Are there any types of characters that you’d like Lightman to work with?
The thing about this character is that you can go anywhere with it. There are certain things I would like to do. I’d like to do an episode in London, where he goes back and gets in trouble. There was a very good character that we brought in early on in the second season, played by Lennie James, a friend of mine that comes from London. And that character is someone we’d like to bring back, to see what trouble we can get into. And there is one character we’re looking at—you guys won’t have seen this yet—that we’re looking at bringing back as well, this woman who Lightman comes across which could cause all kinds of trouble. The more trouble the merrier, really. Lightman has a real problem with authority, and he’s playing around on the edges of legality and illegality, and I think we’ve got to go down that road.

What’s going to happen between Lightman and Foster (Kelli Williams) during the rest of Season 2?
[Laughs] Well, we did an episode where we looked at how they met. And there are episodes where she has a boyfriend, and that gets a bit messy. Obviously [Lightman] loves her. It’s the question of when they could actually tolerate each other in any other aspect that we are examining. It comes out and we touch on it. [We're] in the planning stages of the third season, so we’ll see where it goes.

LTM Scoop: Really appreciate you taking some time, I know you guys are really busy.

Sarah: No, it’s no problem.

LTM Scoop: I have a few questions for you, and also I had um sent out a little Tweet to the readers… I just sort of asked ‘em if there was a question they could ask, what would it be, that type of thing. Like hypothetical. So I got some responses from them. So, I figured I’ll shoot you a few questions and then at the end if it’s okay, I can kind of run by you some of the things they said.

Sarah: Great.

LTM Scoop: Okay, cool. So first, kind of can you take us through a normal day of work for you. I know you wear a couple different hats there being a writer and executive producer. What’s a day like for you?

Sarah: Oh, every day is different, I think. You know, some days we’re in the writers’ room a lot. Other days we’re sitting and watching a cut and making notes on a cut. Other days we’re reading scripts and making notes and giving notes. Sometimes we’re doing, you know, everybody has studio and network notes/calls at various points. And then when an episode of yours is shooting, then you’re just on set, all the time. And, some days are combinations of all of the above.

LTM Scoop: So one of the things I’ve found, I get feedback with running the blog, and comments there, just different things I get from people… One of the things I noticed is there’s a mixed opinion about the science in the show. Some people feel they liked the first half of season one, there was more science involved. Other people are happy the direction it’s going now. Is that something you guys talk about? You know, about the science… how much is enough, that type of thing?

Sarah: Yeah, it’s, it’s something we talk about a lot, actually. And one of the things we talked about this year is to have episodes that are driven by story and character, and not as much by science. Which doesn’t mean that the science is less important. It’s just we found that having the science be an integral part of the story, but not be kind of the engine, allows us to get deeper into our characters. That’s obviously something that Shawn cares about, if you’ve seen any of his shows… (laughs)… It’s clear that that’s a priority. You know, and that’s, I think as writers it’s more fun to, to do very cool, interesting things with the characters you’re playing with on a daily basis.

So, you know, we’re all very interested in the science, and are incredibly fortunate to have Paul Ekman and Erika Rosenberg available and commenting on scripts and providing input. And we have researchers and people who can make sure that that element of the show isn’t lacking. But, you know, without, without great stories and interesting character stuff, you know… you want to have a really interesting plate to put the science on.

LTM Scoop: Alright, so a little confession time here: Before you came on, I know it was the end of season one, right? When you joined the show? Is that right?

Sarah: Yes.

LTM Scoop: So, had you watched the show before that?

Sarah: I had not watched every episode, but I had seen several episodes.

LTM Scoop: Sort of curious about that because, I mean you guys seemed to… It was pretty seamless, um, you know, the storyline coming in, so I was curious if you had watched any of it.

Sarah: Yeah, we… Our offices were above… you know, the Dollhouse offices were right above the Lie to Me offices. So we would see them all … every day and every night when we were coming in and out. So maybe some of it seeped up through the floors by osmosis.

LTM Scoop: It’s possible [laughs]

Sarah: Stranger things have happened.

LTM Scoop: Now not too long ago I was reading an interview with Tim Roth and he said that he refers to you and your writing partner, Elizabeth Craft, as “the girls”. So do you have a nickname for Tim?

Sarah: Oh… gosh, no. But maybe we should come up with one. That’s actually… what would be good? “The man”. [laughs] “The Brit”.

