TV Talk: ‘Orphan Black’ rebooted
In the 2013-17 BBC America sci-fi serial “Orphan Black,” actress Tatiana Maslany played multiple clones of her primary character, ultimately creating one of the better recent genre series, albeit one that grew overly convoluted as the series’ mythology expanded season-by-season.
The new sequel series, “Orphan Black: Echoes” (10 p.m. Sunday, AMC, BBC America, AMC+), is set deeper into the future (circa 2052). The new show does have some character connections to the original. But, aside from framed photos, none of the characters played by Maslany show up in the first season. (Fans will get an update on some OG characters in episode two.)
“There were conversations, but at the time she wasn’t available,” said “Orphan Black: Echoes” showrunner Anna Fishko (“Tyrant”), who doesn’t rule out Maslany’s return should “Echoes” be back for subsequent seasons.
Fishko did not write for the original series but she was a writer on AMC’s “Fear the Walking Dead” and was encouraged to pitch a concept for the sequel. She said AMC gave prospective writers a blank slate with a caveat that they did not want one actor playing multiple roles again.
“They did want the show to tackle some of the same themes in terms of identity, science and society,” said Fishko, whose husband was a die-hard fan of the original, so she saw many of the episodes when they were new. “The first season’s theme [in ‘Echoes’] is: What makes me who I am? And we’re asking it through this sci-fi device. Am I the relationship that I form with other people? Am I my physical body? Am I my memories?”
In the original, the clones were biological and all the same age. For “Echoes,” the concept is copies of the same person at different ages can be created using what’s essentially a futuristic 3-D printer.
“You could end up with copies of that person at three or four different ages if you wanted and they can all be able to interact in the same moment in time,” Fishko explained, saying she spoke to a scientist at Wake Forest University’s human tissue printing lab. “We were trying to make sure we were imagining the process in a way that made some sense. … He didn’t think it was that far-fetched, which was really interesting and scary.”
From a more practical perspective, Fishko said “Echoes” needed to be set far enough in the future that the tech seemed possible but not too far as to be overly futuristic (i.e., much more expensive to film). And the writers wanted connections to the original series’ characters for the benefit of fans (aka “The Clone Club”).
“How old would people be and what lives would they had lived in that intervening time?” Fishko said. “And how might they have lived such that their story in our show could touch on some of these themes?”
One trap the writer hopes to avoid is creating a mythology that becomes too difficult to follow.
“A lot of shows make it hard for viewers, especially when there’s so much time between seasons these days and it’s hard to keep track of what’s going on,” Fishko said. “I think it’s about not overcomplicating the plot for as long as you can. Often in television when we get further and further down the road, should we be so lucky, and we’ve played all the cards we start out with, it’s about going a little bit more slowly, which is a thing I’m hoping to do with this show.”
‘Echoes’
File TV’s latest reboot under: Who asked for this?
While early seasons of the original “Orphan Black” had their merits, particularly the performances of multiple clone characters by star Tatiana Maslany, a few seasons in the whole story became so overly complex it was easier to bail on the show than to keep watching it.
In “Orphan Black: Echoes” (10 p.m. June 23, AMC, BBC America, AMC+) instead of clones it appears that Lucy (Krysten Ritter) has “been through a procedure” that resulted in her creation via a 3-D printer, an exact replica of a human (e.g. a clone created in another way).
Lucy escapes her captor (Keeley Hawes) and two years later she’s living with a lover (Avan Jogia, not giving his greatest performance) until a creepy dude in a sweater vest attacks Lucy. And then we’re off to the grand conspiracy races all over again.
Created by Fishko and executive produced with some episodes directed by original “Orphan Black” co-creator John Fawcett, “Orphan Black: Echoes” suffers from moments of bad dialogue (and even worse delivery). None of the acting shines the way Maslany did the first time around. “Echoes” offers fan service at best but too often it’s just a degraded copy of the original “Orphan Black” series.
Kept/canceled
HBO renewed “House of the Dragon” for a third season.
PBS’s “Masterpiece” series “Grantchester” will return for a 10th season.
“Resident Alien” will return for a fourth season and will relocate from Syfy to USA.
Amazon’s Freevee canceled filmed-in-Pittsburgh “Sprung” after a single season that streamed in 2022, per a social media post by series star Garret Dillahunt.
Channel surfing
Season nine of “Suits,” long available on Peacock, will debut on Netflix on July 1. … Season two of animated series “Star Trek: Prodigy” will debut on Netflix on July 1. … A reboot of USA’s “White Collar,” with 2001 Carnegie Mellon University grad Matt Bomer reprising his starring role, is in development. … Streaming grabbed a record 38.8% of TV usage in May with cable TV at 28.2% and broadcast TV at 22.3%.
You can reach TV writer Rob Owen at rowen@triblive.com or 412-380-8559. Follow @RobOwenTV on Threads, X, Bluesky and Facebook. Ask TV questions by email or phone. Please include your first name and location.
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