The Tomorrow People is moving to Mondays! While it’s the end of Amell Wednesdays, it’s not the end of the journey of Stephen and his Tomorrow People friends. Stephen’s in a dangerous spot as he balances on the brink of both the underground world and that of Ultra.
I recently spoke with Robbie Amell (Stephen) about the increased intensity of the series, the upcoming “Superhero” episode, the dynamics between the characters and more. Plus, find out who Stephen will be hooking up with next. It’s a shocker!
On Amell Wednesdays and the move to Monday nights.
I loved sharing a night with a cousin. I thought having the Amell Wednesdays was a really unbelievable, impossible, probably once in a lifetime thing. I was very happy to have had that opportunity, but I think we’re gonna kick ass on Monday nights. So it will be good.
I feel like the series really found its groove after the winter hiatus, did you feel there was any real change in the story?
Absolutely. Yeah, I agree with you completely. The trouble with TV is that for like the first seven episodes, you’re kinda giving the audience a little bit of everything because you don’t air until after you’ve already shot those episodes. And then, to be honest with you, they take in the information and see what people are reacting well to and look at the stories they enjoyed the most on screen and they start writing towards that. I think we found our groove around episodes 8 and 9 and our show takes it to another level starting with one of the last scenes of episode 16.
One of the last scenes of episode 16 acts as a catalyst for the last six episodes. And [episodes] 17-22 are on a completely different level. I think we found the story we want to tell and it’s an incredible story. And all these characters that you’ve been watching and trying to play people and you don’t really know where they stand. Everybody’s character comes to light and everybody’s cards are on the table. I think [episodes] 17-22, we are one of the best, if not the best show on the CW.
I was excited to see that Monday’s episode was titled, “Superhero,” and it provides a different look at the Tomorrow People. Can you talk about a little bit about Rose and how Stephen approaches her?
Yeah. I think it’s a very cool episode. It’s a necessary episode because as a fan of the show I always wondered, “Why don’t they help people?” And this episode kinda shows you what it would be like if they did. What if instead of hiding underground, they used their powers for good and to help people kinda like the movie Kick-Ass.
Ultimately, it’s very inspiring for Stephen and Russell. The two of them kinda link up with the Red Avenger and they try and help people and get a taste for it. They do really enjoy it. The nice thing too it’s the last kinda of lighter more fun episode before everything goes full stride into the end of the season. Like I said, everything in [episode] 16 leads up to the final scene which really sets up the beginning of the end of season 1.
Will we see any of the Tomorrow People in tights?
Umm … yes. You will. Not me, but you will.
There will be tights.
There will be tights. [Laughs] I feel like they’re not quite tights, they’re more like really sexy leather pants. But they’re super tight.
In the preview, we see that Stephen and Hillary are getting closer with the “debrief you” comments. Do they come to a better working relationship?
Yeah. That’s one of the things that these are two 18-19 year old kids who are living these high octane scary lives. And what you see in the preview is them just blowing off some steam. Cara is back with John, at least it looks that way to Stephen, and he doesn’t really have anybody else.
And there’s Hillary, his sexy partner. The two of them just blow off some steam. They’re still at odds for much of the episode and future episodes. She did try and kill his best friend, so there’s definitely some trust issues there. You don’t know where either of them stand in the relationships, but I guess … for a lack of a better term, they would be f*ck buddies.
Over the season so far, has Stephen or Jedikah influenced the other more?
It’s hard to say who’s been more of an influence. They’ve definitely been — it’s kind of a chess game. It goes back and forth. One of them has the upper hand and then the other one does. And then you find out the other one did the whole time and you still don’t really know where either of them stands.
But over the course of the first 16 episodes, they have kind of developed this real father-son relationship where Jedikah is the closest thing that Stephen’s had to a father because his real father left when he was so young. There’s a nice moment in [episode] 18, where you really see that that relationship has become so important to both of them. Over the course of the last 5 episodes, you really get to see where everybody stands and whether that means good things or bad things for either one. Everybody shows their true colors.
Over the last few episodes, we’ve found out that Stephen’s a synergist. What does that mean for him going forward?
It means he’s a total bad ass. Honestly, it’s very cool that I can stop time, but what the synergist aspect of it means is that — Cassandra is the only other one we’ve met so far — is that we’re kind of the next wave of Tomorrow People. We’re true bloods. We have two Tomorrow People parents and it means the ceiling for our powers is that much higher.
We can hone our abilities better. We can use multiple powers at once, which becomes a very important part of the last 5 or 6 episodes. You find that it’s very important to the Founder. He kind of takes Stephen under his wing and helps him learn how to use those abilities.
How does Stephen’s relationship with Astrid change given her new closeness with John?
There may be a hint of jealousy, but I don’t think it’s that much. She’s his best friend and you can have the biggest fight in the world with your best friend and then a week later without saying anything be back to being best friends again. I like that there’s that relationship between the two of them.
Hillary does throw a little bit of a wrench into the whole thing because of the attempted murder on Astrid, but Astrid is still very dear to Stephen and her protection and his family’s protection and any of his friend’s protection is really the number one priority for Stephen. That relationship only gets stronger. It hits some speed bumps, but it really means a lot to Stephen.
The Tomorrow People airs Mondays at 9 pm ET on the CW.
(Image courtesy of the CW.)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
Contributing Editor and Writer for Collider, BuddyTV, TV Fanatic, CliqueClack, and other publications. TV criticism, reviews, interviews with actors and producers, and other related content. Founder of TV Diehard.