LTM Scoop: There you go. See those are nice names, though. If it’s one he doesn’t like, don’t tell him I mentioned it. [laughs]

Sarah: [laughs] Um, I know, I wanna’ come up with something… “The Hell cat”… I don’t know, we don’t have anything. We should talk about that.

LTM Scoop: You should… there you go. Well, his was pretty harmless for you guys though, so that’s not too bad.

You know, speaking about that too, though, there really does seem to be, … from the very little that I’ve seen of kind of the, you know, behind the scenes stuff, there seems to be a really good dynamic, um, with the cast. And it seems that maybe that’s what comes onto the screen as well. Do you think that maybe that’s the case?

Sarah: Yeah, I mean, I think our cast is just terrific. And they do really seem to like each other. You know… I think Tim and Kelli just have tremendous chemistry and fun. And, just, you know, I love every scene that they’re in together. But I think that’s true of everyone, you know. I think the cast really has… Yeah, I mean, it’s a dynamic. It’s a very specific, fun, dynamic. Yeah, they’re just a good group, you know? I hope that they all like each other personally; it sure seems like they do.

LTM Scoop: Yeah, well, that or they’re really good liars, right?

Sarah: Right. [laughs] They certainly all should know how to lie at this point, right?

LTM Scoop: It would seem so.

You talked about that chemistry there with Tim and Kelli, and, as you know, there’s a lot of fans out there. They actually have nicknamed themselves Callian fans, I don’t know if you’ve heard that…

Sarah: [laughs]

LTM Scoop: All these names, right? … But I have to be honest, from the feedback… Like I said, I get, you know, people send me messages and what not…. From different comments I’ve read too, it seems that you’ve now written one of the least favorites, and one of the, you know, what’s the word? The fans’ favorite was, I think, “Blinded”, and then now the least favorite… some of those scenes from “Fold Equity”. They [fans] were sort of concerned about that whole thing… there was sort of a real split camp on “Fold Equity”. So, how do you see that relationship between, um, the characters themselves?

Sarah: Between Cal and Gillian?

LTM Scoop: Exactly, yeah.

Sarah: Oh! I mean, I think they have an extraordinarily loving and deep relationship, … and a very complicated relationship. I think they have tremendous respect for each other. I think they understand each other in ways that other people probably don’t and can’t. And, part of that is understanding how difficult it would be to kind of take their relationship to different levels. Which doesn’t mean they can’t, or they won’t. But, you know, they have a very, very complicated relationship.

LTM Scoop: Yeah, absolutely. I certainly obviously agree with that. [laughs]

Sarah: Frankly “Fold Equity” wasn’t my favorite episode either, so… [laughs]

LTM Scoop: Okay. I was like: “How do I say it delicately?”. Because I was trying to think… You guys always do such an awesome job, but that one really seemed to… I tell you: I got so many Tweets, like right after that, and comments on the blog…. And some people were like, “Oh it was great”. Other people were like “Oh I can’t believe that!”. They like hated Cal after that, like one episode.

Sarah: Right. No, I got a very extended, on my blog I got a very extended… I don’t write about work, but I got a very long thing from someone about how that episode was a betrayal. And I don’t think it is. I mean, I think one of the interesting things about Lightman is that he can do all of these things and still be Lightman. You know? I mean he is someone who pushes boundaries and who manipulates people and situations in his pursuit of the truth. And, you know, I don’t think… I, I don’t think it compromised him in any way, actually.

LTM Scoop: I think you’re right… But I think that sort of that’s all part of, you were talking about getting to know the character. So, you know, he may not always be the most likable person, but that’s his character. I mean, that’s sort of the idea behind it.

Sarah: Yeah. Well, I actually didn’t find him ‘unlikable’…

LTM Scoop: Sure, yeah…

Sarah: But I, you know… he, he, you know, … Yeah. Well, he slept with someone who was not the greatest person in the world, but haven’t we all? [laughs]

LTM Scoop: I think that’s the main issue with people. I think that was sort of the one thing. It wasn’t anything else he said or did, it was just that…

Sarah: And someone put: “He slept with that cheap whore.” And I’m like: “She was a female poker player.” You know? I don’t think Annie Duke would really like that. [laughs]

LTM Scoop: Yeah. Well it was, you know, hey… Like I said: You guys always do a great job, so I can’t say too much one way or the other.

I was curious too, I know there’s so much speculation… and that’s actually the one thing, the question I get most often… “When’s it coming back?” I get that all the time. But, I’m just curious: How does that, or does it even, affect your writing: not knowing if you’ll have a third season. Like with your storylines, how does that work in?

