To say that Max’s (Vanessa Morgan) life has become difficult would be an understatement. In the Season 2 finale of Wild Cards, she and her Dad, George (Jason Priestley) cashed in millions of dollars. And, though she missed the boat (literally) to join Ellis (Giacomo Gianniotti), they were in a good place in their working and personal relationship.
That all goes out the window in Season 3. Returning Wednesday at 8 p.m. on CBC, viewers learn the person who appeared at the door in the closing moments of Season 2 was Vivienne, Max’s mother. Turns out Vivienne faked her own death and is back with some disturbing news for Max and George. Meanwhile, Ellis has returned from his boat trip, and he isn’t alone.
We spoke to Vanessa Morgan and Giacomo Gianniotti about Season 3.
Was there an obvious chemistry between the two of you, either during the chemistry read or within those first few hours and days of shooting the show? Because I think that is a huge reason why people love to tune in.
Vanessa Morgan: It just felt really natural and comfortable from the moment we met. We did a rehearsal day, and then we went straight into shooting, but it kind of always just felt very comfortable. And it’s one of those things that, as an actor, you’re just really blessed that you get along as friends, personality-wise. And then I feel like that just shows on camera that we just complement each other.
Giacomo Gianniotti: Yeah, we didn’t have much time really to build any chemistry or really get to know each other. We just hit the ground running, and we’re just very lucky that we are fond of each other and work well together and have similar senses of humour. We laugh on set all the time, all the time, and find the same things funny, which is great when you’re trying to make people laugh on television that what I think is funny, she thinks is funny if I give her an idea to play something in a certain way, she’s like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s really funny.’ Or she said something to me, or that we’re collaborative, and we both have that same sense of humour. I think that’s a great asset.
So how much of that interplay is allowed? Are you doing takes where you’re sticking to the script, and then you’re allowed to play a little bit in subsequent takes? How does that work?
GG: Yeah, I think for a comedy, you like to hope that you work on a set where funny wins no matter what, there’s no ego involved, whether that’s an assistant or a director or a script supervisor or actors pitching something, but essentially everyone just has this common goal to make people laugh and whatever’s the funniest should win. So yeah, of course, we try to get it word perfect, but there are certain scenes and certainly certain characters—Amy Goodmurphy, who plays Detective Yates—that just lend themselves a little bit more to improvisation and being a little bit sillier and bringing more of her personality, her comedic personality out into the character. So yeah, there are moments where it’s very real, and we just have to say the words the way they are. And there are other moments where there’s more opportunity to play, and everyone is really game.
The elephant in the room on Wild Cards is whether Max and Ellis will get together as a couple. There have been so many TV shows throughout history where the creators will keep that going from season to season. Aside from what’s going to happen in the script, Vanessa, do you feel as though Max and Ellis should, ultimately, be together?
VM: I think they should. I think they work very well together. I think they complement each other; what one is lacking, the other has, and I just think it really meshes and works. Obviously, though, we’re kind of in a love triangle situation. He’s found a new romance. He thought that Max had abandoned him on the boat. So of course, he was like, ‘Well, I’m just going to go out, and if I meet somebody, I meet somebody.’ We don’t blame him for that.
GG: Yeah, we’re introducing a girlfriend for Ellis, so that’s a new thing that we haven’t really explored or played with in the show, either one of us having to take a sort of second or backseat to the love story and having to work together every day, stare at this person that you have strong feelings for and not being able to act on them out of respect because you know they’re in a romantic relationship. So that’s a new dynamic that we’re playing with.
Vanessa, when this new season kicks off, she’s officially a consultant. She’s got the bejewelled badge to show for it. Can you talk a little bit how the dynamic within the office is going to change, if at all, now that she’s a little bit more legit, like a more legitimate member of the team?
VM: I don’t think it changes much because I feel like everyone’s already accepted Max, but I will say maybe Max has a bit more confidence with her strutting in and with her authority with things. I feel like she’s just like, ‘I’m a detective.’ More so. She’s fully arrived.
Joining the cast this season is Tamara Taylor in the role of Vivienne, Max’s mother, who Max and George thought was dead.
VM: Max is obviously ecstatic that her mom is back. It’s like, ‘Oh wow, what a blessing, she’s returned from the dead.’ But then she’s also torn with the fact that, ‘Well, you also abandoned me for 15 years. If you’re alive, you couldn’t have sent a card, any type of hint, a phone call from a payphone, anything to just let me know that I’m in hiding, I’m alive.’ Even me not being Max, as Vanessa, I’m like, she should have really reached out in some way. I could see why Max is torn. So I feel like there’s this love-hate relationship where she’s so happy, but she’s also so mad because she’s dealt with this internal pain for 15 years.
Let’s talk a little bit about The Big Bad, certainly that was unveiled in that first episode. Gedeon Varga. Looking at some of the episode synopses going forward, I assume that this job is going to last more than one episode and affect relationships.
GG: I think it’s a big setup for our entire season. Gedeon Varga is going to be this looming, dark shadow throughout our whole season. And in fact, with Vivienne coming back, she can’t just sort of land and be a mother and work on repairing her relationship with her daughter because there’s this much bigger problem at play, which is taking precedent, which is that she owes him a bunch of money and he’s threatening to kill everybody if he doesn’t get it. So the whole season is about Max and her parents doing this job for this bad guy to sort of repay the debt and save their lives. So there’s not a lot of time to work on feelings and repairing relationships because there’s this big, glaring high-stakes heist to be planned.
Wild Cards airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on CBC and CBC Gem.
Images courtesy of CBC.
