Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Nicholas Wootton, Nick Santora & Walter O’Brien – Scorpion – Comic Con 2014

Interview By: Lynsey Tamborello

Q) Can you tell us about the show and what drew you to this project?

Alex Kurtzman: It’s about the smartest guy in the world and his team of geniuses. Einstein’s IQ was 160, an idiot compared to the lead of our show whose IQ is 197. To even work with him, you need to have an IQ of 160 and these cases are real, his life, how you meet him. He really was a kid at twelve years old hacking into NASA before anyone knew what hacking was. This is the original genius computer hacker that ever existed. This show is based on the real life of this guy and the real formation of his company. It’s rare to have a show based this much on reality, but is also the escapist.

Q) Can you give us any hints about any of the stories you will be talking about during the season?

Nicholas Wootton: We’re doing a bombing episode. We got a bomber, which is something that Walter’s done in his company. We’re doing a show about biohacking, which is about implanting a disease onto a single strand of DNA that can attack only one person, which is something that’s out in the world right now. And we’re working on a casino heist. We’re doing a lot of things, a lot of big stuff. We’re doing things that Walter has worked on and things that are going to be influenced enormously by new technology and things that Walter works with. All that kind of fun stuff.

Q) How much freedom do you have to talk about cases like these?

Nick Santora: Walter is very clear with us. The way he phrases it is, “If I’m telling you about it, it means you’re allowed to hear about it.” Walter does stuff that we’re not allowed to hear about and works with clients that want confidentiality. Walter respects that. Once something is allowed to be discussed, Walter is incredibly open. He’s open and generous with his time and his intellect to help us with technological issues in scripts. And he’s also open about personal issues. He’ll talk to us very openly about how it was tough being a kid with a genius IQ and other kids like to make fun of the smart kid and things of that nature. This show doesn’t get made without Walter and even if you somehow make a show about geniuses without Walter, it would stink. Except for “Big Bang Theory,” which is a show about geniuses, which is great.

Q) How do you deal with character development and growth in an episodic set up, as opposed to one that is serialized?

Nick Santora: The character stuff will be serialized in that each week you’re going to see these characters grow in their relationships and what we learn about them in their past, stuff we never even knew about them. That’s going to come out each week and we’re big believers in doing it with an eye dropper: a little taste each week with whatever character we’re focusing and in the next week get a little bit more for a really nice arc that comes out over an entire season. The way we can do that is by having an adventure each week for this team that affects and reflects on them in a way that brings out that character.

Q) Walter, what did you think when they brought up the idea to create a show about you?

Walter O’Brien: Well, originally I brought the idea to them because this show is done very deliberately for a couple of reasons. One is to raise the awareness that there is a group of us that exists that can be brought in to solve problems other people can’t solve. Also, it is to raise the awareness for other geniuses out there to come out of the closet and come join us to do more good for the greater good of the planet. We decided to make this show named after my company and then went out and reached out to Scooter Braun, CCA, Perfect Storm and then brought in the best directors, writers and producers to work together. It was very deliberate.

Q) Is there a particular that really hits close to home?

Walter O’Brien: The first one. The pilot episode brought back memories from when I was a kid, when this all started to memories of bad breakups dating to the air traffic control crisis. That all brought back memories. With the others, we’re working on the scripts. Maybe I haven’t been in TV long enough, but it’s when I first see it on screen that it really hits me. Seeing the script and then seeing the show is not the same thing to me just yet.

Q) Will all episodes be based on real cases that Walter solve or have some been created?

Roberto Orci: It will certainly have a component of something real. There will be many episodes based on real cases that Walter has gone through.

Alex Kurtzman: He has got more stories than we have episodes so far. Right now, we’re just catching up on the stories he’s telling us. Eventually, we’re going to say, “Hey dude, we have an idea, too.”

Roberto Orci: One of the many things that got us so excited about it wasn’t just the obvious cases and the fact that they were real and grounded. It’s this idea that Walter talks about, the higher the IQ the lower the EQ. The more intelligent you are, the lower your ability is to communicate emotionally with people, particularly when you’re that brilliant. What you’re watching is a lot of people trying to figure out how to fit in. For a million reasons they have been ostracized, they have been often misdiagnosed as being slow. It’s really about a group of people who are realizing how important it is to find a surrogate family because often times their own families have not known what to do with them. They’ve kind of rejected them. They come together as a family and are learning to communicate with the outside world at a more emotional level. That’s a really interesting thing to watch our characters do.