Orphan Black has been a BBC America fan favorite ever since it premiered in 2013, with lead actress Tatiana Maslany playing a slew of clones weekly. Producers Graeme Manson and John Fawcett have created a thrilling new world of clones and secrecy, always wondering who our protagonists can or can’t trust. Fans were disappointed to hear that season 5, which will come out in the spring of 2017, will be the last season. On Friday at San Diego Comic-Con 2016, we spoke with Maslany, Manson, Fawcett, Kristian Bruun (Donnie), Kevin Hanchard (Art), Jordan Gavaris (Felix), and Kathryn Alexandre (clone double) about the journey their characters went through last season and what we can expect in the show’s final season.
Maslany and Alexandre joined us at the round tables first and immediately we see them bouncing thoughts off each other when approaching questions. It’s easy to see how things probably work behind the scenes with these two! Maslany says having a collaborator in character creation is unique, and Alexandre sees the dailies and the arcs of the characters in a way that she can’t while she is immersed in acting out the scenes of each clone.
Having faced the desperation of looking for a cure for the clones in season 4, Maslany says it’s tough – the characters seem fragile at this point, “when we left her (Cosima) at the end of episode 10, it was kind of like she could be gone.” If the story requires the characters to die, it’s painful, but could be necessary to progress the story.
The boys join us next and the mood is light, with Gavaris joking that the spin-off show will be “Charlie’s Angels” but with Felix, Donnie and Art. I would love seeing that show! All of them agree that when they are acting against the different clones, it feels as if they are acting a scene with a different actress each time. When Tatiana is playing different people it can change the mood, based on that character’s personality.
Gavaris talks about finding his new sister, Adele, in season 4 and why she had to go – “we figured out that family is not who we are related to. It’s not your blood or your genetics. It’s who you choose.” He says that his allegiance is with Sarah. Hopefully, viewers will see those two patch up some of the instability in their relationship in season 5!
Manson says that season 5 will pick up right out of the gate where season 4 left off. Fawcett says, “we left Sarah, sort of, with a bleeding knife wound in the surf on the beach. We need to just jump right in.” When asked if, with only one season left, they will be able to wrap the show up in the way they envisioned, the creators say they’re amazed at how they’re managing to get to the places they thought they would. And as always, they’ll continue following the science, which has been an overarching theme of the show.
As a huge fan of the show, I’m heartbroken to know we only have one season left with these characters that we have fallen in love with, but I’m excited to see what the showrunners have in store for all the clones and how the story will wrap up!
