Tag Archives: Michelle Lovretta

Original series Killjoys starts production on Season 4; plus exclusive video

From a media release:

Production has begun on Season 4 of the Space original series KILLJOYS, created by Michelle Lovretta.

On hand to deliver the revealing sneak peek are KILLJOYS stars Hannah John-Kamen, Aaron Ashmore, and Luke McFarlane, and the series’ newly promoted showrunner, Adam Barken.

  • KILLJOYS, Spaces most-watched original series, stars Hannah John-Kamen (Ready Player One, Ant-Man and the Wasp) as Dutch, Aaron Ashmore (CARDINAL) as John Jaqobis, and Luke MacFarlane (THE NIGHT SHIFT) as D’avin Jaqobis.
  • The 10-episode season is shot in Toronto and surrounding areas and is set to return to Space in Canada and SYFY in the U.S. later this year.
  • Creator Michelle Lovretta (LOST GIRL, THE SECRET CIRCLE) who served as Showrunner the first three seasons, continues as Executive Producer and Writer.
  • Adam Barken (X COMPANY, Bruno and Boots) who has been a writer and producer on the series since Season 1, is promoted to Executive Producer and Showrunner.
  • Additional executive producers are David Fortier, Ivan Schneeberg, Karen Troubetzkoy and Stefan Pleszczynski.
  • The series is produced by Claire Welland. Trish Williams serves as Co-Executive producer. Andrea Boyd is Supervising Producer, and Beth Iley is Co-Producer
  • The series is written by Michelle Lovretta and Adam Barken as well as consulting producers Niko Troubetzkoy, Andrew DeAngelis, and Julie Puckrin, producer Julian Doucet, and story editors Derek Robertson, Vivian Lin, and Nile Seguin.
  • Directors are Stefan Pleszczynski, Samir Rehem, Michael Marshall, Stephanie Morgenstern, Peter Stebbings, and Paolo Barzman.
  • Seasons 1 and 2 of KILLJOYS are streaming now on CraveTV.

At the end of Season 3, our Killjoys are scattered to the far corners of the J Galaxy and beyond. Dutch is on a journey to face her biggest foe yet, while D’av and John are trapped in an elevator in deep space with a pregnant Delle Seyah (Mayko Nguyen). They are united by the knowledge of the name of their true enemy, The Lady, an immeasurable manifestation of evil without beginning or end. The Lady is making her play and our trio has something she wants – the Hullen Heir.

KILLJOYS is produced by Temple Street, a division of Boat Rocker Studios, in association with Space and SYFY.

 

 

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Killjoys heads for a “Wargasm”

This is it, Killjoys fans. The final battle for the whole enchilada. The Season 3 finale, “Wargasm,” is upon us. Written by series creator Michelle Lovretta and directed by Stefan Pleszczynski, the episode wins top marks for the title alone.

Will Killjoys be renewed for a fourth go-round? While we wait to get an official word—what is taking so long??—here’s the episode synopsis via Space:

It’s go time. The Killjoy militia has gathered everything they need and are ready to go to war with Aneela and her Hullen using Delle Seyah as bait. But as the battle begins, Aneela changes the entire game.

And here are more non-spoiler teases after watching the episode.

Alvis has left the building
We had stuffed this bad news into a deep corner of our minds after it happened last week. The “previously on” recapped that awful moment once again. Can we get a slow clap for Morgan Kelly for his awesome portrayal of that lovable Scarback?

A final drink
This wicked-cool group shot has been online for a few days now and we love it. Google “The Last Supper” by Leonardo da Vinci and compare the two images. Who is The Savior? Who are their loyal followers? Who is the traitor? And who will be sacrificed for our sins? The sepia-toned scene of Dutch, D’Av and Johnny, surrounded by their faithful fighters, is wonderful and sad. And Dutch’s narration played over a montage of her memories, will have you reaching for the tissues. Also? Pree’s war paint is. Bad. Ass.

Zeph and Dutch have a moment
It’s during final prep for Dutch’s head-to-head to Aneela, and it’s tearfully touching.

Turin returns
With close to 10 minutes already elapsed in the episode—and as familiar faces congregated—I wondered if our favourite scratchy-voiced ginger would appear. He does, but can he be trusted by our heroes?

Aneela changes the entire game.
Indeed she does, and our trio don’t see it coming. I yelled “No!” out loud when I realized what was happening. Not good, folks. Not good. Michelle Lovretta promised a drag-em-out fight between Dutch and Aneela in the season finale and she wasn’t lying: it’s a showstopper. I can’t even imagine the prep work and coordination involved to make it look so seamless on TV. Kudos to the stunt crew, doubles and Hannah John-Kamen for some gripping fight footage.

