The series is a big hit, ABC's success story of the season. Is there a concern at all about revealing too much too soon about the characters or the overall story? Is there an overall narrative arc all planned out to bring the series to an eventual like a novel?
We have a lot of stuff worked out in advance. I like the way our showrunners Eddy Kitsis and Adam Horowitz are making sure these characters are complex enough that we can keep going back into their stories and finding new rich episodes within them.
We have so far been introduced to Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Jiminy Cricket, Rumpelstiltskin the Dwarves, Geppetto, Evil Queen, Maleficent, Little Red Riding Hood…Is this the core of fairy tale characters, or are are more on the horizon? Who else will we meet from Fairy Tale Land?
There are MORE! Belle, Hansel & Gretel, and more.
Does the premise that these characters all inhabit same universe make your imagination run wild with ideas for how to create intriguing mash-ups and pairings? Which of the characters (who wouldn't ordinarily be in the same story) would you like to write (or plan on writing) into encounters either as allies or enemies?
Oh, yes, you've seized on something important there. We LOVE to cross these characters into each others' stories. So I wouldn't be surprised to find out that the Evil Queen was involved in a story like Hansel and Gretel, for example. And we've recently learned that Jiminy became a cricket very early in our Fairy Tale timeline – he was around all those years while Geppetto aged. Where was he during those years? Who did he help?
I have to admit that the one thing that I'm not crazy about is that the Fairy Tale Characters all look like they've broken the fourth wall of their respective Disney animated films. I realize that ABC is owned by Disney, but what's the reasoning behind making that Disney connection?
Really? I love that! I love it when characters are recognizable – that jolt of recognition. If we're telling a totally new take on Cinderella, and the Cinderella in our land not only is doing different things than Cinderella, and doesn't look like or dress like Cinderella, then at a certain point it's kind of meaningless to say it's Cinderella. And I adore that we can write for characters like Gaston from Beauty and the Beast, who isn't part of the original story, but is an all-time favorite of mine. Being part of Disney gives us that opportunity that no one else would ever have – I think that makes us very lucky. And I'm so happy with the amount of access that we're being given to those characters... oh, and the music. When you hear our Grumpy whistle "heigh-ho," it's like... shivers!
Article comments
1 - Lisa
Barbara, Thanks for another great interview with Jane Esperson. I love Jane and the show.
2 - Sharon
Nice interview. I'm really enjoying Robert Carlyle and Lana Parilla, and am happy to hear we'll see more of the Rumple/Gold story.
3 - Pat Gorman
Love the show. Just love it.
4 - Barbara Barnett
Thanks guys! "Desperate Souls" will be a fantastic entry--I can feel it in my bones :)
5 - Michelle
Great interview. Awesome show. Best Drama on tv. Good writing,and storytelling. The ratings say it all.
6 - Brighid45
Thanks for the interview Barbara. As long as the writers continue to write from their hearts as much as possible, I'll continue to watch. :)