Shadowhunters EP’s Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer Talk Tonight’s Final Season Premiere
Tonight, February 25, Shadowhunters will premiere the first episode of its final season. Before the episode, we sat down with Executive Producers, Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer to talk about what is to come in the final season.
What can you tell us about the 3B season?
Darren: “Season 3B is full! I think the biggest concept in 3B is transformation. We’ll see a lot of change and transformation with these twelve episodes.”
When you got the news that the 3B season would be the final season, did the layout of the season change?
Todd: “Not really. 3B ended, episode 3×20 used to be the end of 3B, and we basically have some ideas. Those ideas became compressed a little into the final two episodes. We didn’t approach it really as ending the season, as opposed to ending the series.”
Darren: “I just want to clarify, because I’m not sure everybody understands. We shot ten episodes thinking that was just going to be the end of Season 3 and the beginning of Season 4. Then we shot the last two. Nothing in the first ten was affected by that news except for a little bit at the end in the last episode. The very end of the episode 20.”
You can read the rest of our interview below. Make sure to check the site tomorrow, February 26 for Part 2 of our interview with the EPs!
Source: Freeform
Did you have to speed things up with that change or no?
Todd: “I don’t think we sped it up, per se, but it affected the way we approached the material. We had two hours. Now all of a sudden, it wasn’t about ending a season, it was about ending a series. It was about keeping it somewhat open-ended, so it wouldn’t be a complete closure but it would give [the series] closure. It became bigger than that but it was really exciting. One of the highlights of our career to craft the ending of such a special show, and to make it really feel right to the fans. We consider ourselves fans of the show, so when we got through with it, we looked at each other like, ‘You know, that’s cool. What a cool way to end the show’. If you like what we’ve done for the past 42 episodes then I think people are going be really happy, and they won’t feel rushed.”
How are the characters going to deal with Clary’s death in the premiere?
Darren: “A lot of guilt is going to fall on some of our characters. Simon who feels, rightly so, that the mark of Cain is what caused that explosion he believes killed Clary. Jace, who none of the events of the last few episodes would have happened at all, if he hadn’t gotten caught up in this world of being the Owl. Everyone else is devastated. This new member of their family is now suddenly gone and Luke, who’s basically a daughter to him is gone, and he refuses to believe she’s dead.”
Will Alec be there to support Magnus now that his powers are gone or will he be more focused on what’s going on at the Institute?
Todd: “No, he’s going to be a huge rock for him. Like any good partner, he’s going to be there every step of the way and he’s going to be supportive, and he’s going to try to help him, and do whatever he can to make Magnus whole again.”
You both have hinted that we will be seeing more Sizzy this final season, is that true?
Todd: “It is true. Absolutely.”
Are fans going to be excited with their storyline?
Todd: “They’ll be more than excited. They’ll be dancing in the street. Waving their arms in the sky and jumping up and down giggling.”
What will Maia be doing this season?
Todd: “Maia’s dealing with the Jordan thing. Jordan’s appearance really rocked into her core. We get into that in 218, when you hear the story of how she turned. That’s not something we wanted to treat lightly, and have her just come back and embrace it. We saw in 308, she left, and she needed time to herself. Then she comes back and she hears about Clary, and she’s shaken. I think one thing the show has done well is we don’t just sweep things under the rug and pretend they never happened. Jordan’s appearance really rattles her, and it affects her ability to be in a relationship with anyone. Anyone at that point because this is the person that destroyed her life, and took away her humanity.
Her journey is complicated, and it’s not only her one with Simon although we get into that. We explore her relationship with Simon but it’s also coming around with Jordan. Chai Hansen is big in 3B. He plays a huge role in Maia’s journey and her trajectory to becoming a leader, and a pack leader, and the ability to deal with her past, and all of that stuff. Alisha Wainwright’s amazing. She does a great job and she continues to get- she’s just the strong badass woman we all love and some of us aspire to be.”