AT: So there’s this little grassroots movement to get the show renewed for a third season by fans. They’re writing letters in to their local stations and to Disney. I don’t know that all shows have that kind of support. Could you talk a little bit about your fan base?
I love it! My writers spend a little bit more time tapping into all that stuff than I do, but yes, there are some really great fan sites and we‘ve gotten incredible fan feedback. The show is not so easy for some people to find in some markets, but people are finding it and watching it on Hulu and watching it on iTunes and hopefully watching it on broadcast where it looks the best and actually we’ve had a little bit of growth in our audience over last season which is remarkable given the limitations of some of our distribution, but we’re in some 130 countries around the world and we’ve got a great international audience. So I’m very happy to hear that the fans are pushing to get the show renewed for a third season, which is something I’m very hopeful about.
AT: Do know when that decision might happen?
Probably not for a little while, I think it’s too early, but I do know that the studio would very much like to see it continue. I’ve been busy writing the season finale with Stephen Tolkin and in the writer’s room we’ve been coming up with all sorts of tantalizing story lines for season three.
AT: So some of your most notable work is still in the realm of sci-fi/fantasy: Star Trek: Voyager, Smallville, Dark Angel.
Yeah, how did that happen?
AT: But then I also see the 90210 reboot and North Shore.
Ah yes, the sexy surfing soap.
AT: Has any of that experience helped you tug on viewers’ heartstrings on LOTS? Some of the scenes between Richard and Kahlan are really intense.
I’m really pleased that in my career I’ve been able to do some very varied material. I spent many years doing Star Trek: Voyager and after that I thought that I just wanted to do a show were people don’t have phasers and there are no aliens. I just wanted to do shows about real people and relationships and after I did that I realized that it’s pretty cool to do genre stuff because it allows you to rip on contemporary themes and dabble in metaphor and all that. I guess I would like to think of myself as not a genre writer or producer or director, but just as a writer or producer or director who likes to explore interesting characters and tell compelling stories and keep surprising an audience.
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AT: So we’re in the second half season two. Can you give us any hints as to what’s to come?
Well, we have an episode with Keisha Castle-Hughes who was nominated for an Oscar for Whale Rider and she plays a character who claims to be the creator and she may or may not be and she ends up posing a very unexpected threat to Richard and forces Kahlan to question her faith and everything she’s been taught. It’s a really lovely performance from a really lovely actress.
We will see the return of Sister Nicci, a sister of the dark who has become a nemesis for Richard. We will meet Kahlan’s father, played by Michael Nouri (NCIS, Damages).
We’re going to see some creatures we haven’t seen before in episode 16. It’s kind of a seeker twist on a classic creature.
We’re doing a really cool episode called Vengeance, which is going to reveal a lot of the dark secrets of Zedd’s youth. So we’ll be seeing Gabriel Mann (The Bourne Identity) back playing young Zedd. Also, that episode will star John Rhys-Davies (Lord of the Rings). He plays a character named Horace who claims to know the secret to Richard’s success.
And in the last four episodes we will be paying off the quest that was set up in episode one: the tear in the veil. Richard and Kahlan and Cara and Zedd are going to be fighting an ever widening threat as the world begins to come to an end. They will find the stone of tears. The question is will they be able to get it to where they need it in time? And during the conclusion of the season they will find themselves with some very unlikely adversaries as well as some very unlikely allies. It’s going to be big. It’s going to be awesome.