In support of Outlander’s return, The TV Watercooler had the opportunity to participate in a panel interview with Richard Rankin and Sophie Skelton to discuss what the much “calmer” season sixth season has in store for Roger and Brianna as they now have a “cleaner” slate. The actors also share how the pandemic influenced production and how they’ve bonded with the set of twins who play their son Jem.
What can we look forward to in season six?
Sophie: Without giving out any spoilers, but there’s always major disruption on the Ridge and you’ll see that the Christies don’t look like the calmest family. So, I think a major thing is to just look forward and to just see how that slowly but surely unhinges the normal dynamic at the Ridge. You’re in for a good rollercoaster ride with it!
Richard: We’re starting to see that the family have had time to settle on the Ridge, so we’re starting to see the home and the community build and sort of thrive around them. So, I suppose the stakes are higher now that we’ve truly started to settle.
So outside of us coming in, we’re accepting people on the Ridge and with that comes a lot of potential and a threat…we obviously have the revolution coming up ahead of us. And what does that mean to people who know about it but can’t talk about it?
And in typical fashion, how are things going to be thrown into the melting pot that is Outlander? It’s sure to have some pretty significant consequences for our central characters.
Season six feels like a bit of a clean slate for Roger and Brianna. Can you give us a little bit of insight into what they are going through this season – individually but also as a couple?
Sophie: Well, it’s funny you say that because yeah, Richard and I have discussed it, but it does feel like a clean break for us this season. They’ve both been hugely put through the wringer and a lot of the storylines have been about how it’s affected the family and how the family have helped Roger and Bree both as individuals and as a couple. Obviously, they’ve had relationship problems and they love to bicker, and they’ve been torn apart, and yeah, this season really feels like a fresh start.
I think that with the choice of time travel taken away from them, and that they’re going to stay in this place now, I think they can really put down some legitimate roots – and long-term roots – and just start to really build a life together.
I think that as individuals and as a couple, it is the most calm, collected, and together as we’ve seen them. So, mainly this season is less about the potential of unhinging them as a couple and it’s actually more about watching them deal with things as a couple…more in a Jamie and Claire kind of way! Meanwhile, other couples are being torn apart a little bit more, but for once, Roger and Brianna are the solid ones, so that’s what’s cool about this season. It’s just a totally different version of them that we haven’t seen before.
What was the biggest challenge of this season?
Sophie: Oh, I mean…
Richard: There’s more than one challenge in this season! Oh, but go ahead Sophie!
Sophie: No, no no! Please go on! I feel you have a sarcastic comment that will entertain us! [Laughs]
Richard: I actually don’t have a sarcastic comment for once! As much as I wanted to come up with a real challenge to overcome this season, for me, anyway, I don’t know if Sophia is in agreement, but I think the playing of Roger and Brianna this season was kind of a gentler rate this season. I didn’t find it too taxing emotionally or physically. I mean, we are establishing a lot but there’s a lot to come for them.
There’s a lot happening in which we get involved [with], but I didn’t find it [as taxing] in comparison to season four and in season five. Filming this season was quite calm and enjoyable. I didn’t find anything too stressful.
That’s all going to change, but it’s nice to have a little bit of a calm before the storm, you know.
Sophie? Sophie’s challenge was working with Richard Ranking. [Laughs] And his constant immaturity.
Sophie: [Laughs] No, no. I mean it sounds obvious, but actually, the biggest challenge really was just navigating filming during coronavirus and the lockdown. Every day, you just don’t know if you’re going to be shut down and scenes had to look differently.
Obviously, we had a lot less supporting artists and scenes had to be scaled down to allow for that, but actually something beautiful came out of it in that we have lots of scenes, especially with Roger and Brianna and them interacting with the other characters on the Ridge. There’s a lot of one on one for us, and which not to speak for Richard, but was one of my favourite things of the season because it just means that you get these really intimate and lovely scenes which we don’t always get time for.
Outlander can be very fast-paced, and I feel like, as for characters, Roger and Bree are the glue holding everything together a little bit this season. The challenge was the external circumstance of where we were shooting, but like Richard said, in terms of the storyline, this was actually the most chill that we’ve seen these characters. There wasn’t a tremendously awful emotional place that we had to go to or that we’ve been to before. In this season, we just see them seem happy!
