The first question concerned what it felt like to step into an already established show.
Ed Decter: Well I think the thing we both said to each other – was this is a great cast. This is a cast you can do a lot of stories with and have them be able to perform really two or three things at once, which is really what I – we’re amazed about about our cast that they are so intelligent and nimble and adaptable.
John Strauss: We also felt like there were all kinds of opportunities to expand on what was there already, particularly with creating a little more life in the office and using Paul Ben-Victor more and creating a couple of new cast members at WitSec where we really had a family of people working together. And we’re very, very happy with the way that’s turned out.
As I mentioned above, everyone is atwitter about Mary’s pregnancy. So with this big news, Ed and John spoke about how the pregnancy would play a big part in the season.
Ed Decter: Oh, it will be major. It – we keep saying, “In Plain Sight” and – Mary and “In Plain Sight” will never be the same again.
John Strauss: But it will touch – it touches on all aspects of her life from how she is able to conduct herself at work and certainly in her personal life and how her whole world view really is going to change. It was really a blessing for us to be able to add this new dimension to the show.
Ed Decter: And this season – this season’s whole theme was about change, about how everyone around Mary is changing. And then, all of a sudden, the stork gave us pretty much the greatest change that could happen to the show ever.
With this big change, everyone wanted to know whether it would change the dynamic between Marshall and Mary.
Ed Decter: Well, that’s a really good question and one we’re going to not answer because you’re going to have to see it. But there will be changes. There will be changes.
John Strauss: Let’s – we can also say that one of our favorite aspects of the show when we walked into it was this great banter that the two of them have had. And we’ve continued that – really stayed true to that relationship. And despite the changes, I think we’re – we will always maintain that, kind of, underlying affection, tension, romantic tension that the two of them have together. Even with the changes, I think you’re still going to see the spark between them.
And then someone else asked, “When dealing with such an unexpected event like a pregnancy in real life, how do you make sure future changes are organic to the character in the show itself?”
Ed Decter: Well, that’s an excellent question. And we’re – it was through preparation. We had all the scripts already written when we got the announcement from Mary — the joyous announcement that she was having a baby.
So, we said, okay well we know the cases that she’s going to be working on. How does her having a baby change the point of view of those cases? And the freaky thing was that we we’re so happy about was that it just made them better.
John Strauss: It was one of those – we got lucky. As Ed said, a lot of it was, I think, we were way ahead in terms of preparation. And then we just – it was one of those lucky things that happen where it – it just – it worked.
We were able to go back and, you know, add this new dimension to, you know, more than half of the episodes. And it was a lot of work. But it fit organically versus having to literally scrap, you know, half of the shows that had been written. So it was a happy accident.
Ed Decter: And one of the…things about – one of the things about Mary’s character is the most entertaining things in the show are things that annoy Mary. And, so she has stated many times in the show (the) character of Mary Shannon, that she’s not a baby person. She doesn’t get babies. So there’s nothing better than to have this baby coming and seeing how Mary is going to deal with it.
Ed and John were then questioned about how they see the nature of Mary’s voice-over changing for the season.
Ed Decter: Well, yes. That’s – it’s very exciting to see how – what Mary’s going to be thinking about in her voice overs as she is being forced into change. She’s not someone who changes willingly. She’s someone who has to be forced into change.
John Strauss: But it’s going to make her think more about family. It may make her think even at some point, more about her own father. It opens up a lot of really, really interesting possibilities for the character.
In last week’s conference call with Mary and Fred (transcript here), Mary mentioned Ed and John were already fans of the show when they came aboard as show runners. So, it was remarkable to hear a little bit about what they were doing before In Plain Sight and how that led to their coming into the show as show runners.
Ed Decter: Well, we had been running a lot of TV and movies. (We) – you know, we wrote “There’s Something About Mary” and “The Santa Clause” movies. And we – and – had been doing a lot of TV. And we – this opportunity came out of nowhere.
