Comics2Filmtalked this week with Witchblade executive producer and showrunnerRalph Hemecker about the home stretch of season two and what the future holdsfor the comic book TV show.
As season 2 ofthe series winds down, the final three episodes feature a series of guest stars.Eric Roberts appeared this week. Kim De Lury reprises his role of Conchobar nextweek. After that, the series finale features a kind of evil-Witchblade namedLucrezia. "[She's] who is part of analternate and evil bloodline that's existed for years and years. In the 12thepisode she attempts to get the Witchblade from Sara," Hemecker said.
Add that tostars like Roger Daltrey, who appeared both seasons.. "I think that the show has had some degree of success and also that thecharacters that we create for the guest stars are usually pretty bizarre andinteresting and they get to play some unusual scenes," Hemecker said of theshow's appeal.
The showrunnersaid the season ender will not be a repeat of last season's rewind, but willpresent viewers with an an "equally unexpected" resolution.
AnthonyCistaro's Kenneth Irons character was killed off early this season. This raisedfan ire and prompted an online petition from fans. "I like it. I like that people are that into it.There did seem to be somereaction to Anthony's death," Hemecker said, "but in Witchblade, anything can change on a dime.So the fact that he's dead for now doesn't mean necessarily that he's gonna stay that way."
In fact, theactor has continued to appear on the show, in spite of the fact that thecharacter was killed. The showrunner told C2F that Irons plays a major role inthe series finale and will likely return for season 3, should there beone.
Likewise,leading lady Yancy Butler is committed to the show. "She did a great job in the last few episodes. I think she'sdefinitely up for a third season," Hemecker said of his star. "I don't think we could do it without her and the fans really love her. Shejust really seems to get the character."
"I never really know until the last minute what's going to happen. Usually thenetwork waits until towards the end of the run to make their decision, so weshould be finding that out soon," Hemecker said of the prospect of areturn. "My gut is that it looks pretty good."
This season theWitchblade itself took on a new form, in addition to the bracelet, gauntlet andsword forms seen previously. "If the show continues the gauntlet and theWitchblade will continue to evolveand actually maybe even take on more of a personality," Hemecker told us." There might even be somecommunications between Sara and the Witchblade. There'll be a hint of that inepisode twelve."
However, theappearance of the Witchblade is unlikely to be completely in line with thecomics. "[In] the comic, they can do more on a page than we can because we havebudgetary constraints that they don't have to deal with," Hemeckerexplained.
Although theseason one ender resolved some issues from that segment, it also reopenedcertain storylines, like the fact that Jake was an undercover FBI agent workingSara's precinct in order to expose a shadow organization called the White Bulls.These plot points were not dealt with this season.
"Should we continue next year we'll probably delve more into exactly what Jake is up to," Hemecker said.The White Bulls, presumably still intact, may also be explored. "We'll probably revisit that next year but in a different way."
Hemecker alsodiscussed the challenges of putting together a great-looking show on a cable TVbudget. "It is challenging to try to keep the production level up, the special effectsup. I would say a big part of it becomes then planning out how we're gonna do it.Also having a really excellent special effects house, that understands the show,Look! Effects in L.A. Everybody sort of gets in a groove and knows the shorthandand it becomes a lot easier than if you were to be doing some of these fromscratch."
Aside fromlooking cool Witchblade also sports a moody soundtrack intermixedwith a selection of rock songs. "We find that the music itself is an important part of thestorytelling. We've got a great composer who really gets the nature of the showand a lot of the times the music is kind of subliminal and atmospheric but hehelps set the tone and the mood and evoke the emotion of the given scene."
Hemeckerspeculated that there may be a CD compilation of both the show's original scoreand additional songs that have been used. A DVD set from the show may also be inthe works.
Hemecker isdeveloping another comic based TV show based on James Hudnall's Devastator.However, he told us that that project is still in the early stages. "That's sort of been on the periphery for now since I've been immersed inWitchblade. If Witchblade doesn't go [a thirdseason] than I'll probably get more into that.
"I'm a fan of comic books and I also find that they make great source materialfor TV shows," Hemecker said. "Witchblade certainly worked out well. The guys at Top Cow createdan interesting world, such a rich broth to draw from for a TV show. I think itwas a good experience with a TV show/comic book adaptation."
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