s really…I think it’s really honest, and you know what? Some people might look at it and be like, ‘I don’t think she would be able to do all that.’ And I say, ‘bullshit.’ Because I, Melanie, was working eighteen hour days. I’d get up. I’d learn my lines. I’d go to work. I’d cry, have a meltdown I’d yell at someone. I’d go apologize, and then I’d keep going. And Wynonna does the same thing. So, I think it really shows pregnancy in an honest light for what it was. For me. It’s not the same for everyone.”
The actress went on to describe instances where her back would hurt — a common problem for pregnant women — and her reaction, holding her back, while not written into the scenes, was kept in the final product because it was so natural. “It’s just those little moments that Wynonna would probably go through, too, and it was really fun to put those in.”
If it sounds like Melanie Scrofano, not Wynonna Earp, is the true superhero here, that’s probably about accurate.
That’s not to say that Wynonna won’t continue to be the hero of her own story, though. And now that she has someone new to protect, expect her to be more fierce.
In yet another dose of reality infused into this oftentimes impossible to describe Syfy channel gem, Wynonna will want to protect her child in that special way mothers do. “She’s had to protect people before — for sure,” teased Scrofano, “but once you become a mother, “you have this protective instinct that kicks in. And so, it just — she just — becomes stronger, in a way.”
Beware things that go bump in the night: If you thought Wynonna Earp was scary before, wait until she becomes a demon-hunting mama bear.
Emily Andras’ bravery in going forward with a pregnancy storyline, rather than covering up Scrofano’s real-life pregnancy, is very important, according to Beau Smith.
“I’ll be honest with you. Right now, there’s someone that’s fifteen to twenty years old that watches WYNONNA EARP, and they’re seeing this. In ten, fifteen, twenty years, they’re going to be a producer — or a writer — and someone at a [Comic-Con roundtable interview] like this is going to ask them, ‘well, what inspired you — what made you do something that’s so creative?’ At that point, they’re going to go, ‘well, there was this show called WYNONNA EARP. And in the second season, they made the lead…She was pregnant, and she did this.’ And that’s what’s going to happen.”
Representation matters.
Even with all of the realistic drama, Earpers can still look forward to plenty of the series’ supernatural storytelling.
As of this season’s seventh episode, there’s already the possibility that the father of Wynonna’s baby is a revenant. What would that even mean for the baby? The demon-Earp hybrid possibilities are endless.
And there’s always plenty of evil for the series’ lead to dispose of. It’s not like Purgatory is going to shut down for maternal leave, after all.
Up next: WayHaught, bromance, Wyndolls, and more.
WayHaught: “We make out a lot. We didn’t realize how much we made out.”
In WYNONNA EARP season 2, Nicole Haught has had her own story, beyond being Waverly’s love interest. Kat Barrell was pleased with this “because as an actor, you do get worried about being pinned as the love interest and then [thinking], ‘I have nothing to do other than make out with you.’”
If you think the closeness only extends to Waverly and Nicole, think again. After Barrell’s line about having nothing to do other than make out, she quickly caught herself and told Provost-Chalkley, “not that that’s not amazing,” and Dominique jokingly grabbed Kat’s hand…only to not let go for most of the interview.
Much like the rest of the EARP family, the costars were nothing but supportive of one another. While Barrell was describing how fun it was to play drunk Nicole in a recent episode, Provost-Chalkley praised her performance as “so good.” The actresses continued to praise one another’s work during their roundtable interviews at Comic-Con. At one point, they had a delightful conversation about which musical character Dominique would like to play — Anna from FROZEN — and Kat said she’d “be great in that…You would be awesome. I could totally see that.”
(Interestingly enough, FROZEN came up at least twice in the SDCC press room. Via showrunner Emily Andras: “I was really struck and moved by the fact that the real romance in that movie is the sisters.”)
It won’t always be making out and fluffy bliss for WayHaught, though.
The characters have already had some tension in WYNONNA EARP’s second season, between Waverly’s possession and Nicole’s feeling of being left out — yet again — when the whole Black Badge fiasco went down. There doesn’t, however, seem to be anything to fear (unless, of course, you have an allergy to the occasional dose of angst).
“I think that that’s wonderful tension,” mused Barrell, “it’s great storytelling, and it’s an inevitable part of…I think it’s something that’s going to be a thing for their relationship.” After all, how do you balance working together in a very similar field, in the same office — but not necessarily always being included in the same battles — without having some arguments here and there? If you’re looking to portray a believable relationship, you don’t.
Regardless of which struggles the characters may have along the way, Dominique Provost-Chalkley is still incredibly grateful for the experience of being a part of WayHaught — and especially the outpouring of love from the fans in the LGBT+ community: “They really are the most incredible fans, and any time I speak to anyone in the LGBT community that thanks me, I thank them back because I feel like they’ve just been so open and welcoming. And that has made this whole experience just ten times better.”