The space battle is top-notch
I have no clue what the CGI budget is for Killjoys, but they must have gone way over with the battle footage. It’s fantastic.

The Killjoys season finale airs Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Space.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

 

 

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Killjoys: Pree gets a rich and meaningful back story

Every episode of Killjoys is must-see, but this week’s instalment may be among the most anticipated. As show creator Michelle Lovretta told us prior to the Season 3 return, “The Lion, the Witch and the Warlord,” delves into Pree’s past.

Both Lovretta and actor Thom Allison teased the episode on Twitter, ramping up the drama with these two posts:

So, does Friday’s new episode live up to the hype? Here’s Space’s official synopsis:

An ambush sends Dutch and Johnny running to Pree’s warlord past for help, as D’avin tries to get to the bottom of a Black Warrant that hits unexpectedly close to home.

And here are some juicy tidbits gleaned from watching the episode, written by Julian Doucet and directed by Paolo Barzman.

Zeph vs. Johnny
We won’t give anything away, but D’avin having to say, “Into your corners, nerds,” should be a pretty good indication as to how the relationship between Zeph and Johnny is going. Perhaps they’ll be able to bond over a shared project: opening the Remnant. To be honest, I’d watch a spinoff series starring Zeph, Johnny and D’avin—the chemistry with this trio is off the frigging charts.

Johnny celebrates a milestone
And Turin is there to be very hands-on with the party. He may not get a ton of screen time, but Patrick Garrow (and his hair) make the most of it when they do. Turin is the perfect counterpoint and confidant to our heroes. Johnny’s buzz is killed by a situation from his past that returns to haunt him. Chaos ensues.

Pree shines
From his quips in the bar to his shady past, Pree is front and centre on Friday night, helping Johnny get out of the mess he’s in. That leads Lucy, Johnny and Dutch to a planet only Pree can get them access to. It’s a world called Ohron, an icy place where making an entrance is key, keeping warm is necessary and going blond is fabulous. Writing for television is a collaborative effort with many hands involved in the recipe, so kudos to Julian Doucet and the writing room for giving Pree such a rich and meaningful back story. Also? Johnny and Dutch air out some very dirty laundry between them.

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

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

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Killjoys: Creator Michelle Lovretta sets the stage for Season 3

If Killjoys‘ first episode is any indication, Season 3 is going to kick some serious ass. And why not? Creator Michelle Lovretta and her writing team set up exactly this scenario in the Season 2 finale, as Dutch (Hannah John-Kamen) announced an all-out war against Aneela.

“Boondoggie,” returning Friday at 9 p.m. ET on Space, picks up with Dutch, D’avin (Luke McFarlane) and Johnny (Aaron Ashmore) doing their part to get the showdown started with some key help from Pree (Thom Allison) and Alvis (Morgan Kelly). With guest stars like Viktoria Modesta, Tommie-Amber Pirie and Karen LeBlanc jetting into The Quad, we got Lovretta on the phone to set the stage for what promises to be one hells of a great season.

Congratulations on Season 3 of Killjoys. You’re back on Friday nights this summer and Wynonna Earp is part of the lineup on Space.
Michelle Lovretta: I’m super excited. It’s funny, having Emily as a dear friend on this journey and having her on Killjoys it’s kind of a delicious treat that we’re going to airing as sister shows, effectively, on the same night. It’s a small world in the best of ways.

When we last left the group Khlyen had died, D’avin and Fancy were trading quips, Johnny and Clara were off in Khlyen’s ship and the tree is no more. Where do we pick up on Friday night? Is it right after the events of the Season 2 finale?
It is not right after, but I would say the emotional stakes have a very clear continuity with where we left everybody. We’ve taken a little breath and allowed a little time to pass. The stakes remain what Aneela’s ultimate game plan is and assessing their best approach to turning a gang of Killjoy rebels into a valid militia force against the Hullen.

It’s always fun to train people who don’t really know how to fight how to fight.
Exactly. And these are brawlers. The thing I’ve always loved about Killjoys from the beginning is the take no sides, take no bribes. It allows you to divorce yourself from a whole lot of thorny issues in terms of whether you are on the right side or the wrong side. Now, they’re no longer given that freedom. Now they not only have to take a side but have to try to talk other people into taking a side and trying to get people who were in it for a buck to be in it for the fight. It’s an interesting challenge but, honestly, I can’t think of anybody in our world that would be better suited for it than the combination of Dutch, D’av and Johnny because they are different people with different approaches and we get to see that tragically, comically and lovingly play out this season.

