Executive producers Brian K. Vaughan and Neal Baer spill on working with Stephen King and Steven Spielberg, what they consider to be the show’s big mysteries, and the surprise at the end of the pilot. Spoilers within!
The dome!
Via: CBS
For whatever reason — one that I hope scientists at an Ivy League university are studying in a basement lab — Americans do not watch scripted television on the broadcast networks during the summer. They are happy to watch TNT (Rizzoli & Isles among others) or USA (Suits among others) or AMC (Walking Dead among others). But when I tell you that Fox’s Melrose Place is the most recent real network hit that launched during the summer and that was in 1992, I hope you are as surprised as I was.
In other words, CBS' Under the Dome is fighting long odds. But if the show is a success, it would be a yearly summer staple on the network.
The pilot of the 13-episode series premiered Monday night. It's based on Stephen King's 2009 novel of the same name, and produced by Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks Television. King's novel was sprawling — more than 1000 pages — but the first episode sets up a neatly manageable premise: What will happen to the town of Chester's Mill when suddenly a dome forms around it?
The show has an ensemble cast led by Mike Vogel as a criminal named Barbie; Rachelle LeFevre as the town's newspaper editor, Julia; and Dean Norris as the town leader, Big Jim Rennie. There are a number of other characters also freaking out because they're under a dome (like crazy Junior played by Alexander Koch; Angie, who is being terrorized by Junior, played by Britt Robertson; and Natalie Martinez as a young cop).
And there's one person you think is going to be a lead, but —
I talked with the two main executive producers Brian K. Vaughan (who has been working on Under the Dome since it was a project for Showtime) and Neal Baer (formerly of ER and Law & Order: SVU) about where the show is going. There are spoilers about the pilot below.
Natalie Martinez and Josh Carter.
Via: CBS
You killed Jeff Fahey.
Neal Baer: You’ll have to come into our office and see our heaven board. But we'll have to send you to heaven for seeing it.
But I like Jeff Fahey! Tell me about casting him as the sheriff, and what you wanted out of his death being the ending of the pilot.
NB: We wanted somebody who it would be a surprise that he died in the pilot. We wanted it to be a recognizable, great actor. We thought it was really interesting that a character you really love comes to a sad end. Because we think there are many characters you will love on the show.
Brian K. Vaughan: We think that you'll love them more knowing that they could go away at any second. Jeff Fahey becomes the sacrificial lamb. His death supercharges the rest of the show, because I think it reminds you that no one is safe. A lot of people who've seen the pilot, he's their favorite character.
He's got a pacemaker, but touches the dome anyway.
BV: Curiosity killed the cat and the sheriff. Wouldn't you want to touch it? You're a journalist.
I would. But electro-magnetic things don't seem to affect me — yet. What else do you both think people will be talking about after the premiere? What do you hope jumps out at people?
NB: Why Barbie killed Julia's husband. Is he ever going to say anything about it? Why would he be staying in this woman's house — is she safe? Who is this guy, what was he doing? Who was he talking to on the phone when he said, “I finished the job”?
BV: There are a lot of watercooler moments of spectacle: cows getting cut in half, and trucks smashing into things. But I agree with Neal that if the show is going to work, it's because people care about who's trapped under the dome and want to know more about them.
NB: How are they going to deal with this? Is there a possibility of getting out? What are the “pink stars”? We set up a lot of mystery.
BV: Also, who are we supposed to root for on the show? We definitely introduced Barbie in an unlikable way: he is digging a ditch for a body. He's clearly not a great guy. Big Jim we introduce, and you think this guy is a lovable, competent town leader. But we're going to bring out different sides of them. We knew we didn't want people to watch the pilot and say, “Wow, how is this all going to end?” And then go to Wikipedia and just read how it ends. We're doing different things.
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