CHAT WITH KELLY
USA TODAY’s Kelly Lawler chats with readers Mondays at 2 p.m. ET at facebook.com/ USATODAY. Read edited excerpts below, email questions to klawler@usatoday.com or tweet them to @klawls and visit her live online.
QI was curious on your thoughts about whether Modern Family will ever reveal the cameras and people behind the scenes like The Office eventually did in its later seasons. ... What is the goal for the documentary within the show?
AThe Office pulled back the curtain on its mockumentary structure in the later seasons, which allowed the sitcom to squeeze more story both as it aged and after the departure of Steve Carell. But there’s no requirement for any show that chooses a mockumentary format to break its self-imposed fourth wall. Parks and Recreation ran seven seasons without ever mentioning it, and, considering the series’ tone, it wouldn’t have worked for them. Modern Family
would be fine if it followed the same path, and I think it would be better for the series. But you never know what direction the writers will go in.
QWho will die next on Game of Thrones?
AWithout knowing for sure, this season has seemed to indicate that several characters are in danger. In particular, Cersei and Jaime’s story seems as if it will be coming to a close soon. Their relationship is shaky, and they stand as an impediment to the greater battle with the White Walkers more than anything else. The season has been building toward a confrontation between them, and indeed, in a moment of joy when Cersei told Jaime about her supposed pregnancy, she also reminded him never to betray
her. A violent confrontation could ensue.
QDoes having read the Game of Thrones books influence your predictions about the show?
AYes and no. For a long time, having read the books was a clear indicator of where the show was going. But that certainty stopped long before the series surpassed the books at the end of Season 5. The series is a separate entity, and it has its own quirks and nuances, and its tone and choices are often so different from the books, I wonder if they have the same endgame in mind. The series, for instance, is so invested in the stories of Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow it probably won’t kill them until the series finale, if it kills them at all. The books, however, are broader, and it would be shocking but not unprecedented to kill off one of them before the end. So really the series influences my predictions about the series more than anything else.