A FAMILY FOUND
Calgary-shot supernatural western Wynonna Earp unveils season 3 to dedicated fans
On the last day of filming season 3 of the supernatural series Wynonna Earp, star Melanie Scrofano was about to reveal a big secret while sitting in the makeup trailer set up in a southeast Calgary parking lot.
The actress, who has played the demon-hunting titular role since the modern western series began filming in 2015, was sad that filming for the third season was about to wrap, of course, particularly since there has been no word yet as to whether there will be a fourth. But there is one aspect of the job she will not miss.
“One more hour with these (expletive) hair extensions,” Scrofano said, in an interview with Postmedia. “I’ve got like three strands of real hair and the rest is, like, somebody’s hair but not mine.”
The hair extensions were not the only inanimate objects she was wrestling with on the last day of shooting. Most of the work on that sunny May afternoon took place in the dark depths of the Calgary Herald building, where a lavish and creepy banquet set was created in the abandoned paper-storage area not far from where the printing presses used to roll.
The scene will be part of the 12th and final episode of season 3. We won’t give too much away on plot points except to say that this overthe-top Gothic decor and surroundings required Wynonna to sport an over-the-top, old-fashioned dress, which is uncharacteristic garb for someone who usually rocks jeans, a leather jacket and boots.
“I was in a corset, and I could not breathe,” Scrofano said.
The actress may not reflect her character in every way, but it’s safe to say Wynonna would likely share Scrofano’s annoyance about being prettied up with constrictive corsets and fake hair. Season 3 of the Calgary-based supernatural modern western, which debuts on Space on Friday, is said to return Wynonna to her straight-talking, hard-drinking, butt-kicking self as she continues to rid the world of supernatural baddies in the small, demon-plagued Canadian town of Purgatory. It’s all part of a family curse that dates back to her famous great-great-grandfather, Wyatt.
Season 3, which runs on the Syfy network in the U.S., will find Wynonna attempting to track down somebody or something named Bulshar Clootie, the powerful demon who placed the Earps under the curse in the first place. The stakes are higher now. As fans know, both Wynonna and the actress who plays her were pregnant for much of season 2 — two juicy secrets that were somehow kept under wraps before being unleashed as one of 2017’s twistiest TV twists last summer. Scrofano gave birth to a son four days after shooting wrapped on season 2. Wynonna gave birth to Alice Michelle during season 2, revealing the father to be fellow demon-hunter Doc Holliday (Tim Rozon). But Wynonna and Doc have not had much chance to experience parenthood because the baby was immediately sent away to keep her safe from mom’s dangerous lot in life, battling supernatural demons.
Nevertheless, the opener of season 3 finds Wynonna and her team firing on all cylinders; back to efficiently sending demons back to hell. They are also confronted with a new supernatural threat that is presumably behind a “hella homicide spree” in Purgatory. The gang, which includes the resurrected and elaborately mustachioed Holliday, Wynonna’s bookish sister Waverly (Dominique Provost-Chalkley) and Waverly ’s girlfriend Nicole Haught (Katherine Barrell), are back together and in fine fighting form. But there is new depth and darkness lurking beneath. While our heroine may have returned to the “whiskysoaked and reckless” Wynonna of old, she is also harbouring sorrow about being separated from her daughter, scars from her past, uncertainty about her romance with Doc and some major secrets about her family. One doozy that she has been keeping from sister Waverly, for instance, is about Mama Earp (played in season 3 by Megan Follows), the sisters’ estranged mother who was said to have abandoned the girls when they were young. Turns out, there is more to the story and Wynonna has been keeping these details to herself, which will cause no shortage of friction between the two sisters and shine a new light on the family’s deep dysfunction.
“We learn a lot about our family and where we come from and where we’ve been,” Scrofano said. “There are a lot of twists. I’m not sure how it’s affected them already. But I think it’s something where there will be a lot of room to explore if we get a season 4. There is so much that happened besides Mama. Where does that leave us in terms of sisterhood? What does it mean? Can you be family with people after certain things come to light?”
Calgary-raised showrunner Emily Andras, who created the show based on the U.S. comic book by Beau Smith, confirmed it was daunting to try to top the pregnancy twist of season 2, but said fans should expect the unexpected.
“It’s an absolutely insane season, I’ll say that,” Andras said. “You talk about twisty twists, I feel like this makes season 2 look like nothing, like a kids’ show.”
“Sometimes I worry about it, I say ‘Oh my God, have we jumped the shark?’ Tim Rozon says ‘This show was born riding a shark. It’s OK. We’ve already done it all.’ We’re certainly not slowing down when it comes to storytelling.”
“With season 3, it feels like Emily has written the show she has always wanted to write,” said ProvostChalkley. “It’s the perfect balance of drama, comedy. We have new characters that come in. Because Emily knows who has chemistry and who doesn’t, all of that has been sorted, and it really is Wynonna in its truest form.”
New characters will be played by Lost Girl alumni Zoie Palmer and Anna Silk. Actress Chantel Riley, who played Nala on Broadway in Disney’s The Lion King and starred in CBC’s Frankie Drake Mysteries, will play a mysterious new character who shares a past with Holliday. Jann Arden will even appear in a cameo. But while there will be new elements, Wynonna Earp will also stick to the hallmarks that fans have grown to love: humour, campiness, sisterly bonds, sexy romance and lots of wisecracking supernatural villains.
The show will also continue to develop the same-sex relationship between Waverly and Nicole Haught, a romance that has been dubbed WayHaught by fans and won praise from the LGBTQ community.
It’s all contributed to an evergrowing base of admirers dubbed “Earpers” who have taken their fandom to Trekkie levels of devotion. Conventions dedicated to the show have sprouted up in England, Toronto, Minneapolis and New Orleans. Earlier this month, the New York Times ran a story about the Wynonna cult, quoting not only Andras and cast members but also a “leading scholar of fan communities” from the University of Southern California and Syfy president Chris McCumber.
“This fan base is next level,” said Rozon. “To be a part of what they’ve created is even more special than the show. We did the show and make the show but these fans created a fandom in 2018 that is built on understanding, acceptance and love. I mean that. Those are the three pillars of it. I mean, it’s cheesy but I don’t care. It’s so wonderful.”
The complexion of the fan base reflects the complexion and deeper themes of the series, says ProvostChalkley.
“The thing about Wynonna that I love the most, and the big reason people relate to it so well is that it’s ultimately about finding your family,” she said.
Season 3 starts Friday on Space.
We did the show and make the show but these fans created a fandom in 2018 that is built on understanding, acceptance and love. I mean that.