Tag Archives: Hannah John-Kamen

Link: From ‘Game of Thrones’ to ‘Killjoys’, Hannah John-Kamen is generating heat

From Bill Harris of Postmedia Network:

From ‘Game of Thrones’ to ‘Killjoys’, Hannah John-Kamen is generating heat
Dragons just seem to keep following Hannah John-Kamen.

Or maybe it’s the other way around, and she’s the one following the dragons.

Either way, John-Kamen’s science-fiction series Killjoys is breathing more flames in Season 2, debuting Friday, July 1, across Canada on Space, as well as on Syfy in the United States. Continue reading.

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Michelle Lovretta previews Killjoys’ wild Season 2 ride

When we last left Dutch (Hannah John-Kamen) and Johnny (Aaron Ashmore), they’d vowed to find D’Avin (Luke Macfarlane) and spring him from Khlyen’s (Rob Stewart) clutches. Season 2 of Killjoys doesn’t waste any time in getting to that plot point, as the duo—aided by Pree (Thom Allison)—get busy finding their imprisoned brother and friend.

With the return of Space’s Killjoys just days away, we spoke to creator/showrunner Michelle Lovretta about what fans can expect from the rollicking space adventure, as well as what she’s looking for in potential writers.

Who have you got in the writers’ room this season?
Michelle Lovretta: We have Adam Barken, Jeremy Boxen, Jon Cooksey, Julian Doucet, Sean Reycraft and Priscilla White.

Talk about the importance of bringing new voices into the writers’ room. Some of the Season 1 folks, like Aaron Martin and Emily Andras, are writing other projects now, but do you see yourself as a mentor to newer writers?
I’m too tired and self-aware to be a mentor… [Laughs.] I’m teasing. I really do like working with new writers. What’s been bizarre to me to see second-hand is when you’re on a show and the head writer is being a dick and doesn’t have the backs of their writers. Anyone that I work with now, they look forward to showing new writers the humane way to do it; the way to be supportive. I’d work with all of these people all over again.

How do new writers get on a show run by you? Do you apply?
You do. I receive a pile of scripts through my agent and I’m somewhat infamous for reading everything that is appropriately submitted. I don’t read anything that hasn’t been vetted. It’s a long process and every year you need to construct a room from the top down. I know my strengths and limits; the next two people down from me in the senior positions need to be able to do the things that I’m not so good at, better. And then, when you go further down, I look at what my balance is with regard to pacing, structure and comedy. Sometimes you have to, from season to season, say goodbye to someone you love, because you’re looking for someone who’s funny because your funny person has left. It’s a cake I’m making with a new recipe every year and is contingent on the best ingredients I can get.

Michelle_Lovretta
Michelle Lovretta

OK, let’s get into Season 2 of Killjoys. Where do we pick up when the show returns?
We pick up not too long after we left our people, as they try to find D’Avin.

What’s D’Avin’s mental state?
I think if I answer that too directly, it will take some of the fun away for the audience. One of the things that I love about Luke is that he’s very professional, lovely and game. There are cases when I’ve told him we’re going to put him in some very uncomfortable situations and he completely action-hero’s it up. D’Avin has not had an easy time of it in the first 10 episodes. He’s had some emotional turmoil and traumas, and there are a few more of them that he weathers this year. That puts him on his own path this season.

What’s so much fun about a second season is that in the first you’re writing in a bit of a bubble. You’ve already broken so many episodes ahead of time before you’ve ever seen anyone on the set interact with one another. By the second season you absolutely know, and the fun of it is not only you know what they can do, but you know them as people. I’d like to put Hannah’s real-life levity on-camera.


I like to make sure that we have fun and tell a larger story and that we find places within that story for our characters to have some challenges and growth. We have quite a few fun little moments that I think fans in particular will enjoy.


Can you talk about Pree’s journey this season? Thom Allison hinted there might be a dark side to Pree that we might see.
Yeah. One of the things I love about both Pree and Thom is that they both bring a joy when they are present. What’s interesting to me is to round that and give that character a little bit more heft and a bit more backstory that is kind of interesting and worthy. We’ve had a little bit more fun with that this season and Pree does get out from behind the bar and out into the broader world.

Khlyen was the big bad in Season 1. How much does he overshadow things in Season 2?
There is a twist with Khlyen and his relationship with Dutch. There is a continual unfurling of who the actual big bads are in our greater world, what their goals are and who is part of that plan. Khlyen goes on a bit of his own journey to explore that for the audience.

