30/05/2016

The Syfy and Space Channel thriller Killjoys gets set to return to the Quad for a second season on Friday, July 1. The first season left us with a dramatic cliffhanger as D’avin (Luke MacFarlane) was separated from Dutch (Hannah John-Kamen) and Johnny (Aaron Ashmore). In Season 2 the trio will be working hard to uncover the secret agenda of Dutch’s duplicitous and mysterious childhood mentor, Khlyen (Rob Stewart). The Killjoys will also soon discover a threat coming from within the Reclamation Apprehension Coalition (RAC) that could be more dangerous than any of the criminals in the Quad. Throughout the second season their loyalties will be tested as they struggle to find the balance between politics, family, and the good of the Quad.

The TV Junkies was invited to visit the set of Killjoys in February for a chance to look behind the curtain of the upcoming season and talk with showrunner Michelle Lovretta, as well as cast members: Hannah John-Kamen, Aaron Ashmore, Luke MacFarlane, Sarah Power, Rob Stewart, Thom Allison and Morgan Kelly. We were able to take away a few ideas and hints about what’s to come in Season 2, as well as look at how relationships amongst all the characters may be changing. Read on for some fun tidbits that we took away from our visit and browse through more photos from behind the scenes below!

Season 2 is shocking! (in a good way)

If you’re still shocked at the Royale getting blown up in that Season 1 finale then you’re not alone. Allison, who plays Royale bartender Pree, told us that after that happened, “I was ready for anything.” However, he still was not fully prepared for Season 2. “I have to say they throw a couple of things at us in the second season that I went ‘Oh you’re kidding? Cool!’ I was surprised so I imagine people watching will be shocked,” he said.

Dutch has a one track mind

Season 1 ended on that powerful image of Dutch standing on the deck of Lucy recording her message to D’avin, and she is still very much on that mission when Season 2 opens. “Dutch’s loyalty to the Jaqobis brothers is there! Dutch is front-footed with that and that is her ultimate goal,” John-Kamen told us. Showrunner Lovretta added that “there is a bit of a time jump. It’s a small jump, but we are basically picking up not too long after we left, with the same emotional drive we had with our characters which is ‘Where is D’avin and how do we find him?’”

Dutch & Khlyen Season 2 = It’s complicated

When Season 2 opens Dutch is feeling “absolutely conflicted” about Khlyen said John-Kamen. “It’s not as simple as she thought. It’s not easy. It’s not that easy thing to just hate Khlyen,” she told us. That may be because there are bigger factors that come into play. “It’s understanding that it’s bigger than Dutch and Khlyen. It involves everyone. It involves the Quad. There’s something bigger going on so Dutch needs answers. It’ll get more complicated and conflicted,” she previewed.

Dutch + D’av = Not Now

“It’s closed off for now,” said John-Kamen about the possibility of a romance between Dutch and D’avin. She recalled a moment in Episode 7 of Season 1, “Kiss Kiss Bye Bye,” where the possibility for something more was there, but the pair didn’t seize it. “There was that window to see what could’ve been, but it didn’t happen so we’ve had that distance now,” she explained. She also added that “there’s too many other things involved now.” MacFarlane offered another perspective on the pair sleeping together in Episode 7. “In a weird sort of way they almost need to get that over with before they could become friends,” he said. “What is happening in Season 2 is a deeper kind of intimacy that doesn’t involve sex,” he explained. Now whether that’s actually romance? The actor wouldn’t say except to add that “it’s a different way of coming to understand each other that I think is deeper.”

A romance for Khlyen? No way!

At least that’s if Stewart has any say in the matter. “I am so over love scenes,” the Toronto actor joked. “I’m delighted to let them [John-Kamen and MacFarlane] do it. It’s fun when you’re 29 or 30,” he said. To which co-star MacFarlane jokingly replied “is it?” So while he’s not up for love scenes, Stewart could be persuaded to see Khlyen in a relationship “if they introduce some wickedly powerful female, who is just evil and strong and messed up. Then I think Khlyen may have a go at that. She’d have to be wickedly strong.”

Which of the Killjoys are you?

When asked which of the Killjoys characters she identifies with the most, Lovretta went with the younger Jaqobis brother. “Johnny Jaqobis is a little bit of all of us, and should be a little bit of all of us, but cooler and has better one-liners than we’ll mostly think of,” she told us. She said while Dutch may be the team leader, that John may actually be the one she identifies with most because to her “the loyal person at the side of the strong person, the person that’s able to look at them and say ‘You’re going too far. This is the tough talk you need. This is the good shoulder you need,’ that’s the person that ultimately I think I am and cast as myself. The hero is scary to me.”

A Killjoys Musical?

Could we one day see a Killjoys musical episode? It certainly sounded like the cast would be game for the idea. “We’re very, very close on set. We sing all day,” John-Kamen told us. She also let slip that she and her castmates “actually have a Killjoys kind of musical. We’ve got a song ‘Leith, Leith glorious Leith. Frolick in the market, buy a bunch of flowers.’ We have the Christmas special as well, the miney prayers and we have a Qresh song. A Westerly song, ‘things are bad in Westerly.’ We would love to do a musical episode.” When costar Ashmore was asked about it he confirmed that “Luke and Hannah are both really fantastic singers, so they’ve created these songs and sometimes I sing along.”

