James Reilly, the creator and headwriter of Passions rarely does interviews...but the official website is one of the few places you can find them! Passions had a great summer, with storylines and ratings heating up...so what's in store this fall? Only Mr. Reilly knows the answers, but he's sharing some of them with you! What do you think were the main reasons behind the ratings increase this summer? I think the audience has gotten to know the characters. This was all pre-planned, spending a year for the audience to get to know the characters and the relationships, and to get invested in the characters’ lives. Now we’re starting to pay off and we’re paying off in a major way this fall and winter. More details please! What can viewers expect this fall? If everyone really loved early July with the prom boat, they’re going to see major developments like that throughout the fall and winter in every character’s life. By the end of the year, Ethan will decide, for good, between the two women in his life and there will be major drama between these characters. There will be a major, major development in the Luis and Sheridan romance. In the fall, we actually see Luis and Sheridan in bed together. There’s a big story twist, an event in their lives that will really shock the audience. Hecuba, who is a past enemy of Tabitha’s, will be discovered in a very “Indiana Jones” fun escapade that involves the whole town. Viewers can expect major secrets from peoples’ pasts to come out. Julian discovers about Sam and Ivy’s past. There’s life and death stuff happening on a daily basis. Viewers want lots of romance. Can we expect more romance in the future? Lots and lots of romance! But heartache too… How do you feel about the addition of Robin Strasser to the show? What can you tell us about her character? Robin, of course, is one of the greatest actresses in daytime. And for her to play this part makes it even more exciting. Hecuba’s been imprisoned in the earth below Harmony for 300 years because she and Tabitha have a long history of animosity. Hecuba has all of her powers and she means to stir up the town—to destroy not only a few lives, but also perhaps the whole entire town of Harmony! There has been criticism that there hasn’t been resolution on the show. How do you feel about that? We had to introduce over twenty characters to the audience and make them feel real, and make the audience feel invested in their relationships and what happens to them. If we had rushed through it too fast, the audience would have felt disappointed and cheated. They would have felt we didn’t cross all the “t’s” and dot all the “i’s.” There’s a reason fairytales say “and they lived happily ever after.” The last line of the fairytale has an impact because they’ve gone through so much up until that point. If Cinderella had met Prince Charming before she moved in with her wicked stepmother and stepsisters, you would have lost so much of the story. If Cinderella had gone to the ball and Prince Charming proposed right then and there and there was no glass slipper and the coach wasn’t going to turn into a pumpkin at midnight, we would have felt cheated. In a sense, we gave the audience everything we could while we built to these moments when everything would start paying off. And now there will be major payoff for everyone in the months coming up. Can we expect the additions of any characters that have been talked about but haven’t been seen—like Noah Bennett or any of the Crane siblings? I’m working on those now, but if I were to bring on too many new characters right away, I wouldn’t be able to give the payoff of characters and stories that we’re looking at right now. Can you tell us about the book that’s coming out in January? Timmy has discovered a manuscript memoir of Tabitha’s that Tabitha, at one point, was thinking of publishing because it contains secrets of the people in the town. It’s basically the story of Sam and Ivy, Eve and Julian, Eve and TC, Sam and Grace, and even Luis and Sheridan told in vivid, sexy detail. We will see wonderfully romantic past lives that Sheridan and Luis had together. There’s backstory of Tabitha and backstory of Timmy. It’s everything you’d want to know about what happened before the show was on the air—how people got to where they are. It’s all in this manuscript which Tabitha does not want to see the light of day, but Timmy sets the ball in motion, because he’s run out of money for martimmies, for the book to be published. And the book is actually going to be in bookstores at the end of January. It’s called “Hidden Passions.” What do you think about the NBC Soap FanFest coming up? I think it’s a great way for the audience to meet the actors and really connect with them one-on-one. If you follow the show, and then you actually get a chance to see them in person, I think it makes you feel more part of Harmony. It really enriches that experience because you will have a one-to-one physical interaction with the actor. Then when you see the actor on-air, it makes everything more real for you. So, if fans haven’t met some of their favorite actors, this is a wonderful opportunity to meet them—ask them questions, get an autograph, and have a picture taken with them. Rolling Stone named Passions the “Hottest Guilty Pleasure.” What makes it a guilty pleasure? I think they mean “guilty” because if you start watching Passions, you get hooked for five days a week. And everyone thinks you shouldn’t be doing this, but you’re having so much fun! People don’t realize they can watch it during their lunch hour, or tape it and watch it at night. I think the sense is that if anything gives you as much pleasure as Passions does; it must be guilty. Anything as pleasurable as watching Passions must be sinful! Do you watch the show everyday? What goes through your mind when you watch? Oh yes. I watch everyday. I’m always pleased because it’s seeing my dreams for these characters come to life in front of me. It’s fabulous to watch it. It always gives me ideas because the characters become more real to me, just like they become more real for the audience. Do you keep track at all of what the fans are saying about the show? Yes. I appreciate hearing from fans. I always read the letters they send to me and the magazines. I listen to what they’re saying on-line in the chat rooms. I take their comments very seriously. That’s why we’re having major revelations in every story this fall and winter. Just watch what happens with Ethan and Theresa, Luis and Sheridan, and Kay, Miguel, Tabitha, and Timmy this fall. I bet the fans won’t believe it! James Reilly's Interviews: Jim Reilly #1 Jim Reilly #2 Jim Reilly #3 |
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