To build on on kind of what you were just talking about, we know the on the Ridge, the families are growing, and we suspect there’s a lot more younger cast members on set. Do you have any fun stories about the interaction with the children on set that you have to deal with?
Sophie: Very funny, so we adore our twins. We’ve had a lot of twins, but we have settled with these ones – Andrew and Matthew Adair. Actually, because of coronavirus, we were a little bit worried that we might have different twins come in [to play Jem] because they grew a lot in that lockdown year. Obviously, filming got pushed and pushed, and they were growing and growing. It’s supposed to be a direct continuation and yet Jem has just grown a foot! [Laughs]
We have found a really good dynamic. It was the luck of the draw as the kids are so chill and they just seem to make no noise and they’re really quiet. They are so easy, whereas Roger and Brianna love to cause havoc! They’re amazing.
The twins came in one day, and one said, “One acting, and then I’m done!” So, he’s basically saying I’ll give you one take and I’m going home! I wish we could do this!
They are amazing, but the biggest challenge is once the kids get bored and that’s it. So you’ve got to get the takes in while you can because they’ll go home.
Richard: You need to keep them engaged and keep them focused on what they’re doing, because once they wander and once their attention is drawn elsewhere or from what we’re supposed to be doing, getting them back into that mode of filming can be [a challenge] because they are used to doing a bit of work and then they are allowed to play or are given treats or other games to play with, so they’ll do their one-act thing and then they want to climb all over the car or play whatever.
We have many stories of the toddlers causing endless entertainment and stress for the actors and crew!
Sophie: We really get on with their parents, which is incredible too. I think we’ve potentially caused them some problems at home because anytime the kids don’t want to do something, we’ll just bribe them with chocolate! “If you do this, mummy will give you chocolate when you get home tonight!” and you just see the parents looking at you, like “thank you for that, for making that promise on our behalf!” But it’s just anything to get them through the day!
Will Claire confide in Brianna about the shared trauma they have each experienced with rape?
Sophie: The fact that Brianna and Claire are modern-day women from the 1960s and even they struggle to talk about this. There’s no right or wrong way to deal with something, or think that you should or shouldn’t talk about it or whatever…
I think that the great thing about this season is that Brianna is letting Claire know that you can process things in your own time and in your own way. As long as you know that there are people there to reach out to you should you need to, they are people who genuinely understand what you’re going through. That’s really all you can do for somebody to a certain extent, like when Claire says she’s “fine,” and then Brianna says, “You know there was a time where I would tell people that I was fine too.”
You’re talking about being in that time, but I think even today, in 2022, people are being encouraged to talk more. Especially after coronavirus. I think mental health issues are becoming more recognized. I think that things that were deemed taboo have been pushed aside a bit and we’re being able to talk about things a lot more. People don’t always know how to process things or say something traumatic out loud or even know who to talk to or how to process it.
I think that’s where Outlander is great. It shows that there’s no right or wrong way and it just lets you sit with the characters and see them process something which hopefully helps people who have been through it.
How will Roger deal with the knowledge he has about the war going into this season?
Richard: I think it’s a really difficult position to be in. I think Roger and Brianna having both explored history and Roger being a professor of history will know a significant amount of it. There are a few of us on the Ridge who know about what’s coming and what’s happening, but I suppose the question is what can be done about it and should anything be done about it – as in what is the morality of that situation?
If you prevent the war and could they even prevent the war? And in which manner would they even do that? They’d probably be burned at the stake for coming forward with information about the future, and X, Y, and Z is going to happen.
I’m not sure how lightly that would be looked upon, but that aside, if they were to prevent the War of Independence, then what would that America look like? Would you be doing any good in doing so? Would it ultimately be better or not? Would another war occur anyway through some other outcome because of how you interfere? Should you interfere in the course of history?
They are clever, intelligent people, and I think these are in professions which would ask, and ultimately, the decision that would come to it would be not to try and interfere with something that could have catastrophic consequences if you were to meddle in the course of history and time itself.
I think that they’re clever enough to know that. They just have to live with the bother of that information and use it, and in whichever small or intimate way that they can. For their friends, or family and loved ones, but also on a grander scale. I think it’s much bigger than they are.
Outlander airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on W Network and streams on STACKTV, GlobalTV.com and the Global TV app. Images courtesy of Showcase.
