A final look at season one, with interviews from Sara Tomko, Alice Wetterlund, Corey Reynolds, and Levi Fiehler.
Resident Alien might just be SYFY’s best show in years. Critics have given the series, led by Alan Tudyk and showrunner by Chris Sheridan, an astonishing 93% fresh score and, with good reason, as the show is a darkly funny romp of science fiction about the intricacies of what it means to be human. A weekly adventure of naïve malice and best friendships between every woman, man, and alien.
Though the season finale episode, Heroes of Patience, maybe the end of the season, it’s definitely not the end of the series. The show has a second season in development and has gained a growing diehard fanbase. Myself included.
Over the past three episodes now, we have seen guest cameos from Linda Hamilton, Terry O’Quinn, and Nathan Fillion… as an Octopus. We’ve also seen Harry The Alien learn a lot this season about the intricacies of human relationships. All thanks to some of the great chemistry and storylines of Resident Alien’s supporting players.
So we asked some of the cast questions regarding the finale, including that revelation about Jay being Asta’s daughter, along with what it was like, overall, to work on the show.
Can You (Sara Tomko + Alice Wetterlund) Talk About The Revelation Of Jay Being Asta’s daughter?
“Well, it’s not a revelation to Asta. It’s a revelation to Jay her for sure, and the rest of my people! I didn’t tell anyone except Harry. Which is bizarre that I choose this outside stranger with such vulnerable information. But I think that was why — because I knew that he would keep my secret safe. I felt safe with him all of a sudden.”
Tomko then went onto discuss Jay’s reaction in the season finale.
“When Jay finally finds out there is an intense shame. I remember shooting that scene, and I told Chris afterward, I dunno what happened to me but I felt like a sixteen-year-old that did a bad thing. Like I went back to getting in trouble again when you’re young, and you don’t know what your future is going to hold, and I feel like it was very scary. Very vulnerable moment. I’m just so excited that Jay, who was played by Kaylayla Raine. I was so excited to work with someone so thoughtful in how she handled that scene. I was just proud of her like a mama would be.”
Wetterlund then shared her thoughts about the relationship between Jay and her character, Darcy. Along with some of the heated motivations for her character by the finale.
“She’s amazing. Well, we — Asta is the center of D’arcy’s world. And it’s very clear that D’arcy is okay to fuck her own life up because she‘s got, Asta. She relies on her for so much, and Jay is also revolving around Asta as her employer, confidant, and mentor. And for this revelation to happen, and for Jay to have been lied to, but also D’arcy?”
“Are you kidding you didn’t tell me this, and for her to have found this information out through Jay? It really drives a wedge there. It makes sense for these two to team up because I guess we don’t matter to the person we’re supposed to matter the most to?”
What Were Your (Corey Reynolds + Levi Fiehler) Favorite Things About Working On The Series?
“Probably the cast. We had a unique journey. The two and a half years from pilot to air. Chris did this a little differently than any show I’ve been a part of. As more people were cast, he had an email thread that he would send, that would include the person’s headshot, some fun facts about them, and a welcome to the family. As this thread would grow, we all were getting connected. It was that to me, and also feeling valued when it comes to what I bring to the table — It was kind of like being an athlete.”
Corey then went into the importance of trust and how it led to good improv. But he did so using a sports metaphor, about a subject that probably goes over the head of most of SYFY’s base audience.
“You have a coach as your director and you have your GM as your producers. Everyone has these plays that are played out the way they’re supposed to run. But once in a while, you have some freedom within that structure, and a lot of the time that can disrupt the plays. But with this, Chris encouraged us to make it our own. That was a special part of all of this from the very beginning. This bonding between our cast and company led to the improv that felt so natural between us. Took me from my elbow to my ass to get there, but none-the-less, I think that was the most special part. We got good people.”
Finally, Levi shared his thoughts about the series.
“Corey said it so beautifully. It’s a win if you get one-or-two out of five things. With this show, it’s like Allen and Chris, they’re the pillars holding up this show in a lot of ways. If either of them were difficult it would make it such a different experience, but they are, some of the kindest people I’ve ever worked with. It’s been incredible to work with people like that, we’ve had two and a half years to film this one season so it’s been great,” He said before concluding, “A bonus too, is that the writing is so great. The story arc for all the characters. It just feels like, I’m so grateful for everything. The extra cherry on top is I’m a huge fan of everything Amblin has done, and so for the last 35 40 years, and so to be a part of that world. I’m constantly pinching myself.
The season finale to Resident Alien just debuted on 3/31. You can watch it again on SYFY on at Friday 11 pm or online.
