In today’s uncertain and often hostile political environment, Colony stands out as an innovative and insightful perspective on the dangers of occupation and dictatorship. Depicting the struggle of a family desperate to stay connected to one another and retain their sense of humanity, the show’s first season illustrated the sacrifice that a person will make in the attempt to continue their sense of normalcy.

At this year’s San Diego Comic Con, Blast Magazine was given the opportunity to speak to two of the show’s stars, Josh Holloway and Sarah Wayne Callies, about the much anticipated second season and its real-world similarities.

While Will Bowman (Josh Holloway) and his wife Katie (Sarah Wayne Callies) diverge on the best methods to reunite their family, their main priority of regaining regularity as a domestic unit never wavers. The couple’s decisions force viewers to question their own loyalties and reflect on morality in the face of adversity. Callies has learned through working on this show that regardless of your motives, every decision you make comes with its own set of consequences.

“The truth of the situation is that it costs you either way. It costs you to collaborate because there’s that thing inside of you that starts to grow, a self-hatred and a disgust, that you struggle with even off-screen. However, when you get involved with something that even for the best of reasons takes human life, there is an inescapable horror that comes with realizing what you are capable of.”

Though the first season left all of the show’s characters scattered, Callies hinted that the separation was not permanent for her and Holloway, explaining that the couple “will work together at some point, whether it’s in flashbacks, flash-forwards or the present.” Holloway also feels confident in the duo’s reunion due to their strong family ties and connection to one another.

“I feel like this couple started with true love and a true sense of family and that will be paramount for them. I have faith that they will endure this but it won’t be easy and emotions will definitely run high. Every time they solve one problem, another one rises so you have to deal with the relationship as you deal with the tragedies happening outside the family.”

This season will show audience members much more of the world than was exhibited previously. The dispersion of many of the characters throughout the later episodes has given the show-runners the opportunity to explore the events in the other blocs, such as the Santa Monica side. Holloway was excited by this prospect of growth, which he joked, will “only lead to more questions.”

Watching the first season of Colony, one cannot deny the overarching similarities between the show’s themes and our current state of the world. For Callies, the chance to be an integral part of a show with genuine significance in today’s political arena was an incredible privilege.

“I think science fiction has an opportunity to examine a current culture in a way that is palatable. That is the whole reason I wanted to do the show. Our show is getting darker because our global and domestic politics are getting darker and we have an opportunity to shoot a show about the genesis of resistance and dictatorship. We’re shooting it during a very charged election and we are going to come on the air within weeks of the inauguration.”

 As is typical of all projects associated with Carlton Cuse, an intense degree of secrecy is applied to all elements of Colony. When asked whether information on the invaders would increase this season, Callies could only disclose that they would expand in influence this season and more knowledge about them would be provided. For Holloway, a veteran of secrecy due to his collaboration with Cuse on Lost, the elements of surprise and discretion are challenging but also exciting because they lead to audiences “actually asking questions that are real and engaged.”

Colony is currently filming new episodes with its second season set to premiere in early 2017.

About The Author

Madeline Knutson is an Entertainment Journalist and Pop Culture Expert for Blast Magazine.

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