![Tracey, what can you tell us about your latest line?
Tracey: I always love to use the Om symbol and the peace signs are back this collection. I always love to connect with it spiritually and everything that I design really has meaning for me.
You’ve also got some friends, including Sharon Osborne, who are stealing your rings!
Tracey: Right, exactly! It’s very flattering when Sharon Osborne and some of my friends literally steal them off of my hands.
Daniel, what’s new with the watches? Daniel: We hit the blockbuster [on the show] with the Avalon series, ladies diamond dial with a mother of pearl face and leather strap.
We spoke last time how women would wear the men’s line, but now Aquaswiss has come out with a line for women.
Daniel: Yeah, we’ve got a women’s line that we’ve introduced. We’re also going to come back in December with sunglasses as well and men’s belts. So it’s expanding. We’ve had really good shows and we’ve sold out of the blockbuster. It’s very unisex. We’ve found out that a lot of women are wearing men’s watches because they’re strong.
There was a James Bond-inspired one that caught my eye.
Daniel: We have one that’s fully automatic where you can look through the front and see straight through the back, you see all the Swiss-made mechanics on the inside. It’s also got a two-year warranty, which I think instill the belief of it being a well-made product, if not, you wouldn’t put two years on it.
How hands on are you with the design: Daniel: Basically, I met with them and we decided to change a lot of the straps based on what I thought would do well and what did do well. We’re also coming back in February with another line that I was really hands on with.
Who’s idea was it to expand with sunglasses and belts?
Daniel: I talked to The Shopping Channel and said, they’re [Aquaswiss] doing glasses and I think it would be something that we could sell here because the glasses are very unisex as well. They’ve kinda got a Ray Ban thing going on and a very up-market with a Gucci look as well.
The Shopping Channel had an amazing idea to have this double header Y&R weekend with the both of you. How did this come about? Daniel: I think it started back last year around TIFF when I came and saw Tracey.
Tracey: We had dinner and I said, “Why don’t you come over [to the studio]?” He then surprised me on air.
Daniel: From the first day that I met Tracey, at the bottom of the stairs with Adrienne Frantz (ex-Amber), we’ve always had a good rapport.
Tracey: Definitely! We’ve been friends since the beginning.
Daniel: We can sit in a room in silence and not speak. That to me, is the tempo on how well you like somebody.
Tracey: Yeah right! [Laughs] Do you think there’s a moment of silence ever between us?
True, this guy’s dropping “g-spot” on live Canadian television.
Daniel: Look, for me there’s two ways to look at it: I could either sell a product or make it a fun show where you also sell a product! I’ve watched Tracey sell and she’s very enthusiastic. She understands the product very well but she also has a lot of fun.
Tracey: Thanks…and he definitely adds his own spin on it!
The behind-the-scenes events at Y&R were far more entertaining than what was happening on screen. A lot of changes at Y&R: Maria Bell is out, Jill Faren Phelps is in as EP and Josh Griffiths is back as HW. What's this transition been like?
Daniel: I think Y&R at the moment has a very very positive feel.
Tracey: Yes, very.
Daniel: I don’t think there’s a single person there that doesn’t feel that we are moving in a very positive direction. Josh, who was there years ago…
Tracey: He understands the history of our show.
Daniel: His ratings were very solid after Lynn Marie Latham left. Josh came in and single handedly crafted episodes during the 2007-2008 Writer’s Strike and ratings went up under him.
Tracey: He was amazing.
Daniel: He understands how to write for all the demographics, for all the characters and I think that the thing about Josh that’s a great asset to the show is that he’s married to the love of his life and has two beautiful daughters. As a man, he understands what women want verses someone who is kind of cut off from the real world and is trying to forge stories based upon what they think the world likes to see. Fans and critics assumed Maria would be there until the end or until she wanted to leave on her own since she was a Bell, were you surprised by Sony's decision to let her go? Tracey: Completely! I never saw that coming.
Honestly, what took so long? Ratings were in decline, fans and critics were not happy with the stories. In fact, actors were not happy either. I don't know if you watch 30 Rock, but in the season premiere, Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin's characters team up to tank NBC in order to "save it," do you think that Sony let things get so bad on purpose, just so they could finally get rid of Maria?
