Wynonna’s Earp‘s second season has been a rollercoaster ride, but no surprise has been more shocking than the revelation that titular heroine, Wynonna, is pregnant. Except perhaps for the fact that not only was actress Melanie Scrofano actually pregnant, she also gave birth shortly after Wynonna Earp’s second season wrapped!
At San Diego Comic Con, BuddyTV was able to sit down with both Melanie Scrofano and showrunner Emily Andras to chat about the challenges and unexpected gifts of creating a badass pregnant heroine.
Stunts Were a Bit More Challenging, But Wynonna Might Have Some New Skills in Season 3
Doing some of the action scenes pregnant was a bit of a challenge for actress Melanie Scrofano, but nothing she couldn’t handle.
“We have Steven McMichael, who is an amazing stunt coordinator and is always on hand to sort of fix us,” Scrofano said. “In Wynonna’s case, what’s nice is I don’t have to be perfect because I’m just shooting things and hoping for the best.”
Still, there were definite challenges with doing an action-heavy show like Wynonna Earp with a bun in the oven.
“Last season, because I was pregnant I felt like, this sounds horrible, but I felt stifled in a way by my body. I couldn’t move as well. I would have loved to have gone crazy but I had to be careful because at the end of the day, this is more important than a TV show,” Scrofano said.
Scrofano raves about stunt coordinator Steven McMichael, who helped see her through and made sure that she felt comfortable with all the stunts in the show’s second season. With season 3 now a sure thing, it’s also great to learn that Scrofano and McMichael started plotting for some fun new abilities for Wynonna, although Scrofano was tight-lipped about what those new skills might be.
“He was very generous and gave me some online lessons so I’ll have a new skill. I don’t want to talk about it because if we don’t use it or if I suck, I don’t want to tell you what it is!”
Wynonna Will Remain Defiant
Just because Wynonna is pregnant doesn’t mean she’s taking a backseat from the action. One of the great things about this character is how flawed but determined she is. Scrofano hints that this combo is unlikely to change in the second season.
“We see a woman that’s like, ‘Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do. I will let you know what I can and can’t do,'” Scrofano said. “I think you get to see that from me, Melanie, but also from Wynonna. She’s like ‘I will tell you when I’m done, don’t take this away from me. I’ve got this.'”
Scrofano praised SyFy, IDW, and SEVEN24 films for taking the same approach with her, allowing her to set the timelines and tell them when she couldn’t work anymore. Seeing a tough, capable, pregnant woman, both onscreen and off, has certainly been inspiring to fans of the show. Scrofano thinks the experience will also change Wynonna in interesting ways.
“I think what motherhood does, a lot like Wynonna in season 1, it forces you to become somebody’s hero. You’re either ready for it or you’re not,” Scrofano said. “It’s just grounded her more into her role.”
It’s what Scrofano likes most about the show, that it deals with everyday issues in an interesting way.
“Yes there are supernatural things that you don’t see everyday,” Scrofano said. “But it’s also incorporated with things you do see everyday, like struggling with identity, whether it’s sexuality or your place in your family or the world.”
The Show Really Had to Learn to Roll With the Punches
Finding out that your lead actress will be heavily pregnant while filming your show’s second season can never be easy.
“It was terrifying when we did the math,” showrunner Emily Andras said. “She literally gave birth four days after our last day of shooting. You want to talk about a real life superhero, that’s it.”
There was always the option to hide Wynonna behind ever-larger coats and houseplants, but the show didn’t want to go in that direction. Instead, they worked the pregnancy into the storyline, giving the show a badass pregnant heroine who has to grapple with a whole new set of issues and challenges.
“We didn’t have an option, so it was kind of like balls to the wall. It was kind of like driving the Titanic. ‘We’re going right into that iceberg!’ Not to call Melanie an iceberg,” Andras joked. “So I feel like I’m really proud of how it worked out.”
People Are Craving Strong Female Characters Like Wynonna
Right now seems like the perfect time for a cool, pregnant heroine who makes her own rules and Andras agrees.
“What a year though! 2017, political landscape aside, there seems to be a bit of a rebelling in pop culture with Wonder Woman and what have you,” Andras said. “People are demanding greater representation and women in particular are driving a lot of that.”
Many of the people demanding better representation, whether it’s representation of women or LGBT characters, are super fans of Wynonna Earp called Earpers. Andras gushes about the fandom that has grown up around her show and how the show has survived because of its passionate fanbase.
“We filmed the first season and we were like, ‘Here you go: Wynonna Earp, the weirdest title in the world!’ So just seeing people get it and fall in love with it has been incredible,” Andras said. “Those Earpers, it is a success story because of them. Also the cast is fine too.”
What do you think of how the show is presenting Wynonna’s pregnancy? What are you hoping to see from Wynonna Earp‘s second season? Sound off in the comments!
Wynonna Earp airs Fridays at 10/9c on SyFy. Follow BuddyTV on Facebook to stay updated on the latest TV news.
(Image courtesy of Sarah Boyce, videos courtesy of Morgan Glennon)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
