Colony clash
Aliens rule the world in Colony, but it’s a story about humanity.
Sci-fi is traditionally beautiful, says Sarah Wayne Callies when we called her in Canada on the set of Colony (2016- current). “But this isn’t it – this is gritty and dark. Los Angeles has been taken over by aliens and Katie (Sarah’s character) faces a dilemma: fall into line or rebel.” And Sarah knows about rebelling onscreen: she played conflicted prison doctor Sara Tancredi in action show Prison Break (2005-2017) and zombiekilling Lori Grimes in horror series The Walking Dead (2011- current) until 2013.
The most noticeable thing is the lack of aliens and CGI in season 1. Very much so. Season 1 is family orientated. It’s intimate and close and you don’t see the aliens until the season finale even. And that’s when the story begins to expand. How does Katie deal with her conflicts in the world she’s in? She’s in a very tight spot. At first, she fell into line. But during season 1, she moves into a mindset where she isn’t accepting of her circumstances. She joins the Resistance in the secret fight for freedom. And viewers can understand that concept – especially in South Africa with your history and Nelson Mandela and Soweto. But that socio-political theme is global. You’ve used guns in your previous roles but not so much this time. Do you miss that? [Laughs] Not at all. With Sara and Lori, those were different roles. In Colony, the war of information is the deciding factor. The Resistance use propaganda and non-violent resistance to fight back. These are aliens with ray guns and mind control and sci-fi stuff. Guns won’t help win this war.