Tracey: You know, we’re getting into very sticky territory that I am not…
Daniel: I do think that there is a feel[ing] when you go into work now, that you’re going somewhere where what you’re doing is important. The cast, the crew, everybody. I have to say that Jill Phelps has come in and she has a very solid understanding of what works and what can be improved to make the show better. I think she’s been received pretty well by everybody.
JFP has this reputation, what were your first thoughts when you found out she was joining the show? She was held responsible for the deaths of a lot of legacy characters on others shows including Maureen Bauer on Guiding Light and later Frankie Frame on Another World (even though she recently came out and said that Frankie’s death wasn’t her fault). A lot of viewers have associated her with those deaths, as well as with how bad things at General Hospital got.
Daniel: I remember the last time you and I talked and you asked me what I would do to fix the show and I’ve seen Jill’s vision and ironically, I think we’re very simpatico. I think the history and future of the show depends on securing the viewers we currently have and bringing viewers in. There’s only one way to do that and that is to create compelling dramatic stories. Romance, love, betrayal, drama – all the good things, but there has to be a balance. Then you bring in new viewers by allowing them to know that they can escape their daily life and come somewhere where they have that feeling of levity. I don’t think you can doom and gloom people for so long. I think Jill understands that and the combination of Jill and Josh together is a wonderful thing for the show.
Tracey, you've been a Bell player for pretty much your entire soap career, while other soaps are used to regime changes, B&B and Y&R not so much.
Tracey: It’s very interesting. Well, we didn’t have a Bell at the helm during the Lynn Latham regime. For me, Bill’s passing and the end of Bill’s regime was the end of an era. When you look at how many people it now takes to do his one job, he was an extraordinary man! I don’t know anybody else who could actually do everything that he did. I actually think it’s a good thing that we now have a head writer and an executive producer because it’s an unbelievably all-encompassing job! Bill was an amazing man.
Daniel: I had never met Bill, but I have never heard anybody every say anything other than what Tracey just said. Every single person at CBS, we’re talking about people in the camera crew, whose kids now work there now that they’ve grown up, every single person would say, “He’s a man’s man, he’s like a father or a brother.” Literally, every single person has said that. You think about the ability to put out that much material!
Tracey: I don’t know how he did it and had such an incredible life. The children and he and Lee raised…
Daniel: He was dedicated to show. That was his existence.
Tracey: But he also had balance as well. I know he lived that show and had to as well, because of the amount of work, but he and Lee raised such incredible and wonderful kids. They’re just so loving and talented. He was able to have it all.
Daniel: That’s one thing about Laura Lee [Bell; Christine]. She’s so unpretentious. She is so sweet, so kind.
Tracey: They all are.
Daniel: Look at Brad with his love for B&B.
Tracey: It’s amazing. I’ve worked for Brad. He’s awesome.
Daniel: I would have liked to meet him [Bill Bell Sr.]
Tracey: You would have loved him.
The show is also losing a number of actors, including Genie Francis. Daniel, you've spoken very highly of your working relationship with her. I'm sure you are sad to see her go. How is she doing?
Daniel: It’s sad to see Genie leave. I’ll miss her. I think if you look at the characters, and I say characters, because it’s never personal, but if you look at the characters that have been let go, it’s players who have been brought in from other shows, which gives Y&R viewers a semblance of understanding that we’re talking about taking a show that viewers love forward. I’ve heard a lot of people say, “This is our show, we want to see more of this person, that person, why are we seeing characters we don’t know when we could see characters that we’ve known and loved for decades?”
Tracey: Well, that’s just it. The bottom line is that an audience cannot connect emotionally unless you’re seeing that character on camera at least several times a week. If you’re not seeing that character every week, how can you feel for what they’re going through, no matter how good the actor is? So I think that with the paring down, no matter how sad or hard it is, you’ll get to see the entire cast now on camera weekly.
The character that connects both your characters, Jill Foster, is finally coming back. Jess Walton has returned to the set after half a year off.
Tracey: Yes! My sister! I’m so happy to see her.
Are there any long-term plans to keep Jill/Jess around?
Daniel: I think it’s whatever Jess wants. Everyone at the helm now has such a true understanding of the worth the people like Jess have, what they bring to the show, her love of the show. When I read the first script that had Jess back, I as Daniel was so excited to have her there. As sad as I am to see Genie go, I’m so happy to have Jess back. Jess Walton is the reason I’m there. She and Devon Owens were talking about a character and spoke to Lynn about it and that’s how the character of Cane came about. I’m eternally indebted to Jess. Just from the very first moment I met her, just feel like we have a connection and I just couldn’t wait to have her back on set.