John and Pawter’s bond remains strong

“Our characters have a lot in common and those elements draw us to each other in a lot of ways,” Ashmore said of John’s relationship with Pawter, a doctor. With Pawter’s medical profession and the fact that “John is definitely the more compassionate character in our trio, and I think that’s what draws us to each other,” he explained. Power said add that to the fact that “he’s one of the first people that Pawter came clean to about all the skeletons in her closet. To have someone be so understanding and non-judgemental about it I think was where it really started.”

No flashbacks in Season 2

There’s still a lot to learn about these characters’ pasts, especially the Jaqobis brothers, but don’t look for any flashbacks in Season 2. “I would love to,” said Ashmore, but “unfortunately we do a 10 episode season and there’s not a ton of space for extras.” So while he thinks that “they did a really amazing job with all the flashback stuff with Dutch, and it really added to the story,” he still understands that “10 episodes flies pretty quickly.”

Other backstories emerge

So despite no Jaqobis brothers’ flashbacks we will learn more about Khlyen’s backstory. “I’m really excited and I just found that out. I don’t know how deeply or in what way,” we learn about Khlyen said Stewart. Morgan Kelly, who plays scar back Alvis, confirmed that the show will go into the past a bit on some of the characters. “We understand the characters a bit more because you get to see where they are coming from and what they’ve experienced,” he said. Allison agreed and said that when it comes to Pree, “we get more into the backstory of stuff and learning why Pree does some of what he does.”

Religion continues to play a factor

An ongoing theme during the first season was religion and that’s something that will continue to be explored during Season 2. “The scar backs and their storyline and mythology plays into the next season,” confirmed Ashmore. Kelly added that “there’s a lot more history with the religion and a bit of a backstory, so I’m starting to realize where he’s [Alvis] coming from and the beliefs he’s fighting for.”

D’avin finds what makes him special

“We become more of a triad in the second season where we’re all really needing each other,” said MacFarlane. Something he had long been wondering was what exactly was D’avin’s role in the group and what special elements was he adding to the trio? It looks like this year D’avin, and MacFarlane, are getting those answers. “This year D’avin discovers what is special about him, and it’s a big story point for him where he figures out ‘Oh, this thing that I now have makes me special and necessary to the group.’”

Alvis & D’avin together more

“In an interesting way in Season 2, what bonds us together is we do have our outside lives, but also come back together and it feels like the family is back together for Sunday dinner,” MacFarlane told us. “We do get to work outside of the family,” though and that could mean D’av is pairing up more with Alvis. “This year I got some good stuff with D’avin,” Kelly confirmed. He said that while Alvis and D’avin “get to have some fun,” it’s the differences between the two that really makes the relationship enjoyable. On one hand, D’avin is “so funny and quirky and sarcastic, while “Alvis is a bit more flat,” explained Kelly. He did add that “there’s an interesting relationship that develops between them that I really enjoy.”

Pree is still THE BEST

As if we could really have any doubts about the Royale bartender, right? While we know what we enjoy most about Pree (and it’s not just his fabulous style and makeup!), what about Allison? “What I love is that it’s his sense of suck it. If you don’t like me or what I do or how I talk or how I run my bar–get the Fuck out! I think that’s kind of great and he’s living a life that a lot of us could learn from. This is what I am and you don’t have to come in here and you don’t have to drink my stuff, but if you want to come in here, it’s my world and that’s awesome! It’s pretty sweet,” said Allison.

Dutch deserves some fun

Knowing the actress behind the character has given Lovretta some ideas about where she’d like to take Dutch one day. “Hannah is funny. She’s light. You just want to go have a beer with her. She’s young and she’s full of joy and she sings and she dances,” she told us. However, in Season 1 the writers wanted to make it clear how a tough soldier like D’avin would so willingly take orders from a strong and capable female like Dutch, in a way that Lovretta says doesn’t “emasculate him at all.” She explained that “he looks at her for what she is, which is a born and trained killer and absolute leader.” Now that just how big of a badass Dutch truly is has been made crystal clear to viewers and D’avin alike, “hopefully we can also have a little bit of Hannah coming through and a little bit of ‘She’s still young,’” said Lovretta. “Let her have some fun because she deserves it,” she added.

The Killjoys are growing up

“Season 1 was the twenties. They are in their thirties now in Season 2,” Lovretta said, metaphorically speaking. “They have their feet on the ground and now they don’t want to be people’s puppets,” she explained. That means the trio will be eager to find out what is Red 17? What’s a Level 6 Killjoy? “We slowly, throughout the season, poke holes in the veil on that and ultimately give concrete answers,” Lovretta teased.

Now take a look and browse through some more pictures from our Killjoys set visit here:

Are you excited for Season 2? What are you most looking forward to? Sound off in the comments below!

Killjoys Season 2 premieres on Friday, July 1 at 9 p.m. on Space Channel and Syfy.

Source: The Tv Junkies