Sarah: I don’t know that it does. I mean, I think we always just try and do the best episodes we can do and sort of operate on the assumption that there will be a third season. We certainly haven’t heard otherwise. And, I think it makes a lot of sense for the network to pick up a third season, so… Or at least 12 or 13 more episodes, depending on when we re-air, um, or when we’re back on the air. So, you know, I… It doesn’t, I don’t think it really does affect how we proceed. I mean, it affects… Not knowing definitively means that we certainly feel the responsibility of making the best show we can make in the most financially responsible way possible, looking as great as we can possibly make it look, so that the network goes: “Oh, yeah! We have to keep that show around”. We want to make the decision easy for them. So, in that way it affects the writing, but it doesn’t, you know, really affect it in terms of like writing towards an end, or anything. We’re certainly not. We’re writing toward a third season.

LTM Scoop: Think optimistically, that’s good.

Sarah: Yeah. And I don’t think we have any reason not to think optimistically. I don’t want it to seem like we’re, you know…

LTM Scoop: Oh, sure. Yeah, and I didn’t mean that by the question. I guess that was just something… At the end of season one they had wondered that. And, you know, now obviously into this second season. But, hey, we’re obviously hoping there’s many more seasons to come.

I know you mentioned too about your blog, and that’s something I enjoy reading. It’s very entertaining, … about your journey to becoming a mother. And you’re pretty open about that, I know that. I’m curious: It seems there’s actually then some parallels, you know, with Kelli William’s character, Foster, on the show. You’re both successful, you’re single, want to be a mother. Does having similarities like that… are you able to relate to your character in a way that helps you write for her?

Sarah: That’s an interesting question. We’re not doing a whole lot with that right now, but it definitely… I don’t know that it necessarily impacts writing Gillian. But, you know, I am the person that goes, you know, I am the person that points out when things are not right when they have to do with adoption or single parenthood, or, you know, IUI stuff. All of that. I am sort of the wannabe single mom on the show. Who, if there’s a representation of someone that I think is inappropriate, [laughs], I will certainly say something.

LTM Scoop: Well that’s a good contribution then, that’s good.

Sarah: Yes.

LTM Scoop: Well, we talked a little bit earlier, I heard that there will be some more about the back story with Cal and Gillian, how they met, that type of thing…

Sarah: Ah, yes…

LTM Scoop: Is that something you guys have sort of been mapping out as you go along? What’s goin’ on with that?

Sarah: Well, yeah, I mean, there was a sort of vague sense of that and has been, I think, for a while. And, then it just sort of took shape within one particular episode. But we all had sort of a general sense of what it was and how their beginning happened.

LTM Scoop: Right. Well, it seems even for a timeline, in different episodes, you guys have kind of been dropping hints a little bit… Not hints so much, but little bits here and there like, “This was x amount of years ago”, or, that type of thing, you know kind of building that I think.

Sarah: Right.

LTM Scoop: Is there anything coming up in the second half of season two that you can tell us?

Sarah: Well, I can tell you that there are some really terrific episodes coming up. I can tell you that there’s some action happening between some characters, but I won’t say who.

LTM Scoop: Okay.

Sarah: What else? Yeah, I mean, the Gillian, or the… We always refer to them with their last names, so… The Lightman/Foster back story is really, really nice. There’s a very emotional episode with Torres and her sister that Liz and I did that I think is one of my favorite episodes of TV we’ve done.

LTM Scoop: Okay.

Reader Submitted Questions

So, onto the questions that people sent. One was from @TheSurfReport on Twitter. She asked: “I wanna’ see more of Cal’s ‘associates’ from his previous, somewhat criminal life. Any plans for that?”

Sarah: Oh, that’s great. You know, I think there are plans for that in general. There… there is an episode where that comes up. We always talk about bringing Lennie back, who played, you know, his old buddy, because they had such great chemistry. I mean, that was so fun. But, we don’t currently have that on the books. But, yeah, we’re all very interested in Cal’s, Cal’s shady past. I imagine it’ll crop up an episode or two every season, as long as there are seasons.

LTM Scoop: Now, I got this one a few different times, but the basic idea was: Will you be introducing a new love interest for Gillian this season?

Sarah: Hmmm… I assume I can say. [A little later in the interview...:] I will say that someone comes into Gillian’s life.

LTM Scoop: Okay.

