Tonight marks the Season 2 premiere of hit Syfy series Being Human, and we’ve got some insight into the path the trio is heading down, taken from a conference call last week with stars Sam Huntington, Meaghan Rath and Sam Witwer!
How was it a different experience going into a second season of Being Human versus the first season?
Sam Huntington: We loved the show so much, [and] I think I can speak for all of us when I say that and so we were all really, really excited to get back. You know the funny thing is I personally expected it to feel a lot like just one giant bout of déjà vu and to be honest, it really just felt as though we never had the hiatus. Because it was all the same crew and a lot of the same cast, it just felt like we had maybe a two day break and then we just rolled into Season Two. At the same time it was great because I felt like we were able to really just pick up right where we left off which was a really cool spot.
Sam Witwer: We were so exhausted after the first season, for months afterwards even the thought of doing Season Two would make me sleepy. When we got back, I guess I hadn’t expected to be as happy to see everyone as I was. The crew and all the directors and everyone, that carried me through the season. I wasn’t as exhausted this year, there was something about having a successful Season One behind us and knowing the characters and having that momentum that was really positive this year.
Meaghan Rath: Yeah, and I think script-wise it was a lot easier to just fall back into it this year because there was no establishing who our characters were and what our circumstances were, we just jumped right into it. And that’s reflective of the first episode, we just get right into the story immediately which was really great.
Sam Witwer: Absolutely. In the first season, there was so much heavy lifting on everyone’s part to establish these characters and to try make this all work. I think we had a little bit of competence going in this time.
Meaghan Rath: Yeah.
Sam Huntington: There was so much uncertainty in Season One. You’re kind of biting your fingernails the whole time just saying to yourself, “God I hope people like this and I hope people watch this.”
Sam Witwer: Right, and you’re second guessing yourself.
How do your characters’ story lines differ this season?
Sam Witwer: It’s extremely different, it’s very, very different. If Season One was about putting these people who are at risk into a safe environment, well Season Two is all about what is that risk about? I think it’s inevitable with these people and their adversities, you know specific risks that they have in terms of vampire, werewolf and ghost, what do those conditions mean? And basically what it means is these people are in trouble and we’re going to see a lot of that trouble this year. We’re going to see why they need so badly to have a sanctuary because things get a little bit darker this year.
How would each of you say that you balance your character’s humanity while dealing with the darker parts of of their nature?
Meaghan Rath: For me it’s important to keep in mind that these are real people and not to get sucked into the supernatural element of the whole thing. We are trying to play these as regular people. It’s a lot about keeping in mind what I would do in this kind of situation. I think that’s where the humanity comes from, just being a good person and being [faced] with these challenges that sort of question your morality and your values.
Sam Witwer: I think Meaghan is absolutely right with that. For example, in television we’ve kind of seen everything including vampires, werewolves and ghosts and we’ve seen people get killed and all kinds of crazy stuff. What we’re trying to do as three actors is bring as much humanity into those events as possible. If someone dies, we’re going to show you. Hopefully we’re going to tell a story where you realize that that is an awful sacrifice or that something has happened that is really, really terrible. It’s all about the character’s reactions. These three characters are the eyes through which the audience watches the show, so we’re really trying to keep our reactions to all this giant supernatural stuff very grounded. In terms of the dark stuff that comes up, I mean the messed up thing is that at first you’ll see our characters react with horror and shame and all this awful stuff, and then as time goes on you might see them kind of get used to it and that hopefully will be a very sad thing to watch.
Sam Huntington: I think you just kind of hit the nail on the head. I mean a lot of times on the show I can say I think the characters are almost seeing these horrible things happen for the first time, so they’re almost like the audience. You know they’re viewing these things and so hopefully that’s what the audience can kind of grasp on to. And also, as an actor, it helps form what you do. Because you’re like, “What if this person was killed? What would [be] the ramifications? Emotionally, what would that mean to me, and how would that affect me and every aspect of my life. We don’t just roll over these issues, we actually tackle them.
Will we see more tension build between the three of you as these darker aspects are explored?
Sam Witwer: We will be seeing tension between the three in ways that we didn’t see in the first season. Things get pretty serious.
Meaghan Rath: You will see a lot of tension between the three roommates because we all are on our own journey and trying to get ourselves out of these really desperate situations. So for the reason that we’re doing completely different things, when we do come together there’s a question of can we still relate to each other and how non-judgmental are we actually going to be towards each other? And that generates a lot of tension between us.
Sam Huntington: And you know the temptation this season is just a beast. You know what I mean? Just a beast.
Season 2 of Being Human kicks off tonight at 9/8c on Syfy and at 10 ET on SPACE.
Photo Courtesy of Syfy