Crystel Khalil was recently in intense contract negotiations. Is she on contract or recurring?
Daniel: I can’t discuss her contract, but I’m incredibly happy that Crystel is going to be around. There's no doubt that Cane/Lily are a popular pairing, but they've pretty much been through everything. Do you feel that as an actor, that pairing has limited storyline potential for you character? Daniel: No, no I don’t. I think that storylines always stem from a writer’s creativity. It just comes from the writer’s ability to see that there is drama outside of a relationship. Y&R is two things: it’s bedroom and boardroom. Men go to work and do their thing, they come home to their women. The women go to work and then come home to their men as well. The bottom line is this: Cane and Lily have gone through a lot of drama, and I hear from a fan base “Why can’t we have a coupling like Michael and Lauren, that we as women go ‘That is sort of a man I wish that I had in my life. Who loves and does anything he can to take care of his woman. That makes me want to watch.’” Then you can have drama outside of it and I think that’s what’s coming along. Tracey: Right, to have a happy relationship is wonderful, but we like to see those relationships work and see why they’re happy. In recent years, Lauren & Michael have been the most stable couples on the show. We see them as a family unit now with the aging of Fen. What has that been like? We've seen this new side of Christian LeBlanc with Fen, Michael's very sweet and protective. You got to miss out on having teen angst stories with Lauren's elder son, Scotty, are you looking forward to playing that that soapy teen angst with Fen? Tracey: Right, exactly. Well, Max, who plays Fen is fabulous and unbelievably talented. He was in High School Musical and Newsies on stage. He’s an amazing gymnast and all that stuff! So, he’s wonderful. You know, I’m just excited to do something with meaning. I know what the storyline is that’s coming up and I am very excited to do it. I think that the viewers are really going to be amazed at this story. We've seen this new side of Christian LeBlanc with Fen, Michael's very sweet and protective. Tracey: Oh yeah! And that’s awesome. Daniel: And that’s exactly what we’re talking about. You don’t have to have every father on the show sleeping on the show with other women and not being a good father. It’s about balance and I think that’s one of the great things we have when you look at someone like Cane and Michael Baldwin. Then there’s the story when you had Paul kill his own son. I think that you need a mix of characters. And that story wasn’t received well. Daniel: Killing his own son? Ricky could have been a legacy character. He along with Heather are the next generation of the Williams family. You also don’t just kill off Eva Longoria’s former character’s son! Daniel: I really do have a lot of joy now when it comes to the future of what’s going to happy. Everyone is in a really good place. With Josh Griffith’s work starting to air these past couple of weeks, you can really see a shift from plot-driven stories to more character-based storylines. Daniel: There are two schools of writing. There’s plot-based and then there’s character-based. The problem with writing plot-based is that while you can come up with some great moments where you within that would have characters that could fill those moments. I think writing character-based, allows an actor to bring an entirely new sense of emotion. “Why do I feel this way? I have to do this thing that is plot-based, but here is why I have to do it or don’t want to do it.” Then it allows the character to express that, which is only going to make the audience say, “I feel for that person. I understand and relate to that. I want to see that journey.” Which is going to secure your viewers and make them say to people who have stopped watching the show, “Have you seen what so and so is doing lately? They’re going through this. You should tune back in and see that!” We want to bring the viewers back that have turned off…and then bring in new viewers who haven’t watched yet. I truly believe that this regime under Jill and Josh…it’s really good. We have a new producer as well, Mary O’Leary, who’s in the booth. Instantly, I’ll get notes on something and her notes are fantastic. Their real notes based upon real human emotion and you don’t get the feeling that we’re putting out product based upon time constraints of having to get it done. We’re getting it done within those time constraints, but there’s a genuine feeling now of “we’re making something special.” There’s some great stuff coming up with Jill’s return and for me, it’s going back to character-based drama. And as an actor, there’s nothing you want more than that.](https://i0.wp.com/www.thetvwatercooler.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/32d6c7dde28a797a72cf591b4f33b6.jpg?fit=110%2C96&ssl=1)