From what I’ve seen during filming, it appears things move very quickly in Season 2.
There’s certainly a lot that happens and every season is, potentially, your last season. I like to make sure that we have fun and tell a larger story and that we find places within that story for our characters to have some challenges and growth. We have quite a few fun little moments that I think fans in particular will enjoy. I don’t believe in writing specifically to what fans would want, but by Season 2 we’re also fans of the show, so it’s very fun to say, ‘Oh my God, can we do that with such-and-such a character?!’ If we are finding joy in that and think it’s a hilarious beat, certainly we hope the fans will as well.

What’s next?
My favourite thing to do as a writer is develop and create worlds. I love showrunning. It’s an important way for you to realize that vision and to work with all of these wonderful teammates and partners to bring it to life. It’s also your entire life and my brain, once I think a show is kind of settling in, I just start hearing the voices again. I don’t know where the next one will take me. I don’t know if I’ll even be interested in trying to sell it, or stay with Killjoys or be exhausted or what. I do know that it has started and I suspect it’s still going to be genre. I’m wondering if it might actually be more horror because those are the visions that are popping into my head.

Killjoys airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on Space.

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Link: Killjoys star Hannah John-Kamen previews trio’s Season 2 battles

From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:

Link: Killjoys star Hannah John-Kamen previews trio’s Season 2 battles
“What’s so interesting this season with the RAC is that they start to doubt everything they have stood for, which is the warrant is all. Take no sides. Take no bribes. When you’ve been working for a corrupt company that’s actually behind the destruction at Old Town, then there’s definitely a determination to find out and get to the bottom of it. They also just want to figure out for themselves who they have been working for all this time.” Continue reading.

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Production begins on Season 2 of Space’s Killjoys

From a media release:

– Stars Hannah John-Kamen, Aaron Ashmore, and Luke MacFarlane return as the dynamic trio of interplanetary bounty hunters –
– Michelle Lovretta returns as showrunner; new directors include Martin Wood, Stefan Pleszczynski, Ruba Nadda, Jeff Renfroe, and Grant Harvey –
– Shot in Toronto, Season 2 is set to premiere in 2016 on Space and Syfy –

Space announced today that production has begun on Season 2 of its most-watched original series ever, KILLJOYS. Created by showrunner Michelle Lovretta (LOST GIRL) and produced by Temple Street Productions (ORPHAN BLACK) in association with Space and Syfy, the 10-episode, one-hour adventure drama is set to premiere in 2016 on Space. Shot in Toronto, the critically acclaimed ratings hit continues to follow interplanetary bounty hunters – or “killjoys” – Dutch (Hannah John-Kamen, THE HOUR), Johnny (Aaron Ashmore, SMALLVILLE), and D’avin (Luke MacFarlane, BROTHERS AND SISTERS), as they chase deadly warrants throughout the Quad, a distant planetary system on the brink of a bloody class war.

Returning to direct this season are Paolo Barzman, and Peter Stebbings. New to direct this season are Martin Wood, Stefan Pleszczynski, Ruba Nadda, Jeff Renfroe and Grant Harvey. Spearheaded by Lovretta, the writing team includes Adam Barken, Jeremy Boxen, Jon Cooksey, Julian Doucet, Sean Reycraft, and Priscilla White.

In Season 2, the trio is on the move to uncover Dutch’s duplicitous and mysterious childhood mentor, Khlyen’s (Rob Stewart, SUITS) secret agenda. As shocking truths are revealed, Dutch, D’avin, and Johnny realize the Quad’s notorious criminals are no match for the threat within the Reclamation Apprehension Coalition (RAC). The Killjoy’s loyalties are tested as they struggle to find the balance between politics, family, and the good of the Quad. With so much on the line, they begin to wonder if the warrant is indeed all.

Season 1 of KILLJOYS culminated with an audience-high 560,000 viewers for the season finale. Throughout its run, KILLJOYS averaged nearly 450,000 viewers in its timeslot, making it Space’s most-watched original series of all time.

Executive Producers are David Fortier and Ivan Schneeberg of Temple Street Productions and Karen Troubetzkoy. D.J. Carson serves as Producer. Universal Cable Productions distributes the series worldwide except Canada.

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