You have to be tough to be in politics, and that’s how Juliet Rylance described her American Gothic character, Alison, when previewing the CBS summer series at a recent press junket.

Continue on to see what Rylance had to say about the Hawthorne family, her character and more.

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Here are a few highlights from the interview with Juliet Rylance:

  • Episode 1×09 surprised her and goes off “somewhere kind of marvelous.”
  • None of them know who the murderer is.
  • With The Knick, they got all the episodes up front, but with American Gothic, they get the scripts as they go.
  • With this family, it’s like 12 Angry Men. “The more you stare at someone, the more you go, ‘actually, you know, you could, you do have the potential'” and that’s happening when it comes to the murderer.
  • Are Jack’s parents the reason he is the way he is? Or is it because of a gene in the family?
  • Alison is the oldest daughter in the family, and after her brother Garrett left, she stepped into the role of making something of herself. She’s “very driven, ambitious [and] tough” and the only person stronger is her mother.
  • “On the surface, she’s running the show…. There’s such a desire and need to please her mother that actually she’s nowhere near as strong as she seems.”
  • Alison is running for mayor and wants to make great change in Boston. She’d probably be good at it and Rylance might vote for her.
  • Alison can be pretty ruthless. “Her moral conduct is questionable.”
  • This kind of story needs the kind of dark humor that you’ll see in the series.
  • Alison’s worst trait is her “selfishness” and her best is “charity.” She wants to make a difference for other people.
  • There’s the question of choosing between birth family and chosen family. (Alison does have a husband and twin girls.) Rylance isn’t sure which she would choose if it came down to it. “Possibly her own family.”

American Gothic airs Wednesdays at 10pm on CBS.

(Image courtesy of CBS)

Meredith Jacobs

Contributing Writer, BuddyTV

If it’s on TV — especially if it’s a procedural or superhero show — chances are Meredith watches it. She has a love for all things fiction, starting from a young age with ER and The X-Files on the small screen and the Nancy Drew books. Arrow kicked off the Arrowverse and her true passion for all things heroes. She’s enjoyed getting into the minds of serial killers since Criminal Minds, so it should be no surprise that her latest obsession is Prodigal Son.