Alright, moving on: People wondered what happened with Dupree. They sort of felt like he fell off the face of the earth a little bit. Did you guys sort of just decide to end that storyline?

Sarah: Yeah, we did, you know. We felt like there was a big gap of time between season one and season two, and it just wasn’t kind of a, a thing that anyone felt the need to tie off. She obviously moved on, and was at sort of a different place in her life.

LTM Scoop: Finally, the one… I have my own personal view, I will tell you in a moment, but… I couldn’t not ask this one as well. People, and you touched on this earlier, they wanna’ know when Cal and Gillian are going to get together. So, I had to ask.

Sarah: You know, I think, … I think in some ways they already are together.

LTM Scoop: See, and that’s why you get paid to say things. I could never come up with that.

Sarah: [laughs] “When are they gonna’ have sex?”, you know, is a different question. You
know, my response to that would be “I don’t know”.

LTM Scoop: Right. Well, and that’s okay. I think that, there’s so much, … it’s such a complicated relationship, that personally I’m never a big fan of jumping right into things. I like, you know, seeing things build over time. You know, and develop it, and watch it.

Sarah: Yeah.

LTM Scoop: But, I got that one a few times so I had to put it out there.

Sarah: Yeah, I know. Of course, of course.

LTM Scoop: I think that’s it. I know you’re very busy … I really appreciate you taking time.

Sarah: No problem.

Be sure to follow Sarah on Twitter and on her blog, Starfish Envy.

A BLAST FROM LIGHTMAN’S PAST SHOWS UP TO CLAIM AN UNPAID DEBT

ON “LIE TO ME” MONDAY, OCTOBER 26, ON FOX

Lennie James Guest-Stars

A face from Lightman’s past pulls him into a dangerous criminal conspiracy, testing his friendship and loyalty. Meanwhile, The Lightman Group investigates a high school student’s homicidal threats in the “Grievous Bodily Harm” episode of LIE TO ME airing Monday, Oct. 26 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (LTM-205) (TV-14 D, L, V)

Cast: Tim Roth as Dr. Cal Lightman; Kelli Williams as Gillian Foster; Monica Raymund as Ria Torres; Brendan Hines as Eli Loker; Mekhi Phifer as FBI Agent Ben Reynolds; Hayley McFarland as Emily Lightman

Guest Cast: Lennie James as Terry “Tel” Marsh, B.K. Cannon as Stacey, James Frain as McClellan, Spencer Garrett as Mr. Anders, Alex Stamm as Jared, J.R. Cacia as Mr. Fitzgerald, Jim Meskimen as Otto Frankel, Nieko Mann as Jasmine, Jay R. Ferguson as Jimmy, Pasha Lynchnikoff as Jones

Thoughts on the Premiere

In the Season 2 premiere … lie-busting is only half the fun, and Lightman’s methods are as surprising as they were in “Blinded.” One of the real pleasures of the episode is that the secondary “B story,” which involves another Lightman Group staffer vetting a Supreme Court nominee, is rewarding as well.

Shawn Ryan on coming onto the show

“It was an enjoyable show that a lot of people really liked, and one thing that was attractive was it didn’t have to be built from the ground up,” Ryan said in an August interview at his office on the Fox lot in Los Angeles.

Tim Roth on Season One

Roth had his own struggles in the first season, he said in a recent conference call with reporters. The workload of being the lead in a weekly series was a big adjustment for the actor, who comes from the more deliberately paced film world. And he said the crime-solving aspects of the show were starting to wear him down a bit.

“I was desperate to get some character stuff to play and some drama to play and not just be doing procedural work,” Roth said.

Spoilers

Episode 2: “Truth or Consequences”
Foster’s trying to, in the wake of her divorce, still go through the adoption process that she and her husband had started when they were a couple, but that she’s having difficulty with. And it leads to a little bit of a, you know, religious and emotional crisis for her.”

Episode 3: Garret Dillahunt guest stars. (This is the hostage episode.)

Episode 5: Lennie James and Marc Blucas Guest Star
“Growing up in London together, Ray and Lightman were best mates and partners in crime, running scams and getting into all kinds of trouble. Ray once took the fall for Lightman and spent time in in prison as a result. They haven’t seen each other in two decades, so Ray’s sudden appearance in Lightman’s life is cause for both celebration and suspicion. It seems that Ray’s had a lot of time to reflect on the past and has come to collect what he believes he’s owed.”

This is only a taste of the article. For more commentary and spoilers, visit Maureen Ryan’s blog, “The Watcher”.