But just because someone says they’re on your side doesn’t mean they really are.
Exactly. It’s true. And one of the things we’re exploring this season is that it’s about loyalties and about your self-definition. I love to live in the grey, not because I don’t there is evil and good because I do, but that it’s contextual in a lot of ways. There are people who are very good to their loved ones and those loved ones never know how savage they are. That’s sort of the complexity of what it is to be human and that’s what has sort of fascinated me about the relationship between Dutch and Khlyen. We saw that play out last year because I thought it was really important. There was an abusive, manipulative side to that relationship and it was toxic. She needed to deal with that and also deal with, in her definition, love and support and protection. That’s what makes life and relationships so complicated. This season that spreads out into her relationships with other people as well.

Is Aneela the big villain this season? Is she the focus?
There are definitely other challenges. Aneela is, I would say, the architect of many of those. She is colluding from afar at first and that gives our people time to regroup. There are other villains closer at hand at times. And we still have the structure that I love, which is a great adventure at its heart and a story that resolves itself neatly, but feeds into and broadens the greater season-long arc.

Last season you suggested Pree’s warlord history. Do you touch on that this season?
Let me just say the title of Episode 4 is “The Lion, The Witch and The Warlord.” [Laughs.] Pree fans may read into that what they will.

Thom has been so great in this role.
He is amazing and we love the secondary characters. It always feels odd in my mouth to call them secondary. While we can’t always give them a full story we always want to keep them close to hand and close to heart and I think we do that very handily this season. We have more Fancy, we have more Alvis, we have some surprise people that you may not be expecting. We have some new people as well because, frankly, that’s such a joy for us. Because I love our core three so much, one of the things that is fun to do is give them new energy to play against.

Viktoria Modesta is a guest star in Season 3 as Niko. Viktoria is an artist, singer and an amputee. What can you say about her character?
I’m super-excited about Viktoria joining us and the character of Niko. It was our opportunity to bring to life this very unique, very sexy, very glamorous aspirational character. She certainly has her sexy villain side because I find that appealing. But even within the time she is with us, we have also given her her own perspective and a credible rationalization for the things that she does. She is somebody that Johnny butts heads with in Episode 2 and I think it was possibly the first time that Viktoria had appeared on television, and she was an incredibly passionate and quick study. We wanted to make sure that the Hackmod world was legitimate and we brought in actors that believably belonged in those roles but at the same time didn’t make it a dark and unhappy place. They have a badassery to them.

Were the Hackmods something you always had in the back of your mind when you were creating Killjoys or did they evolve during production?
They came to me in Season 1. I went back, actually, and found a lot of clippings that I had gone through. People with gun legs and modifications on human bodies. It’s something I find very interesting when you’re thinking about the future and how we’re going to be hacking our own bodies. I think it’s part of our journey, as humans. And then it becomes, as a writer, what does that do to them culturally? Legally? What does that do to their rights and norms? Who are the outcasts?

What can you tell me about Karen LeBlanc’s role this season?
Can I just say how gorgeous she is? Every time I’m editing and she comes on screen I ask if I can have the footage rolled back one more time. [Laughs.] She plays an antagonist to our team. When we come back the RAC that operates as business as usual realizes a bunch of agents have gone missing when Dutch went ahead and killed the Arkyn pool. Banyon has a completely correct suspicion that Dutch and team are somehow at the heart of this and she is definitely, ‘Let’s pull back the curtain and take a poke at Dutch.’

What can fans expect when they tune in this season? What will they see?
One of the things we lay out is the complete origin story between Dutch and her connection to Aneela. You also are going to see Pree at his best and his warlord past. You are going to see Dutch and John on the day they met. You’re going to see a lot of tasty things that as, as writers, we waited for the right time for. We didn’t want to just throw them out in the first season, but have been pining to do ever since.

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

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

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Link: Killjoys: Michelle Lovretta talks “How to Kill Friends and Influence People”

From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:

Link: Killjoys: Michelle Lovretta talks “How to Kill Friends and Influence People”
“Early on in my career–particularly in Canada–you weren’t really given permission to do serialization outside of romance, everything was fully episodic. Things have changed now and the fans have changed, so the industry now encourages and even expects you to do an overarching mytharc. For me, the fun of a show like Killjoys is coming up with a fresh angle or brand new section of the mytharc to explore every season, while still keeping them all related.” Continue reading. 

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