Our agent spoke to us about it. And we had known and loved the show. What we really liked about the show before we joined up was that it was a procedural show that concentrated more on character than on procedure.
And that was very exciting to us, especially with our past, having written a lot of romantic comedies and things like that because at the core, Mary and Marshall – there’s a little bit of a romantic comedy going on all the time between the two of them.
John Strauss: And we’re also just big TV fans in general and, particularly a lot of the (cable) shows, the hour procedurals. We’re both just fans. And this was among the shows that we were fans of and watched. It just – it was a really good fit for us.
A fascinating aspect of the conference call dealt with Mary’s ability or inability, should I say, to deal with change. Ed and John spoke about how they were able to bring about the changes even before Mary’s pregnancy without sacrificing the unique tone of the show.
Ed Decter: …We just (noticed) that the best stories were where Mary was provoked by something. So we said, okay, what if she’s a very protective person with her witnesses and with her family and with her friends – (they were) very close friends.
So what if we throw a lot of monkey wrenches in there? And what does the lioness do when she doesn’t have so many cubs to protect? Then we thought that Mary would have to force some issues of her own about her father, about what – you know, what is her role in the world if she’s not protecting her sister and her mother?
John Strauss: It’s also a, you know, really, kind of, a fun position to be in where you can – you know, you’re coming in and the – after three seasons of a show and you can re-watch all of the episodes and see which were your favorite ones and why were they and what, you know, what kind of things worked best in episodes and then play to those strengths. It’s a great way to actually come in to a show.
The banter between Mary and Marshall is a very central part of In Plain Sight, as it provides some needed humor between the two. Marshall really gets inside Mary’s head so it’s good to hear the banter will continue, although Ed and John wouldn’t really provide any specifics.
Ed Decter: So much. But we won’t tell you the specifics. But, of course, you know, Marshall and Stan and also Paul Ben-Victor – their attitude is going to be, you know, if Mary’s having a baby, we’re all having a baby because they all work so closely together.
John Strauss: And as you know from watching the show, you know, Marshall as a character is very opinionated. And we’ve not shied away from that at all. So he will be very, very involved.
They also wouldn’t give us any hints about who the father of Mary’s baby is, but they did give a hint as to when that might be revealed.
John Strauss: Oh, we can’t do that. That would be wrong.
Ed Decter: That wouldn’t be fun at all.
John Strauss: We wouldn’t be good at our jobs if we did that. You’ll be a few in – a few in. You’ll have to stay tuned. But you won’t be disappointed.
As far as Mary’s mother Jinx is concerned, I was delighted to learn she’ll be back this season.
Ed Decter: Yes, we’re very happy (Jinx) is going to be in a bunch of episodes. And she’s got some great stuff to do this year, some new sides of (Jinx) that we haven’t seen before. So we’re very excited about it.
Since I am a huge fan of In Plain Sight, I was thrilled to hear this little tidbit about Mary’s baby daddy and whether it’s someone we’ve seen previously on the show.
Ed Decter: We can’t say that either. But what we can say is it will be a wonderful twist and surprise for the audience. How about that?
Hmm, I was thinking Faber (Steven Webber) was the father, but now I’m thinking it will be Raph’s (Cristián de la Fuente). What do you think? What was most intriguing to hear was how this whole thing is going to affect Brandy and Mary’s relationship, as well as Mary’s relationship with her mom.
Ed Decter: Well, that – we really deal with that in some of the later episodes. At first, Mary, you know, Mary’s – let’s just say this. Mary’s feelings about the – have – being pregnant are very dynamic. And so, therefore, she deals with the pregnancy in a very Mary like way.
And we’re never sure exactly what’s going to happen with her. And neither are (Jinx) and Brandi.
John Strauss: But it’s safe to say that they will still very much be intertwined in each other’s lives.
There you have it fans—straight from the “horses'” mouths. So, are you as excited for this season of In Plain Sight as I am?
Tune into In Plain Sight, Sundays, 10:00 pm ET/PT on USA – Characters Welcome!
Linda
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