Luke Macfarlane and Aaron Ashmore are living the dream. The pair, along with Hannah John-Kamen, play a trio of bounty hunters in Space’s newest series Killjoys, zipping around a small star system grabbing those wanted by the law and claiming the monetary spoils. To star in a sci-fi series is cool enough, but one thing took it over the top: carrying intergalactic weaponry.
“At the beginning, the crew would take my gun after a take, but after awhile I was like, ‘No, this is my gun!’ It’s part of my tool kit as a Killjoy,” Ashmore says with a laugh.
Debuting Friday on Space, Killjoys is a rollicking thrill ride, full of fist fights, gun battles and an overall feeling of the not-so-serious. Dutch (John-Kamen) is a tough-as-nails Reclamation Agent—nicknamed Killjoy—with Johnny Jacobis (Ashmore) as her long-time partner. The first instalment, “Bangarang,” introduces a third member to the team: Johnny’s brother D’avin (Macfarlane), an expert at hand-to-hand combat thanks to time in the military. The trio uses Lucy (Tamsen McDonough) as their mode of transport, a space ship with its own voice and distinct personality. Created by Michelle Lovretta (Lost Girl), Killjoys looks and feels a little 1970s cheese, hearkening back to Star Wars in the fact some settings look dusty and dirty, and outfits look worn. There’s a nostalgia to Killjoys that longtime fans of the genre will recognize and embrace.
But beside the fisticuffs and phasers, Killjoys is also about family. Johnny and D’avin are estranged, and Friday’s early peek into Dutch’s backstory reveals a mysterious man whose influence reaches back to her childhood.
“As the season goes on, we learn more about Johnny and D’avin’s childhood,” Macfarlane hints. “We learn how you can address something in two totally different ways and as a result become very different people. These two brothers could not be more different even though they both grew up with the same crappy dad.” Questions about what family is and what it means to be in a family are addressed too.
“These characters are so out there in the world and what draws them together is that they don’t have anything else,” Ashmore says. “This world and this lifestyle that they are is incredibly unstable and they’re drawn together—and sometimes torn apart—by that.”
Killjoys primer
Here’s a quick peek into the world viewers step into on Friday night.
Reclamation Agents: A.k.a. Killjoys, these folks a licensed by the Reclamation Apprehension Coalition (RAC) to pursue warrants throughout the galaxy.
Warrants: There are five levels—Reclamation (recovering lost of stolen goods), Transfer (someone is being transported somewhere and needs protection), Live (a warrant must be captured still breathing), Living or Dead (breathing isn’t necessary) and Death (assassinations).
The Quad: The four-worlds the Killjoys inhabit, made up by a planet called Qresh and its three moons.
Qresh: On the brink of destroying its ecosystem, politicians and companies looked to its moons to get rid of trash and mine more resources. Qresh is home to The Quad’s elite and most powerful.
Westerley: Dutch and Johnny have lived on Westerley for the last two years. The moon is owned by The Company.
Arkyn: No one goes to this mysterious world.
Leith: The farmers and blue collar folks live on Leith, a lush moon where prostitution, drug use are illegal and guns are frowned upon.
Killjoys airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on Space.
