If you think watching 12 Monkeys can be a bit cumbersome at times (so much jumping through time!), just imagine what it must be like to star in the hit Syfy series.
To be in actor in the series, which centers on James Cole (Aaron Stanford), a man from post-apocalyptic 2043 who is sent back in time to stop the evil Army of the 12 Monkeys from destroying the world, means keeping track of multiple time lines and the emotions your character is feeling throughout—even when you aren't filming in order. As Amanda Schull, who stars as Dr. Cassandra Railly, Cole's ally in the present day, explains it, she puts in some serious work to stay on top of things.
"I take copious notes. I have very thick notebooks that I carry around. I have been referred to more than once as a nerd," she explained to E! News ahead of the show's second season premiere. Just how many notebooks does she have? "Well, I have one specifically for each season. And then I keep a binder with at least two episodes prior, as well as the current episode, in the binder at the same time with notes on the back of each of my scenes and notes scribbled next to it."
Like we said, she puts in work.
"We always joke that the fans also have a map with yarn drawling timelines so that they can keep it straight in their basement," her co-star Todd Stashwick added with a laugh. But Schull believes that, though the show doesn't require her level of homework by fans at home to follow along easily, for those who do follow her lead, 12 Monkeys offers much in reward. "For those that do have the notebooks and the yarn, there's a big payoff," she said, referring to the many Easter eggs and references co-creators Terry Matalas and Travis Fickett sprinkle throughout the new season.
And what of the new season? When we last saw Cassie and Cole, she'd been gravely wounded and he'd sent her to the future as a last-ditch effort to save her, choosing to remain in 2015 with his wounded friend Ramse (Kirk Acevedo) in an effort to save him and prove wrong the 12 Monkeys' claim that it's Ramse's fate to die in 2015. Meanwhile, in 2043, Jones (Barabra Sukowa) had just handed over the time machine to the 12 Monkeys themselves. So, you know, not exactly the best environment for a wounded and certainly disoriented Cassie to arrive in.
"[The premiere] starts minutes after, actually days, but it's the exact same situation—dire. Nothing's going well," Schull told E! News during a visit to the Toronto-based set last last fall. "From there, we resolve those concerns within 201—smash cut to eight months later and Cassie's been living in the apocalypse for either months, and everything that that entails. She's a very different person having to have toughed it out."
What might this new Cassie, one separated from the relatively stable world of 2015—and her friend Cole—be like? "When we pickup in 202, she's adapted," Schull added. "She finds herself in this post-apocalyptic future and she needs to do what she needs to do to not only survive, but also accomplish the mission of stopping the Army of the 12 Monkeys and stopping the plague. While she is in this new environment, she makes allies very quickly and physically, as well as mentally, adapts. And it's not necessarily always in the healthiest or best of ways. It will sort of play out throughout the entire season what will haunt her having lived in this hideous reality that she now has to live in because she's not going to give up the fight of stopping this virus. At her core, she's a healer and she's not going to allow this to just decimate the world."
Cassie won't remain stuck in 2043, however. She'll begin hopping through time and reunite with Cole, although their relationship will be markedly different when they do come together. Also markedly different this season? The time periods the show visits. Where last season remained mostly in 2015 and 2043, with a brief sojourn to the '80s, this season offers fans a true trip through time. We'll get to see our heroes in the '40s, '50s, '60s, and '70s.
But don't get too worried about the extra time periods making for more brain wrinkles. "It's not necessarily such a huge deal to keep track of every single paradox and the rest of it," Stanford assured. "It's a fun puzzle to solve, but mainly the way we keep track, the way it's written, is all the emotion is linear."
To hear more from Stashwick and Schull, press play on the video above. And to hear from Standford and co-star Emily Hampshire, including their reaction to talk of Schull's famed notebooks, be sure to check out the video below.
12 Monkeys returns for season two on Monday at 9 p.m. on Syfy.
(E! and Syfy are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)