This year San Diego Comic-Com once again came to fans with a virtual “@Home” version of the quintessential convention. Among the Walt Disney Company offerings for 2021 were panels for Marvel, Star Wars, and Disney television which included Freeform’s Motherland: Fort Salem.
Currently halfway through its second season, Motherland tells of an alternate America where the Salem witches made a treaty with the founding fathers to fight and protect the nation. They’re our military. The series focuses on three witch cadets who are coming into their own unique powers and bracing to fight a mysterious enemy lurking in the shadows.
Watch Motherland: Fort Salem – A Look Into Season Two | Comic-Con@Home 2021
- Today’s panel featured:
- Creator and showrunner Eliot Laurence
- Taylor Hickson (Raelle)
- Ashley Nicole Williams (Abigail)
- Jessica Sutton (Tally)
- Demetria McKinney (Anacostia)
- Amalia Holm (Scylla)
- Lyne Renee (General Alder)
- TV Guide Magazine’s Damian Holbrook
- This is one of the happiest casts I’ve seen participating on a virtual panel and can imagine that when they’re all together, the energy must be electric! Their chemistry extends beyond the screen and their joy was simply infectious.
- Motherland is different from other shows as the theme of this is not about women learning they are strong, they know they’re strong. Instead, the characters can focus on their individual strengths as they learn more about themselves.
- Damian pondered if Anacostia could redeem Scylla or if Scylla would corrupt Anacostia, but Eliot suggested maybe they could meet in the middle…
- Demetria reflected on Anacostia’s choice to work with Scylla and how both women have similar views and goals, just different vehicles to get there. She thinks Scylla represents the things Anacostia wants to fix in the military including her relationship with Alder. Anacostia also believes that not everything has to be about killing, removing, or destructing. The military can look for ways to be inclusive, rebuild, or understand.
- Damian asked Ashely who she thought was stronger the stronger witch, Abigail or Petra? She did not hesitate to answer that Abigail is definitely stronger than her mother. But she does think that no one, not even Abigail knows what she’s capable of.
- Taylor liked getting to figure out Raelle’s dynamic with new characters and especially appreciated that she had the chance to work more with Lynn this season. Jessica chimed in to agree that it was amazing to work opposite Lynn’s General Alder.
- Lynn gets to further explore Alder this season who is almost like a mother to all even though she has no offspring of her own. She notes the Alder may come across as cold at times, but that’s because she’s seen and experienced so much.
- For Amaila, playing opposite Diana Pavlovská (Raelle’s mother Willa) was fun as was trying to figure out their dynamic. She also loved acting with Demetria and bringing their love/hate relationship to the screen. Damian even jumped in to say as a viewer, it seems like they’re always ready to either hug each other or throwdown.
- As season two made its debut, Freeform launched a Witch Test and some of the group was not aware of the test, while others had taken it and received disappointing results, Jessica was a civilian!
- Towards the end, Damian asked Eliot the question I’ve been wondering about the most: considering the dramatic nature of the Motherland, how did Adam McKay and Will Ferrell become involved in the show (both men serve as executive producers on the series)? Eliot said he had the privilege to work with them on the film Welcome to Me. They encouraged him throughout his career and when he told them about Motherland, they wanted to be part of it.
- Jessica talked a little about the makeup needed to become a Biddie. For those filming days she’d undergo an hours-long procedure to have prosthetics applied. She said she’d meditate during that time and come out as a transformed person.
- In conclusion, Damian challenged the group was to describe the second season in one word or phrase:
- Change or die
- Vengeance
- Revolution
- Insidious
- Urgency
- Transcendence
- Seeds of revolution
Motherland: Fort Salem airs Tuesdays at 10pm ET/PT on Freeform and next day on Hulu. Follow along with season two as Bekah recaps each episode!
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