Barrell also continues to appreciate the importance of bringing this kind of relationship to television. She told reporters at Comic-Con that she felt it was a way for her to give back. “I wanted to put something into the world, and it’s just…I felt like being a part of the WayHaught…I feel very lucky because it’s very fulfilling to feel like there’s been such a positive thing that’s been put out.”
The boys.
Female-driven superhero series or not, WYNONNA EARP has some well-loved male characters. Xavier Dolls and Doc Holliday have one of the most dynamic relationships on the series.
Are they friends? Enemies? Frenemies?
Shamier Anderson, who plays Dolls, explained the guys’ relationship as a little bit of all of the above — especially when it came to how they dealt with Wynonna’s pregnancy. “There’s the bromance. Then, there’s some enemy stuff; and then, there’s some territorial just…masculinity.” The two characters might even bicker back and forth about which one is actually with Wynonna. So, there’s just “a lot,” as Anderson described the layers of it all, “when you feel like they’re getting close, something happens. And it kind of makes them go right back to where they were from the beginning. You’ll see in the entire season that the relationship between Doc and Dolls fluctuates, given the circumstances that are happening. But I think to the core of it, they really do like each other.”
Whatever Dolls and Doc’s relationship turns out to be, though, we’ll definitely see more of it in the series’ second season. “The bromance is necessary,” said Anderson, “you’ll definitely see some more bromance this season, for sure.”
Look for Jeremy to join the team, too. The July 21 episode was just the beginning. “You’re going see Jeremy grow into the group, I think…and try and fit in. But he doesn’t fit in…but he’ll try,” teased Varun Saranga, who plays the character. The actor promised that seeing WYNONNA EARP’s male leads working together would be “only fun. It’s super comedic, super light.”
Speaking of fun, Dolls breathes fire now; and Earpers can look forward to “more lizard-dragon Dolls this season.”
What about Doc? Where’s his storyline headed? Tim Rozon was uncertain — but in the best way. “To even think to think that I know where Doc is going would be a mistake because that lady over there, Emily Andras, just takes us on a rollercoaster each episode…That’s why I love this show. It’s so fun in that way. It’s just a rollercoaster that doesn’t stop.”
Is there any hope for Wyndolls?
The outlook is, well, cloudy.
In the first place, there’s the whole issue of Wynonna’s likely pregnancy by another man (or revenant).“As you’ll watch, I think that’s something that’s extremely devastating — but bittersweet — for Dolls. And I think that’s a process within itself.” So, while “there’s going to be some beautiful moments between the two characters,” to the point where some of what Anderson and Scrofano did on set had people in tears, there’s still a long way to go.
Even Varun Saranga jumped in to comment on one of the recent Wyndolls moments: “It was heartbreaking when he kissed her; and it’s like, he knows he can’t be with her right now.”
The newcomers.
WYNONNA EARP added both Sarun Varanga’s Jeremy and Tamara Duarte’s Rosita as regulars this season. The actors teased a little bit about each of their characters at Comic-Con, but don’t expect any big reveals just yet.
When asked about Rosita’s role in all of this, the actors weren’t spilling. “I don’t want a spoiler alert. I know that a lot of the Rosita stuff is about to come, said Tim Rozon. Tamara Duarte added, “can’t say anything.” Rozon tried to at least give Earpers some kind of detail — “Rosita will stir the pot” — but Duarte interrupted him to warn that he was giving away “too much information” with even that tiny tidbit.
The next time Rozon had an idea for something to share with the press at Comic-Con, he tried to clear it with his costar first. But whatever he whispered in Duarte’s ear was, apparently, too big of a spoiler, as well. “No! You can’t say anything!” was Duarte’s response. Sorry, Earpers. You’ll just have to hop on Emily Andras’ rollercoaster and enjoy the ride if you want to know anything about Rosita.
Ok, how about a safe topic? What was it like for Duarte to join the cast of WYNONNA EARP? “I’m an Earper first and foremost. I downloaded it on iTunes right when it came out,” the actress told reporters at SDCC, “I knew the show pretty intimately. And I’m a big fan. I’m a big fan of Beau and all of his work. So, I was like, ‘yes, I’m on the show!’ Watching it — watching last season — was just incredible. And being in this season is like, ‘holy cow.’”
Sarun Varanga was able to be a little bit more open about his character. He described Jeremy as “a really innocent guy. He was kind of stuck in Black Badge for many years, working for them because of his heightened intelligence. I think he had very few friends and very few people he could call his own. And so, when Dolls invited him into the fold, it [became] a new experience for him.” Additionally, the actor joked about his character’s “affection for Doc,” but he couldn’t confirm or deny anything when it came to whether or not Jeremy’s background will be explained more as the current season unfolds.
Of course, the biggest WYNONNA EARP news out of Comic-Con came from the panel.
It’s starting to become tradition for the cast to attend San Diego Comic-Con, only to learn that the series will live on for another year. Keep watching WYNONNA EARP on Syfy, Fridays at 10/9c, so we can keep up the tradition at next year’s convention.