Larry Riley/FXLast night the Olay Emmy Screening series continued with a Damages panel, moderated by my friend Kate Aurthur (if you have a chance, check her out at the L.A. Times' Showtracker blog).
Since many of you have been asking what's ahead for season two (launching in January on FX), I caught up with Damages creators Daniel Zelman and Todd Kessler to find out when production begins, where to look for new characters and the future of Ellen vs. Patty...
Daniel Zelman, executive producer
In the first season there were a lot of deaths, so I have to imagine there are new characters coming in?
There will definitely be two or three new characters. Patty will be taking on a new case at some point, and there will be an attorney she's up against at some point. Not all of the new characters will necessarily be in the first episode, but they will be introduced in the first few episodes.
Are we getting some characters on the FBI side of things now that we're kind of digging into Patty's investigation?
The FBI characters we saw last year will be back. Eventually, we may see more of their world, not immediately, but eventually.
Is there any chance of seeing Ray Fiske again or of seeing David Connor again?
Definitely. Nothing on our show is impossible. I wouldn't rule out any of them.
What do you think the fans will be excited about in season two?
The thing to be excited about is the dynamic between Patty and Ellen. It's so completely different; it's been turned upside down. Ellen's working for the feds and is an informant. When the season begins she's trying to take Patty down and that creates a totally different theme from last season.
So, is Patty going to find out this season that Ellen's...
We'll see. That's going to be a season-long theme. There are two questions at the beginning of the second season: Is Ellen going to be successful in taking Patty down? And, Is Patty going to find out she's trying to?
Todd Kessler, executive producer
What can you tell us about season two?
We start production in three weeks. Patty will have a new case this season, which will potentially feel like two cases. There'll be different entry points for an audience, so it's not going to be like if you don't watch it from the first episode, you shouldn't watch it until you get the DVD. It'll be more easily accessible.
Any guest stars you would just love to have on the show?
That's a good question. Yeah, there are a lot of great actors in New York, and we're talking to many of them to come on the show. Probably in the next 10 days there will be an announcement about who's joining us for the season.
What are some of the elements that come into bringing Patty down?
It plays off the questions of does Patty know Ellen's an informant? Does Ellen think that Patty is suspicious of her? There's a lot of inherent drama in that because part of the world of being an informant is always being paranoid. Did I screw up? They looked at me, or they asked me what I did last night. What do they know?
Will anyone else know she's an informant?
That's something that we can't quite talk about yet.
—Additional reporting by Natalie Abrams