INTERVIEW EXCLUSIVE: PARADISE LOST SHOWRUNNER SITS DOWN AND TALKS US THROUGH HIS UNIVERSE
Recently we got the chance to sit down with Paradise Lost Showrunner, Darrin McCann, who graciously put down the pen long enough to chat with us and answer some pretty tough questions.
VSGUIDE: First off, lets talk about the official Premiere date. It's been over a year since Paradise Lost was officially picked up by the network. Why has it taken this long to get to a point where the show is ready to premiere?
DARRIN: A total lack of focus.
[laughs] No, I am a very meticulous person and a total perfectionist. I am my own worst enemy and it definitely shows in my writing in the fact that I second guess myself so often that it usually takes me one to two months to write one episode. It's not good. It also doesn't help that I have failed at Showrunning once before.
VSGUIDE: You're referring to Bitten?
DARRIN: Yes. I literally gave up. I let outside forces dictate what I had envisioned for the show and let their quote
'constructive criticism' really get to me and question everything I was really passionate about. It really wasn't until the idea of Paradise Lost that I started feeling that passion once more. However, after the Pilot was officially picked up I panicked. This was it. This was my second chance. The first few episodes I wrote were pretty much the same where I would write a few pages then the next day would go back and reread what I wrote and hate it.
[laughs] This went on for sometime. It really wasn't until this current episode that I have ditched the ritual and just start writing. Consequences be damn.
[laughs]VSGUIDE: Speaking of Bitten, from previous work, you're known for having huge mythologies. Can we expect the same in Paradise Lost?
DARRIN: Absolutely. With Paradise Lost I did a lot of research into various religions. Their stories, their objects, their demons, their angels, their ideas. From this research I molded the mythology that is Paradise Lost. Sometimes I can get a little carried away. I have found myself a few times thinking to myself
'Tone it back', but it's hard when you want to tell the best story possible. I also don't want to make something so complicated that the reader doesn't understand what I am saying, or describing. I also don't want to brow beat them with
'this is this' and
'that is that'. Finding that happy medium can be hard sometimes.
VSGUIDE: We know that Paradise Lost has Angels and Demons. Can you give us a breakdown of other types of creatures in Paradise Lost?
DARRIN: Sure. There is a hierarchy of Angels, actually. There are The Thrones who are a governing group made up of Archangels. There are the Lightbearers who are The Thrones' army, for lack of a better term. There are Cherubim which are monsters with wings similar to that of a gargoyle. There are Unbounds who are Angels that have fallen from grace, they're still powerful creatures but cannot fly or have the power they once did. They're also prisoners on Earth, specifically in the city of Paradise. There are Demons, but they're rare at this point in time, however still exist especially when we see their hybrid offspring with Humans known as Cambions. Cambions are witches. They possess physical powers. The other end of the spectrum are Nephilim which are the offspring of Angels and Humans. Nephilim possess speed, agility, strength and are extremely fast. Perfect warriors. There are Transcendents which are called the embodiment of soul. As like in the story Dante's Inferno, there are multi-dimensions, heavenly and hellish alike. Transcendent individuals exist on every plane. They're chains that hold the dimensions together. They're also windows and even in some instances doorways to these other dimensions. There is also Witnesses who are born blind of sight but possess third eye sight. They're usually advisers to powerful, important individuals. There are a few other creatures that I can't really get into too many details since they're part of important storylines.
VSGUIDE: So again, a huge mythology.
DARRIN: Just a little.
[laughs]VSGUIDE: What can we expect in the first season of Paradise Lost?
DARRIN: Well, besides the creatures listed, you can expect a lot of soap opera drama. The core group of individuals that make up Paradise Lost all come with their own secrets and their own baggage. They all meet each other at different times throughout the story because this world is not suppose to know about real Angels and Demons. It's literally a law that could find a lot of people dead all in the name of keeping their existence secret. The first season also walks a fine line of what is good to what is evil. Who can you trust and ultimately what is true evil? There are a lot of enemies and very few heroes.
VSGUIDE: Speaking of heroes, Eve, Diamond and Reign, in the Pilot we see them working together. Can we expect that from them throughout the first season?
DARRIN: Not in the same capacity. Not at first anyways. The episodes that follow have them working together but with out knowing it. Each storyline is seen from the eyes of these characters but from different points. I think the third episode is the only one in which the main storyline doesn't affect them all. I think we'll see them really pull together after the mid-season finale and start working as a single unit.
VSGUIDE: Speaking of units, what sort of relationships can we expect to see on Paradise Lost?
DARRIN: Lots. Different forms. There is really only two romantic relationships that happen within the first season. I'm writing a little differently this time around. I have characters who I know who they are; what they're about. I have the plot and subplots that I know what is going to happen and to who it is going to happen to. But, as far as relationships beyond their initial meeting I'm letting them happen organically. If when I am writing and these characters are getting closer in a way that feels right to me I may add a little something to point them in that direction. When I wrote Bitten I went in full well knowing that Sara would be with Will, and Gwen would be with Jeremy, and Milo would be with Griffon. I'm not doing that in Paradise Lost. When I am writing if it feels right then it feels right.
VSGUIDE: If it feels right do it.
DARRIN: Exactly. My new motto in life.
[laughs]VSGUIDE: Well, thank you for letting us in a little on the world of Paradise Lost. Good luck with your writing and we eagerly await it's premiere.
DARRIN: Thank you.
VSGUIDE: There you have it, folks. Inside the mind of Showrunner Darrin McCann. Have any questions or comments, sound off in the
discussion thread and stay connected to
Paradise Lost. Paradise Lost premieres
Friday October 14th, exclusively on
theVPN.
