Emily Andras – Wynonna Earp – Comic Con 2018

By: Brittany Dailey

Q) Talk about creator/writer Beau Smith.

Emily: He is probably the loveliest man in the world and we have a lot of lovely people on the show. So, that’s a pretty good compliment. It all starts with him. That’s why he’s always going to be a part of it and we’ll bring him where ever we go. None of it would be here without Beau Smith.

Q) Is Season 3 of “Wynonna Earp” amping up?

A) Is it amping up?! Yeah! I’m honestly terrified by some of the choices that I’ve made. We did that. We are doing that. It’s nuts, but it’s so fun in Season 3 because I think it’s the pleasure of the fandom. They have shown that they are in it. They are happy for the cliffhangers. They can handle the ride. It just emboldens us. It’s your fault! [laughs] I think the key is just making sure that whatever shocks and surprises we have in store for them they never feel trick. I want them to feel surprised, but then when they look back they understood that it all led up to Season 3 and now we understood how we got here. That’s my number one rule as a writer – I just want to be sure if I spring something on you…Well, who am I kidding? We’re actually going to spring something on you. [laughs]

Q) Talk about the Yarn Stories that were created this season.

Emily: We are always looking for additional moments because the Earpers are such a voracious fanbase. Actually, SYFY Digital came to us and said, “We have this app that is interested in and they are willing to pay some writers to create some additional stories.” We are doing something that we’ve never done before. We’re actually doing a tiny time jump in between seasons. I was like, “Maybe the fans would like to see hints of where the characters have been.” Then, we were really interested in text-based story telling. I’m really into text because I thought about Doc Holliday (Tim Rozon) learning how to text and was like, “Well, I could write ten stories like that.” So, we decided to do ten to try them out. They are very well received. I think they have 1.4 million views. So, I’m hoping that maybe they’ll let us do more.

Q) You guys balance such emotional scenes with campy stuff. How do you find that happy medium?

Emily: That’s such a great question. Honestly, it’s just a gut feeling for me. I was on a show before “Wynonna” called “Lost Girl,” which I absolutely loved. It always felt a little more camp than I wanted “Wynonna” to be. A good example for me would be that Wynonna (Melanie Scrofano) got pregnant last year. I know we danced with if this was going to be a demon pregnancy, but at the end of the day with all the crazy on the show I was like, “Wouldn’t it be the most poignant if they ended up having just a beautiful, normal baby girl and they still had to save her?” That, to me, was the perfect example of how to keep the show just grounded enough. Hopefully, then you cry and then you’re there for the werewolf with the zipper up the back. Again, seeing what the cast can do with comedy. They all just turned out to have such incredible comedic timing, but not all have the same sense of humor. So, like now I know where we can push it. I think this year we have some scenes that are maybe a little campier but end with like a devastating scene that like yanks you back. It’s just a joy to write a show with so many emotional highs and lows within an episode. But, again, that’s a testament to the fans that they’re like, “We get it. We can handle the emotional shifts.” It’s a pleasure.

Q) Will we see any singing this season?

Emily: Yes, we will. Indeed. I’m always under pressure to write a musical episode, but okay…Everyone on the show can sing. Because Michael Eklund is so hilarious he is like, “I can do nothing. I will be on the bottom of the well playing drums. Please don’t make me sing.” There have been so many iconic musical episodes that I feel like they are a pretty tough act to follow. But, yes, there will be more performances by unexpected people.

Q) What can you tell us about the new characters?

Emily: The fun thing is learning about these new characters and then there are other new characters that you don’t even know are coming! Let me start with Chantel [Riley], it’s just so gratifying to see the response to her. When she first showed up on screen everyone started cheering. She’s lovely and so charismatic. She’s obviously this serious, confident woman that is a vampire who also knows Doc Holliday from his past. She is just that rare find of an amazing actress who can hold her own against Melanie, Dominique [Provost-Chalkley] and Katherine [Barrell] and the rest of them. We have Megan Follows coming as Mama Earp. She is a Canadian icon. And we have a very bad guy named Bulshar.